PORT TOWNSEND — Filming of “The Courthouse,” a movie being produced by a group of local filmmakers, begins Tuesday at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Producer Maureen Poole is looking for volunteers to fill the courtroom.
“If anyone wants their five seconds of fame, we are open to extras,” Poole said. “We hope folks will arrive at 1 p.m. and shooting will actually begin about 1:30.”
Seeing yourself on the big screen — and watching a movie crew at work — is the payoff, as the movie is a volunteer effort by the Port Ludlow Movie Makers.
A community interest group, the Movie Makers cut its teeth by making a half-dozen historical documentaries and promotional videos since it was organized two years ago, Poole said.
“The Courthouse” is its first full-length production, and may be the first project of its kind in the country, according to director Jack Ravage of Sequim.
“I have never run across an actual community-based production of a situation comedy,” Ravage said. “It’s something really unique.”
Ravage, who has been making films for 35 years, is a retired professor of communications and mass media at the University of Wyoming.
A writer and producer, he is directing the comedy, which revolves around a judge who opens a restaurant and bar in the building where he used to preside.