Baby to appear in new movie shot in LaPlace and New Orleans

By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – Amy Weber of LaPlace learned long ago that being an extra in a movie is not the glamorous thing that many people want to make a career of.

&#8220I was an extra long ago in a movie and decided then that I didn’t ever want to do it again, since you spend a lot of time waiting and waiting, and you don’t really get much money for it,” she said.

But when the opportunity came up recently for her newborn baby Lily to be in a movie alongside Brad Pitt, Weber changed her mind.

&#8220This was more of a once in a lifetime thing so I am glad we went through with it,” she said.

Lily, the seven-week-old daughter of Matt and Amy Weber, was selected by Paramount Pictures to play a newborn baby in &#8220The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a $150 million production that has taken place largely in New Orleans, LaPlace and Mandeville.

Lily had her on-screen debut last week at a soundstage in Harahan, where mom spent much of the day there waiting for her short scene.

Along with Pitt, the movie stars Cate Blanchett and is the story of a 50-year-old man (Pitt) who begins to age backwards, and falls in love with a 30-year-old woman.

Amy said that she heard about the possibility to be in the movie from her OB-GYN office here in LaPlace, since the production company had apparently contacted local offices looking for a newborn baby.

She went to a casting office where pictures and video were taken of Lily, then a week later, Amy was called to say they wanted to use Lily in the film.

&#8220They actually had three babies there for the scene, but one of them screamed the whole time and didn’t work, and Lily seemed to be the best, so hopefully she will survive all the editing and make it into the movie,” she said.

The day of shooting, she was called at 2 in the afternoon and told to be at the soundstage in Harahan at 4.

&#8220They didn’t start filming until eight, and we didn’t get home until midnight, but Lily was good and I thought she did fine,” Amy said.

She said the best thing about the shoot, besides getting to meet Pitt and Blanchett was &#8220getting fed steak and lobster while we waited,” she said.

The pay for such a part is only $125, but Amy said the chance to be in the movie, and meet the stars, was all worth it.

&#8220We met Brad and gave him Lily to hold, and it was funny when I walked onto the soundstage later and he was standing there with his finger in her mouth trying to keep her calmed down. He seemed kind of embarrassed and apologized for it, but I told him it was fine,” Amy said. &#8220He was very nice to us and told us Lily was beautiful.”

The scene for Lily was a point where Cate has a baby and Brad comes into the room.

&#8220It was funny to see how they used cream cheese, strawberry jam and baby oil to put on Lily so she looked like she had just been born. It was a scene where Cate had gone into labor since she had an accident falling down the stairs,” she remarked.

The movie is scheduled for May, 2008 release.

Amy is a former nurse who is now a homemaker after having her third child in Lily with husband Matt, a DuPont employee and St. Charles Catholic grad.