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.