'Christmas Card' has hard-working Auburn actor's stamp

When Hallmark Channel's "The Christmas Card" airs next December, keep an eye out for the burly Auburn guy helping out after Edward Asner gets whacked by a passing auto.He's Bob Lochmiller - Auburn garage-door business owner by day and an actor who's been patiently building up quite a resume during his off hours.Bitten by the acting bug after doing work as an extra during filming in Auburn of the John Travolta-Robert Duvall-Forest Whitaker movie "Phenomenon" in 1995, Lochmiller has taken acting classes, found bit roles in everything from Oakland A's commercials to indie films, and kept plugging away at his craft.Lochmiller was given the call to be part of "The Christmas Card" last week as cameras rolled in Nevada City. He returned this week for more shooting in the sometimes-snowbound TV production.Lochmiller's in the scene when Asner's getting out of church and spots actor John Newton's character astride a motorcycle. But Asner doesn't spot a car. A stunt double was used and for good reason."The car really, really nailed the stunt double," Lochmiller said.Lochmiller's character runs up with actress Alice Evans and other church-goers to where Asner is lying. He'll be the one who runs back to the church when Evans, who plays Asner's daughter, asks for someone to phone for a doctor.Lochmiller will actually be all over "The Christmas Card," if his scenes don't get dispatched to the cutting-room floor.He's in the church for a couple of scenes involving church services, with his acting coach playing the preacher.Lochmiller will also be over at the rustic lodge for the community Christmas dance, stoically kicking up a storm with his real wife, Betty. Filming took place at the Camp Augusta summer camp hall near Nevada City from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. - and Lochmiller admits that, at 60, he was too bushed to have danced all night after an exhausting all-day shoot.Lochmiller may also end up in a scene with Newton (who has guested on "ER" and "Desperate Housewives') and Evans (who had a major role in "102 Dalmations"), playing a Christmas tree vendor.Lochmiller is developing a reputation as the hardest working man in Auburn show business. Earlier this year, a Hallmark production filming on the banks of the American River brought him on to appear in a scene as a grandfather at a community picnic set in 1946 North Carolina. While the scene was supposed to be summer, the temperature was hovering around the freezing level. Conditions got so frosty that actors with speaking roles were putting ice in their mouths so the cameras wouldn't pick up their breath, he noted. The name of the made-for-TV movie is "Valley of Light."Lochmiller is on TV at the moment across the United States in a Mr. Goodwrench ad for General Motors. The ad started running three weeks ago and he's been getting phone calls from as far away as Texas to let him know he's been spotted. The commercial was filmed in Grass Valley and involves a GM truck morphing into a pair of elephants charging down Main Street. Lochmiller is the construction worker in the ad, doing a double-take as he talks on the phone.OSCAR-WORTHYATMOSPHERE"Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Walk the Line" both came through with Academy Awards last Sunday, providing an Oscar-winning glow for the Auburn area to take a bask or two in.Best Actress honors went to Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line." The film also had nominations for Best Actor, sound mixing, costumes and film editing. While "Walk the Line" wasn't shot in the area, some of the most resonant scenes in the movie portrayed Johnny Cash's landmark show behind Folsom State Prison walls back in January 1968.As a testament to the crucial importance of Folsom in the flick, Joaquin Phoenix flew into town in January with a few movie execs in tow to visit the prison and play some Cash tunes for inmates."Geisha" was set in Japan but used plenty of Northern California locations. Close to Auburn, director Rob Marshall (a director's Oscar for "Chicago"), the production crew and actors Zhang Ziyi and Koji Yakusho traveled to the banks of the American River's south fork, 10 miles east of Auburn, for a key scene late in the movie. The location doubled as a mountain hideaway during World War II. "Memoirs of a Geisha" showed two train stations near the beginning of the movie. The stations were actually the same one - with location filming early last year at Old Town Sacramento's old depot."Geisha" ended up snagging three Oscars (for art direction, cinematography and costume) while losing in the sound mixing, original score and sound editing niches.Media Life would like to think that the gray, cold day the south fork shots were filmed - along with the problems of some trucks getting stuck in the mud on the way down to the shore - added some grit to the scene moviegoers saw up on the screen.DOME SWEET DOMEIt's no longer part of the mystique of the California Zephyr's daily silver streak through Auburn but there's now an opportunity to look back at the days when a dome car zipped along the line. If you're in the vicinity of Sacramento's California State Railroad Museum at 2 p.m. today, you can check out the West Coast premiere of award-winning filmmaker Richard Luckin's latest documentary "Dome Car Magic: A History of the Railroad Dome Cars.""Dome Car Magic" chronicles the history of the magical sightseeing railroad cars. At their peak in the 1950s, clear, Plexiglas dome cars provided astounding panoramic views for awed passengers on many of North America's most famous long-distance passenger trains. Luckin includes archival footage from many of the routes, including the Super Chief, Empire Builder, City of Los Angeles - and what perhaps is the most well-known dome-equipped train of all, namely the Chicago-to-Oakland California Zephyr that continues to travel through the Auburn area.The 30-minute film will be followed by a question-and-answer session, and best of all, an opportunity to snag a first-day DVD copy. If you can't make it, the DVD sells for just short of $20 at the Museum Store or online at the museum's website. Luckin has also made "Silver Thread through the West: The California Zephyr." Admission for today's showing is $8 for adults.The Journal's Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.