Lodis and DeArie Woodmore, a Chickasaw father and daughter, live in Southern California but enjoy visiting the Chickasaw Nation to reconnect with their roots and take a break from their busy lives in the world of entertainment.
Lodis Woodmore works for Warner Bros., a Skydance Company, and DeArie is an up-and-coming actress.
Lodis Woodmore has been working for Warner Bros., a Skydance Company, since 1997, though his career in the film industry began four years earlier, in 1993.
Lodis Woodmore’s time in the film industry began with an unexpected opportunity. The father of one of his high school friends worked in the profession and wanted to help him get his foot in the door, if a chance arose.
After high school, Lodis Woodmore attended night classes at El Camino College in Torrance, California, while working at a department store during the day — still dreaming of one day working in film. One evening when he returned home from school, he checked the messages on the answering machine.
The voice of his friend’s father came over the recording saying, “Lodis, this is Mr. George. Remember the opportunity I was telling you about? Now’s the time. Come to Hollywood.”
He was shocked.
“It felt amazing because I knew this was going to be a life-changing experience,” Lodis Woodmore said. “And by the grace of God, I’ve been working ever since.”
He started his career in film labs, helping develop the film for movies. The first movie he worked on was “Carlito’s Way,” starring Al Pacino. When the film came to the lab, they would have to make thousands of prints of it, making sure everything looked correct.
Now, after more than 30 years in the industry, Lodis Woodmore is an apprentice editor, in charge of archiving and collecting everything they need from the shows that Warner Bros., a Skydance Company, produces.
He said he loves his work and approaches his job every day as if it is his first.
“My favorite thing is the different people I meet and the different projects I have been a part of,” Lodis Woodmore said. “Just being behind the scenes and working on things that are going to touch so many people throughout the world.”
He has had the chance to work on many projects that hold significance for popular culture, among them “The Matrix,” “Batman,” “Superman” and “Harry Potter” franchises. One of his current favorite projects is the television show, “Abbott Elementary.”
Through his career, Lodis Woodmore has had the opportunity to take his family to movie premieres and red carpet events. He has spent his lunch breaks in the on-lot gym, playing basketball with stars like George Clooney, Jamie Foxx and David Arquette.
In addition to movie and television studio perks, Lodis Woodmore said he also appreciates the community engagement opportunities that arise from his line of work. He has built houses for Habitat for Humanity, painted murals at middle schools and worked at food pantries in downtown Los Angeles.
But Lodis Woodmore is not the only person in the Woodmore household who loves the entertainment industry.
His daughter, DeArie, started acting when she was 8 years old. Now 12, DeArie has already built an impressive résumé.
While Lodis Woodmore has seen firsthand the challenges actors face — including long hours and demanding work schedules — he was impressed with her diligence and passion.
“It’s just something she picked up, and she enjoys it,” Lodis Woodmore said. “I’m there to support her and be a present parent and continue to encourage my daughter for whatever she wants to do in life.”
DeArie said she has dreams of becoming a professional actor. She loves musical theater and takes lessons in dance, voice and acting. She said she hopes to branch out and try a Shakespearean play. While she loves the stage, she is also interested in film, television and even voice-over work — a true performer at heart.
DeArie’s first solo role was Noodle in the musical “Wonka,” which she performed in a 1,000-seat theater in Riverside County, California. After that, she continued in the Willy Wonka universe as Veruca Salt in a Christian Arts and Theatre production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Her largest role and production, so far, is Pepper in “Annie,” which was performed at the Off Broadway Corona (OBC) Theater. Both companies perform professional-quality shows in the Corona Historic Civic Center in Southern California. The show was DeArie’s first taste of an extended rehearsal process and performance schedule, learning a dual role and performing the musical about 15 times.
DeArie was excited to play the role of Pepper. She said when she originally auditioned, she hoped to play Annie or Pepper. During auditions, DeArie was nervous, despite the fact she had auditioned for many roles before and been in several productions.
“I was a little scared. But then I was like, ‘I can do this. I’m not scared,’” DeArie said. “And when I landed Pepper, I was so happy. I like how Annie is funny in the movie, but Pepper was mean, and it’s fun being the mean character sometimes.”
Even though DeArie had a lot of fun being the “mean” character, it goes against her own character. As a person, she said she values kindness and friendship.
DeArie said she loves to visit the Chickasaw Nation for the Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival. She also attended the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy (CSAA) this year, netting the starring role of Princess Winnifred the Woebegone in their musical production of “Once Upon a Mattress: Youth Edition.”
Even though she lives halfway across the country from the Chickasaw Nation, her involvement with CSAA means she has friends in both California and Oklahoma, which is one of the things she likes the most about theater.
“I love to sing and dance because it is a way to express myself,” DeArie said. “It makes me have fun, and I get to meet new friends.”
Lodis Woodmore and DeArie enjoy coming to Oklahoma every year for the Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival. In addition to seeing family still living in Oklahoma, they like coming to the festival to experience the culture and community, building relationships with others.
“It’s just an awesome feeling to know that the tribe does so much for so many people. And it is personal for me,” Lodis Woodmore said. “Being a Chickasaw citizen is not just having a card. It’s what the tribe does for people.”
He said he saw the success of this year’s Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival as a perfect example of this and was particularly impressed with how smoothly the event went, despite the weather.
“It rained, but guess what? They still had a poncho for me to put over my head to stay dry. Everybody was still able to display their art. All the various organizations throughout the tribe were still there with their tents set up,” Lodis Woodmore said. “They could have easily said they were going to cancel because it was raining, but they didn’t.”
Lodis Woodmore and daughter DeArie are making their mark in the entertainment industry — one with an already remarkable career and the other as an aspiring actor.
While they are proud of their accomplishments, they are also proud Chickasaw citizens, and Lodis Woodmore said it feels good to share his Chickasaw heritage with his daughter. He expressed gratitude for his Chickasaw great-grandmother, to whom he said he can trace his lineage.
“We always reflect back to who made it possible — the generations before us and our family history,” Lodis Woodmore said.