Acting bug gets hold of several Butler County residents

Hornsby owns Pleasant Avenue Boxing Gym at 5072 Pleasant Ave. The Army veteran and professional boxer said having his business involved with the movie has been a great experience.

“They had a few people that came to scout my gym after somebody on the Hamilton film crew told them about it,” Hornsby said. “They liked what they saw and I signed on to help train some of the actors about boxing.”

His gym became know as the “Iron Fist Gym” in the movie and two of his regular clients also grabbed roles in the movie.

“Lenny Stakauskas trains here in my gym and he actually gets to fight the star of the movie, Prem Singh,” Hornsby said. “Another boxer, Stacey Highley, is also in it and she has few lines. It was great to work with Prem and go over boxing technique.”

Kent Richardson, a Hamilton native, was one of several local people who volunteered to be an extra in the movie.

Richardson was a part of the filming that took place at Hamilton High School last week.

“So the cameras rolled and we began to cheer and clap. Everybody in Hamilton High’s gymnasium exploded in cheers and whooping and hollering. Afterwards they remarked that we had given them some of the best footage they had gotten all film long. By midnight, the filming was in its last hour, and unfortunately the lead character, Prem Singh, was tagged in the nose ending the shooting for the evening.”

Fairfield resident Michele Gressel said she was on the set for two nights last week as an extra — an experience she called “numbingly boring and highly interesting at the same time.”

“I am very glad to have been a movie extra, but I would be selective about doing it again now that I know to think about issues like being indoors or outdoors, and whether the waiting is seated or standing. I don’t know whether I would compete very hard to do this again,” she said. “Watching the crew work was amazing, though. The lighting techs, the gaffers and camera operators, wardrobe and makeup were all fun to watch. Even the director and assistant directors were fun to watch.”