CONCRETE — There is something unique about being rejected by a movie star.

As a crime reporter, I’m used to people not wanting to talk to me. It’s understandable. I cover tragedy.

But nothing in my career so far has compared to my Tuesday afternoon visit to a movie set.

I began the day making my normal round of calls to all the area police agencies, then headed out the door to interview a crime victim.

I thought the day was going to take a pleasantly lighter turn when my editor asked me to head up to Concrete, where Tobey Maguire and Ray Liotta were filming a movie.

Another reporter offered to work for free to be able to tag along on the assignment in hopes chatting with Spiderman. But no, this story was mine.

I was especially excited because I had just watched “Goodfellas,” in which Liotta stars as an Italian gangster.

Heart a-flutter, I rushed out the door, notebook in hand, to the Dalles Bridge, which spans the Skagit River just west of Concrete.

About 70 people stood on one side of the bridge with cameras and sound equipment. I drove by slowly. And there he was — Tobey Maguire.

His back was turned from the road, and a costume person fiddled with his hair or makeup. My first thought was, “Wow, he’s tiny for Spider-Man.”

I parked my car on the other side of the bridge and made an approach.

Several teamster truck drivers chatted with me. They gave me some advice about trying to talk to people on the set. But as I came closer to the bridge, two workers in their 20s with headsets and radios stopped me.

It was clear, this place was locked down as tight as any crime scene I’ve been on. They told me it was a closed set and to keep my voice down.

I stood at the edge of the bridge at the intersection of Concrete Sauk Valley Road and South Skagit Highway until finally Lynn Givens, a producer from Los Angelas came to talk to me — mostly to tell me it was a closed set and to go away.

Givens said the director, Jacob Estes, and the stars were on too tight of a schedule to talk to me even for a few seconds. They were in the midst of shooting a “confrontation” between Maguire’s character and Liotta’s character on the bridge. But she wouldn’t elaborate.

She said the plot of the movie, titled “The Details” was “too complicated” to explain. She gave me the number to the movie’s current publicist, Janet Wainwright, based in Seattle.

Givens said Wainwright could answer all my questions.

I called Wainwright from the bridge. She had been hired the day before and hadn’t even read the script. She also reminded me that it was a closed set and that I shouldn’t be on it.

She pointed me to The Internet Movie Database, which describes the movie as “a black comedy about a couple whose disagreements over how to deal with their raccoon infestation leads to an escalating series of events.”

Givens said I needed to leave, or another producer would be over to ask me to go.

I drove a short distance to Highway 20 where costume trailers and vans were parked.

Several people said no one could talk to me because everyone who was working on the movie signed contracts that they wouldn’t say anything to the press.

I had just hoped to have a few quotes for the local newspaper to let the residents of Skagit County and Concrete know what was happening Tuesday on their bridge.

Then, Liotta walked out of one of the costume trailers, his eyeliner from the set still visible, his hair much more gray than in “Goodfellas.”

When I introduced myself, he just turned away, got in his van and shut the door.

It’s different being rejected by a movie star. You feel like you know them, like you’ve spent time with them and rooted for them. All I got in return was a door in my face.

So I’ve nixed thoughts of entertainment reporting.

I’d rather be at a crime scene or in the courtroom with Skagitonians — police officers, criminals and all.

‘The Details,’ starring...

Elizabeth Banks, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” 2008, “Scrubs,” 15 episodes, 2006 to 2009.

Tobey Maguire, “Spider-Man,” 2002, “Wonder Boys,” 2000, “Cider House Rules,” 1999.

Ray Liotta, “Goodfellas,” 1990, “Hannibal,” 2001.

Anna Friel, “Pushing Daisies,” 22 episodes, 2007 to 2009.

Laura Linney, “John Adams” 7 episodes, 2008, “The Nanny Diaries,” 2007.

Dennis Haysbert, “The Unit” 69 episodes, 2006 to 2009.

n Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at .