Leave it to the Farrelly brothers—the comedic filmmaking duo that highlighted the 2007 Commencement ceremony at Roger Williams—to send a graduate on one of the coolest trips any student has taken.
As part of their unscripted speech, the brothers surprised the audience by randomly choosing a graduate to fly to Los Angeles to appear as extras in their latest flick, “Heartbreak Kid” with Ben Stiller. The lucky graduate? Katie Rebecca Francisconi, a psychology major from New London, Conn.
When Katie and her guest, boyfriend Jon Croft, touched down in the Golden State in late May, they were whisked away to the luxurious Fairmont Miramar hotel—courtesy of the Farrellys—on the sandy Pacific beach in Santa Monica. After two days of taking in the sights, enjoying sunsets and soaking up the rays, the two woke at dawn on a Friday for their 15 minutes of fame and headed to the Malibu beach set.
After a visit to wardrobe, hair and makeup, Katie and Jon watched the crew shoot and re-shoot (and re-shoot again!) a variety of scenes. By the time the directors were ready for their scene—a daytime beach clip—it was night, but the crew lit the beach to simulate a bright, sunny day. The pair was tasked with a tough acting chore—they had to rifle through a bucket of snorkeling gear. (Look for them behind the old man in the beach chair, Katie says.)
“We had to re-shoot the scene a few times,” Katie says. “The Farrellys were adamant about having a close-up shot of us, so we had to do it a few times to make sure they zoomed in enough.”
After their moment in the (artificial) sun, the Farrellys introduced Katie and Jon to Ben Stiller and Carlos Mencia, the movie’s leading men, and Eva Longoria, who had a cameo in the film. “We took lots of pictures with them, and the Farrellys were so nice through it all,” Katie says. “They really made us feel like family.”
And, of course, you’d expect the Farrellys to conclude a long day of shooting with some flair, right? They did. By hosting a giant egg toss for the extras!
Back home in Connecticut, Katie is counting the days until the movie’s October 5 premiere.
“I will be first in line for tickets,” she promises.
Caption: In addition to acting out a scene of their own, Class of 2007 graduate Katie Francisconi and boyfriend Jon Croft had the chance to rub shoulders with the Farrellys themselves, Ben Stiller, Eva Longoria and Carlos Mencia.