URI played a starring role last winter when two different film crews set up shop on the Kingston Campus for a few days. Both films—Hachiko, a feature film starring Richard Gere, and The Clique, a Warner Brothers film that will be released directly to DVD at the end of the year—made use of the University’s iconic Green Hall and other campus locations.

Hachiko, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, is centered on a 1920 Japanese legend of an Akita dog that walked his owner, a college professor, to and from the Shibuya Train Station and continued that trek as a sign of love and loyalty after his owner’s death. In this Americanized version of the film, Gere plays the dog’s owner and Academy Award-nominated actress Joan Allen plays his wife. About 100 URI students were “extras” during a scene with Gere shot in Edwards Auditorium. The actor took time out of his schedule to thank President Robert L. Carothers for the University’s warm hospitality.

The Clique, based on the popular series of books of the same title by Lisi Harrison, centers on the problems, triumphs, and struggles of a small group of middle-school girls attending an exclusive private school. For this, Green Hall became the Octavian County Day School.

It’s not a wrap yet. Producers have contacted the University about filming 11 other movies. So look for your alma mater at the movies!