Twin sisters who have Carroll County ties will make their silver screen debut on Friday.
Scarlett Jo and Summer Lynn Atkinson will be featured in “The Hollars,” which was largely filmed in Jackson and Brookhaven in 2014. The movie premieres in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles this weekend. Following its debut, “The Hollars” will be shown in select theaters across the country, including Memphis in September.
The twins, who were 6 months old when the movie was filmed, are now 2½ years old. They are the daughters of Justin and Marcie Atkinson of Columbus. Their mother is the former Marcie McClain of Carroll County, a 2000 graduate of Carroll Academy.
Scarlett and Summer are the granddaughters of Miller and Billie Jean Beard of Coila and the great-granddaughters of Florence Beard of Coila, who will be 101 years old on Sept. 21.
“I thought it was awesome, because they did such a good job,” said Billie Jean. “We’re all planning on going and seeing the movie.”
“The Hollars” is a romantic comedy directed by and starring John Krasinski, known best for his role as Jim in NBC’s “The Office” and starring in the recent Michael Bay film “13 Hours.”
Krasinski plays John Hollar, a struggling New York City artist who returns to his small middle-America hometown after finding out that his mother is ill. The main character is immediately caught up in the problems of his dysfunctional family, his high school rival and an ex-girlfriend while also facing impending fatherhood with his girlfriend back in New York.
The movie also stars Anna Kendrick, known for “Pitch Perfect” and “Into the Woods”; Margo Martindale, known for movies such as “August: Osage County” and roles in TV series including “Justified,” “The Millers” and “The Americans”; and Charlie Day, who also stars in FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
The twins play the part of the baby Quinn.
The makers of “The Hollars” told the Atkinsons that they needed one of the girls to play a grumpy baby and the other to play a happy one. Marcie said it worked out perfectly.
After they arrived at the movie set in Jackson at 3 p.m., filming for the scenes did not begin until 8 p.m. The twins napped for a while before the scene.
When it was time to begin filming, Summer woke up happy and playful, but Scarlett did not like the bright lights as much as her sister and began crying.
“They are both in the trailer,” said Billie Jean. “One is crying, and the other is smiling. They were perfect for the part.”
Marcie said after the filming, which took about 30 minutes and only one take, the parents joined Krasinski, Day and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, an actress who is also in the scene with Summer and Scarlett, for dinner.
Marcie, who is currently pregnant with an October due date, said she is looking forward to watching the movie.
“I’m so excited about seeing it,” she said. “The trailer was so cute, and it really surprised me that they were at the end of it.”
After viewing the movie trailer, Billie Jean said she is a very proud grandmother.
“It’s so special having grandchildren, and then having your grandchildren do something special,” she said. “They can always pull that movie out and look at what they did.”
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
