The other morning at the museum, I was in the office typing away when the lady I share a desk with asked out of the blue, "Would you like to be in a movie?". I thought, "A movie...?" and asked her what I would have to do. She told me they were looking for extras for the movie Hall Pass that was being filmed in Atlanta. This was an experience I had never in my life considered before, so I thought, why not? All I had to do was e-mail a recent photo of myself, and that I did. I got a reply soon after telling me I was confirmed and to head over that evening at 7 pm for filming.
I arrived at the central meeting location for extras (a church) on time, filled out my waiver and voucher, and had my outfit approved. We were supposed to dress in club or party attire and they made sure to specify to dress FOR SUMMER. I knew I would be shivering if I wore a dress, so I chose jeans with heels and a sleeveless black top. They liked it. Next, I visited the hair/makeup department. The girls were supposed to come with hair and makeup done, and they would be able to make changes as they liked. They curled my hair and to us pale girls, they applied tan body makeup (to aid with our "summer time" look).
Then all 70 of the extras were shuttled to the film set, just a few miles away. The set consisted of a very modern house which, according to an extra who also happens to be a nanny to the homeowners, has been featured in several magazines. One thing I will say is that the artwork inside (belonging to the homeowners and used in the film) is very odd, unique, and somewhat unsettling at the same time. I won't go into detail; you'll just have to see the movie. After arriving, we were herded into tents outside. Mind you, it was right around 30 degrees at that time, and although the tents had space heaters, we were still uncomfortable. We stood around and introduced ourselves and met each other for about 20 minutes, and watched the filming already going on outside the house. The house next to it was its guest house, which became the holding area for all of the extras-- nice and warm. One big plus is that they did feed everyone well. We had snacks at all times and at 1 am we had "dinner" back at the church, which was catered. At first I thought I couldn't possibly be hungry that late at night, but after seeing the food, I filled up. It was some of the best food I had eaten for a while.
Being an extra requires a lot of sitting around waiting, as well as a lot of being called over and then being told you aren't needed. Luckily I had brought a book and a magazine along, and talking to the others helped pass the time too. It was about 2 hours after being there before we finally got called next door for the first time. We ran over and inside the house; I was placed in the kitchen near the cameras with three other people. A girl I had not noticed before came on the set near my group, and I figured she must be one of the actual stars. She was. We were waiting while they set up lighting and such, and whispering amongst ourselves because as extras, you are NOT supposed to talk. Then I turned around again, and all of a sudden there was Owen Wilson, not three feet away. I was incredibly surprised; no one had mentioned he would actually be there! I felt completely lucky being one of the four people close by, and I could just see the utter disappointment when they took two of the original girls I was with, relocated them to the living room, and replaced them with another couple, as the directors are prone to do, just plucking people out and switching them around.
Soon after we were all settled, we began filming. For the extras, this consisted completely of pantomime conversation with each other. You can't even whisper. It's incredibly difficult to try to even look like you're having a conversation when you can't read lips. Since it was a party scene, they also played a music clip before they started filming so we had an idea of what song would be played for the actual movie, and then we danced to silence during the actual filming. I couldn't believe how many times scenes were repeated-- all for a three-minute scene. Eventually I ended up in a separate scene in the living room, dancing. Since it was a "summer" party, the door to the deck was left open, which translated to it being about 40 degrees inside. We were all shivering, though only the real stars were allowed to wear down jackets in between takes. This went on all night, until after 6 in the morning. Everyone was so completely worn out by that time and I think it was finally when Owen put on his coat and walked out the front door that they let us stop. He was clearly exhausted as well. I thought my job as an extra was hard, but I have a new sense of respect for true actors after considering how he and and the others have to be in virtually every scene, and repeat those scenes again and again. They work incredibly hard. I can't even imagine!
2 comments:
I didn't realize it was so long!
well written gill!
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