| |||
Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing
Article Summaries |
The Stage Call of the Sugar Donutby Esther J. Perne
There's no magic to stardom when you already share the shelves with the movie greats, right? No, wrong. Just watch Paul Newman down a donut in the Maine-filmed movie Empire Falls, which is scheduled to air on HBO next year, and the proof will be on his beard, thanks to a generously sugared, hand-cut donut from Belgrade's unique Home Entertainment Resource (HER)/Outlaw Pizza. With its scenic, waterside setting; its welcoming owners David Hollingsworth and Debbie Smith; and its just plain, good homemade food; HER is one of those places that's a legend just for being itself. Add to that HER's claim to fame of three fashion-plate — well, at least they change their clothes a lot — mannequins in the front yard and of being the host site of the overflow crowd for Belgrade's Annual Loon Calling Contest. And now, top it off with a movie role for a donut.
Yes, there is magic to stardom. A lot of folks seek it vicariously among the 10,000 videos that HER rents. Last fall they were often looking for movies starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman who were on location in central Maine for the Empire Falls filming. Others seek stardom by wishing for a role themselves. Indeed hundreds of auditioners from throughout the region — including many from Belgrade — lined up for hours in search of a minor movie role, and many were successful. A few joined show biz by working behind the scenes, and there's how the HER donut enters the scene. It was just an ordinary fall day at HER last year: the usual quota of pizzas, homemade bread, soups and sandwiches; the usual casual chatter and down-to-earth commentary with waiting customers; the usual Belgrade business owner mix of friendliness but not nosiness that has attracted the rich and the famous to the Belgrades for over a century and made them feel just wonderfully ordinary. 
Enter some customers, some tourists, out for a drive, who order and discover that HER's meatball sandwich ranks right up with the best at home, who top it off with a donut, who leave — but not before identifying themselves as connected with Empire Falls production and asking if HER would be interested in supplying donuts for a "donut shop" in the movie. (Of course, they would.) Enter the phone call a couple of weeks later: could HER provide thirty-eight — yes, 38 — dozen donuts over the next three days? (Of course, they could.) Enter three all-nighters. (The largest night was twenty-two dozen, David states.) The finale, for this star's debut at least, is Paul Newman eating an HER powdered sugar donut. Do David or Debbie or the mannequins have any comment? "These are the donuts that made the movie famous," David states. HER, on Route 27 in downtown Belgrade Lakes is open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information call 495-2020. See related story: "Farewell to H.E.R." | ||
