January 22, 1970
Around the Bend
By Pat Ryan
Well, all the individual pictures have been taken and submitted to Universal Studios in Hollywood for possible bits parts in the movie to be filmed in Shafter. “The Andromeda Strain,” a scientific movie, is to begin in February in Shafter.
Some of the delay in starting the filming was in the taking and retaking of some of the pictures of the individuals called to test for the bit parts in the movie. Several students from the Marfa schools were asked to participate, of these ten were to be chosen for parts and would be required to miss eight days of school. Members of the School Board felt that this many children out for eight days would damage the Average Daily Attendance figure and requested that the Universal Studios pay the Marfa ISD $5,000 and they would excuse the ten students for the eight days.
Don’t they call that extortion? Anyway, the Studio felt that was quite unreasonable and turned their search elsewhere for students in these parts. Teachers and Board members at St. Mary’s Catholic School were approached and they were all delighted at the prospects of some of their
students being able to participate in the making of a major motion picture and necessary arrangements are being made for the chosen students to be away from school for these eight days.
