The Joy of Being an Extra

It's always nice, as an extra, when you get some face time oncreen. It's true! I did watch the Happening, and there I am walking to camera, and past it.

I also updated my imdb filmography here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2213168/

Smokin' Jackets and Sigourney!

One winter day while working on "The Village" I was seated in an auditorium hall for one scene. I was in the back row of chairs, with a huge space heater right behind me, cooking my back...and coat! Sigourney Weaver and Brendan Gleason were standing near me, on my right. She commented to me that I had the best seat in the house. I wanted to say "If I start smoking, there's a problem." What came out was a fractured inversion, that Yoda could have said better. There was a moment of bewilderment visible on her face. The words "Shut up, just shut up." went through my head, and I did so. Starstruck, wouldn't you know. Happens to extras too.

By Degree

Kevin Bacon has been added to the cast of "My One and Only." That takes me down a few spots, to one degree of Kevin Bacon. That's pretty cool to be able to claim!

A Day at the Lake -The Filming of "My One and Only" in Middle River, MD.

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008.



First off, I'll say that where we are filming today, at the edge of Gunpowder Falls State Park in Middle River, beyond Baltimore, is a breathtakingly gorgeous view of the Gunpowder River complimented by beautiful green grass and trees. Very picturesque. No wonder a movie would film here!


So, this movie stars Renee Zellweger, who is here today, as is David Koechner (Get Smart, the Comebacks). Being a period piece, the 1950's, they are both dressed for the era. Mr. Koechner is almost unrecognizable in spectacles and a pie hat. Also being a period piece, I am in period clothes as well. So are the tweny-five other extras here today by the water. Did mention how gorgeous the view is?


I came to Baltimore last week, and was fitted in period wardrobe, including red suspenders. I got suspendered! This morning, I drove down from Philadelphia at 5am to make an 8am calltime, with time to spare. Didn't get any sleep the night before, which is typical when I am working a shoot. I did make it here just fine, and parked close to the beach.


It's been a low-key morning. Picked up my costume from wardrobe, and changed. In addition to my outfit, they gave me a fedora hat. Then went to hair and makeup. It takes a long time to braid women's hair for the 1950's, and the hair dressers kept getting called to set, so it was two hours before it was my turn. I was a bit nervous that they would decide to shave my beard, and breathed a mental sigh of relief when they didn't.

Once we were called to set, most of us were positioned on the grass by the water, lying near vintage antique cars, on blankets, reposing for a picnic. A good 1950's recreation. An hour down here by the blanket, and I felt like it was the 1950's. B ut we're just the window dressing. The real action was taking place up a sloped hill, where Renee Zellweger is seated with other principals at a picnic table overlooking us and the lake.

So I got to recline on a blanket, with a fellow extra and friend I've known for several years. In addition, Bailey, a young red headed boy of about five-six years old was "asssigned" to us to be our child for the scene. Utterly cute and full of energy, he kept running off in between takes to chase down dragonflys. And he was also given a cap gun to play cowboy with, which he ceartainly enjoyed 'shooting.'

After lunch, we were repositioned to a new setup down below. The extra playing my 'wife' and I would walk to the edge of the water, and look out actross the river. Bailey would just be running around, playing with his toy gun. They filmed about ten or so takes, and then set up reverse angles on the picnic table up the hill.

We were then repositioned up the hill, in front of the picninc table. I wasn't used however, and spent the next few hours watching the filming from out of the way, and occasionally reflecting at the view of the lake. Wrapped at 12 hours in, I got changed back in to comfortable civvies, and drove on home. Another fun day well done!

I Happened.

A friend tells me I show up larger then life walking past Mark Wahlberg on the big screen on The Happening. Now I have to watch the movie. (Well, maybe the first twenty minutes!)

Gotta Go Back in Time!

Just a photo from the set of the movie I've been currently working on that proves I have gone back in time to the 1950's. But I brought a special item with me! A 2008 can of sprite!

I'm Walking on Greenscreen! The Filming of Happy Tears in Philadelphia.

May 28th 2008.

This movie stars Parker Posey (Superman Returns), Demi Moore, and Rip Torn (Men In Black). And it's been filming in town for a few weeks. The casting office booked me for today, and that finds me down at the Old Naval Yards at Philly's southern edge.

The Naval Yards are almost a movie studio of it's own. The long-emptied warehouses are utilized often by production companies. Sets, art dept, wardobe dept, equipment storage. "Invincible" utilized it. I did my first costume fitting for "The Village" here. And the movie "Annapolis" shot here, doubling for the real Annapolis, Maryland.

There's about forty extras here today, all dressed in black for a 'cocktail party.' Signed in, and grabbed a table in the far corner of the holding tent. A few hundred feet down the warehouse, they were filming a scene on an indoor set. That set being the interior of a plane cabin. We had to be silent when picture was up, else we get picked up by the microphone, and ruin the take.

I don't want to give away the scene, but it did involve Parker Posey, and a greenscreen carpet I was standing on, looking at an imaginary eyeline of something (or someone...) who wasn't there. It's cool to get to work in a special effects shot. I'm walking on greenscreen!

We sat in holding for hours before they needed us on the set. I had brought a little tv with me, to watch the season finale of "Lost", which I was dying to see. Yes I am a admitted Lost junkie. I was able to watch all the way through until the last two minutes. Just as they're about to reveal a long awaited secret, we got called to set, and I missed the pivotal moment!

Wefilmed the scene throughout the night from different angles. Parker Posey would crochet on a pattern fabric in between takes, and my feet were starting to feel sore. Doubly so for the ladies who were in high heels.

It's 4am. Things are starting to blur over. Almost 12 hours in. I'm pretty done for. Tired. Pained feet. The hallmarks of an extra. It didn't last much longer for me. I went back to holding and soon was part of a group wrapped.

That is a wrap!

Good Riddance

An extra was kicked off Transformers 2 here in Philadelphia. And he just boils my blood. It's a disservice to all the professionals here who are trying to bring more of Hollywood out here to film. There's many extras who obey the rules who would have jumped (me included) at the chance to have worked on the movie. Article here:

http://defamer.com/395718/ (small language)

What Happened?

It's Friday the 13th. And you know what that means. That's right. The Happening came out today in theaters. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, I worked two days on it last year at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. My second time on a M. Night film, and the third of four times on a Mark Wahlberg movie. And the reviews are overwhemingly bad. Two big movies came out today. Hulk and Happening. And one of those is on my view list, and unfortunately it ain't the Happening. Not a big horror guy. Sorry Night. Thanks for the work you've given me and I hope you're next film does a lot better!!!

Dressing for the Fifties!

I was in Baltimore this morning, attending a wardrobe fitting for the filming of "My One and Only" for work on Monday or Tuesday coming up. They put me in some vintage clothes which, are a little uncomfortable. The waist band on people in the fifties went well up their stomcah, apparently, so it's uncomfortable. and suspenders. Looking forward to filming next week, but not looking forward to wearing suspenders. Left the wardrobe fitting, and caught up with my younger sister for some barbecue. Was back in Philadelphia by the evening.

Terrence Says 'No Thanks'

There's many stories to be told from the set. Having just seen Iron Man, here's a small one about one of the movies' actors, Terrence Howard. The time he talked to me. I was in New York City working on a street set of the upcoming movie "Fighting" starring...yes, Terrence Howard. For my part I was playing a 'religous leafleter' on the sidewalk. Peddling my tracts to anyone passing by, for the scene. Terrence is walking my way, and since I'm instructed to solicit any passer-by's, it seemed within natural reason that I would offer him a tract as well as he passed me. And ceartainly odd that I would ignore him as a potential target. I'm not sure he quite expected it, but said "no thanks." and continued on. Scene continued...cut was called, and they reset the scene for another take. And thanks for reading my moment with Terrence Howard.

A War With No Y?

Just a detour from the theme of this site. I'm declaring internet war on Christourhope.blogspot. For no good reason. Just feel like it. Wait!!! I do have a reason. She never CALLS me!

T2

Hoping, and waiting. The window for a call to work on Transformers 2 is closing day by day. On other fronts, I may be lining up a day on "My One and Only" filming in Baltimore. And lastly, Iron Man was a gosh darn good movie!!! Saw it yesterday.

How Did I Get Started?

On the set, when I meet new colleagues, I like to ask them occasionally what their first project was. Or how they got into the extra biz. Occasionally, I get the question from others, how do I be an extra. So I thought I might tell how I began, and how others do too. I need to do a better job of remembering that I too had no idea of how it worked when I wanted to begin, and I hope this helps someone else get started. Eight years ago, not only did I not know where to begin, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to begin.

I had assumed through high school that I would naturally get into acting, as I had a hope for it. In the summer of 2000, I finally decided to act on it. But I didn't know what I really wanted, where to look, what I was looking for, and most importantly, how it worked. I started taking acting classes at a nerby community college, where I got the lowdown on how to be a movie extra. How it was done. The Headshot. The Resume. A direction to start in.

My first hollywood project was a Dawson's Creek spinoff called "Young Americans." I worked one day, in Havre De Grace, MD. The show lasted six or seven episodes as a mid-summer filler, and was never brought back. Future stars Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) and Ian Somerhalder (Lost) were part of the show, back in their starting out days. I was booked for the West Wing a few months later, thanks to another extra I met on a low-bduget. And by then, I had a pretty good handle on the extra business. The rest is history. Joined Sag in the last two weeks 0f 2003, and that was the divider between my years in the industry. B.C. and A.D. Pre-Sag. Post-Sag. Pretty important distinction for those looking to get started.

When you start, first know that you want to be an extra. Really want to. Because the idea that movies are tinsel and magic is false. It can be boring, tiring, painful, and relentless. There will be hours on end where you sit (or stand) doing nothing. There will be times where you're wearing a hevay wool jacket on a 90% day or a light shortsleeve shirt in the middle of january. There will be shoots that aren't that fun, and there will be shoots where you sit in holding all day and are never used. You are, aptly described, walking props. That's what you want. That is extra work.

Haven't scared you off yet? Good. Because it is fun too, and amazing to be a part of the machinery, and see how it is done. If it's right for you, you'll feel the passion to be there, no matter how the shoot is going.

So, now that you still want to, you need a recent picture. This will suffice until you get a headshot. There are photographers who advertise on the web, who specialize in headshots. Next, a resume. Any acting work, high school play, whatever. Until you can build up your resume.

The work you will find will be non-union, which is not going to pay as much until you become Union (SAG). Extra casting calls can be found on several websites. Some of the best are http://www.castingnetworks.com/ (New York), http://www.aftrasagdcbalt.com/, and www.actroscenter.org. The internet is a very valuable resource for casting information, headshot photographer, and actor resources. Feel free to explore. I did.

To wrap it up, you do extra work by mailing in your picture, and going to local casting calls for movies, and the internet is invaluable to doing that. When that first call comes, say yes, and break a leg!

A Juggling Act.

Balancing a full time job with the demands of extra work is both nerve wracking and never ending. You work hard to keep both worlds happy, and without friction. When a job comes out of the blue, for the next day, or next week, and you're scheduled your regular shift, well, you have to get creative. And keep it from getting too regular. So, I can't always take every job that comes along. Keeping the two worlds balanced. I mention this because lately the scales are tipping more towards extra work, with working on "Happy Tears" here in Philadelphia, and I have to tap the brakes a little bit. Bad timing too, as Transformers 2 begins filming in the area tommorrow, and if I get the job call, nothing is going to stop me from working on it! Very excited about it being in town! So, yeah, the scaleas are tipping a little. After Transformers, I'll balance it out.