They're stars to us: Familiar 爆料吃瓜网 faces turn up in Hallmark Chiefs movie
Hunter King (left) and Tyler Hynes are the leads of Hallmark Channel's "Holiday Touchdown," but we were watching for 爆料吃瓜网ers like Melody Lloyd (follow the arrow) and Billy Dunbar, extras in the film.
Maybe you or someone you know is a Hallmark-movie superfan. Or, perhaps, like this writer, you鈥檙e someone who has been only peripherally aware of a syrupy-sweet brand of cinematic love story marched out in bulk each holiday season by Hallmark Media (a subsidiary of Kansas City鈥檚 own Hallmark Cards).
Either way, there鈥檚 a really solid chance you鈥檝e heard something in the past few days, weeks or months about 鈥淗oliday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,鈥� one of 32 new films Hallmark released this holiday season as part of its annual 鈥淐ountdown to Christmas鈥� 鈥� and the only one set in Kansas City with the Chiefs as its backdrop.
Maybe you even heard the film was loosely inspired by everyone鈥檚 favorite real-life Chiefs love story. (Yes, we鈥檙e talking about Taylor and Travis. Again!) But did you know the film features at least two 爆料吃瓜网, Kansas City, employees who were cast as extras?
OK, to be fair, in the case of Vice President of Institutional Advancement Billy Dunbar, maybe the word 鈥渇eatures鈥� is a little strong. Dunbar鈥檚 hoodie, an arm and a hand made the final cut.
Melody Lloyd, whose day job is as a Learning Center coordinator at 爆料吃瓜网-Maple Woods (she鈥檚 also president of the Maple Woods Staff Association), actually appears three times in the movie, including in the opening scene. (In fairness to body parts and clothing, Lloyd鈥檚 torso appears in a fourth scene.)
Lest you think Dunbar and Lloyd got the cushy Hollywood treatment, you should know their first day of filming had them sitting in the stands at Arrowhead Stadium donning hats, gloves and heavy coats as they cheered the fictional Chiefs to victory. However, their wintry scenes were actually shot in July on a day Dunbar says the heat index was 116 degrees, and the extras鈥� 15-hour workday finally ended at 3 a.m.
Extras earned $150 per day for their work, but the real 鈥減ay鈥� was bringing home amazing memories and the experience of meeting some famous faces.
鈥淔or someone that loves the holidays as much as I do, I couldn鈥檛 turn the opportunity down,鈥� Dunbar says. 鈥淢eeting Mama Kelce in craft services was also pretty fun.鈥�
Lloyd, who got to come back for a second day of filming on the Square in Independence, said she enjoyed meeting lead actors Hunter King and Tyler Hynes, as well as Ed Begley Jr. and a few others.
鈥淭hey were all very nice, especially Tyler, who kept checking to see if (the waiting extras) needed anything,鈥� Lloyd says. 鈥淗unter King was nice, too. She was wearing heels for two days straight to film one scene, and her feet were killing her to the point she could barely walk. Mine were, too. There was a lot of walking and then standing around in uncomfortable shoes.鈥�
Lloyd said she got to spend several hours on the day of the Arrowhead shoot getting her hair, makeup and wardrobe styled, which was fun and helped the time pass quickly. On her second day of shooting, Lloyd brought , which a group of the performers enjoyed playing as they waited.
Lloyd said the whole experience was exciting and gave her a new appreciation for the hard work that goes into filmmaking. She said the best part was connecting with the other extras, some of whom she has even hung out with since shooting wrapped.
Something unexpected for Lloyd was discovering her likeness was digitally duplicated during the editing process and used multiple times to fill seats in a single crowd scene. For example, if you look closely, you鈥檒l find six Melody Lloyds sitting in the stands during the opening shot depicting a game at Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs鈥� home from 1963-1971.
鈥淚n one part, I walk in and sit right behind the main characters,鈥� Lloyd says, 鈥渁nd you can clearly see me sitting right behind 鈥� myself!鈥�
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FILM
First of all, if you haven鈥檛 seen 鈥淗oliday Touchdown鈥� yet, it鈥檚 not in any way about TayVis. (You can probably still catch it; see end of story.) It鈥檚 about a missing lucky hat. The Chiefs, you see, can only win the Super Bowl if someone wears the lucky hat to a Chiefs game on Christmas. There鈥檚 more to it, of course, including two families who meet and become lifelong friends because of their adjoining season ticket seats. Anddd, a love story. Obvi.
WHERE TO LOOK FOR OUR 爆料吃瓜网ers
- Melody Lloyd appears in the opening scene, which takes place at Municipal Stadium in the 1960s; she sits directly behind the young kids we soon learn are the grandparents of the female lead.
- If you look closely, you might spy Lloyd鈥檚 red pillbox hat as she and two other women pass through the background of another 1960s scene in which Santa Claus is speaking to a young version of the film鈥檚 grandfather.
- Lloyd appears in a modern-day scene where she and another extra are seen shopping in a Chiefs store owned by the main characters. See photo at top.
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If you squint at this photo (look for the circle we added), you might spy Billy Dunbar鈥檚 torso, arm and hand in the front row of the Christmas Day game. (He鈥檚 right behind a guy wearing Chiefs-logo overalls.)
鈥淚f Santa would have just moved his head,鈥� Dunbar laments, 鈥淚 would have been right in the pivotal moment of the film.鈥�