Making $65 bucks a day – The hard way.

So, I was in a movie, yesterday.

Not something you get to lead with, very often.

A guy I was kids with, really hooked me up. His friend’s in charge of all the casting for extras, on some major films. My buddy tends to help him out, when he can. This one’s filming in Chicago, my friend said “Hey, you wanna be an extra?” and then made it super easy and hassle-free for me to do so.

I was in a scene that was supposed to be taking place in a bitterly cold Minneapolis neighborhood.

I jotted down notes throughout the process, which gave me something to do.

Something to do on a day where I spent huge amounts of time with… nothing to do.

6:50 – arrived.
7:10 – stood in line for pay voucher
7:50 – done with wardrobe. My red hat and scarf were, and I quote “Iffy”. So I had to exchange my pay voucher for a darker hat and scarf
8:00 – discovered that the food trailer has a self serve spigot for coffee, sticking out the side of the trailer. I need to get me one of those…
8:05 - Coffee interrupted, for hair and makeup. I’m bald, and am wearing a blue stocking cap. My hair, as it turns out, is fine. My face is apparently ok without makeup as well, since I’ll be walking down a street…

Sat around for awhile, eating a little breakfast and listening to three other people talk about “the business” whilst helping them with a crossword.

8:45 – sitting in a bar on the north end of the set, with all the other extras, awaiting assignment. If I had decided to wear a suit and tie, I might have got a better extra gig. Who knew? Three different sports channels and GMA on TV. No idea if or when I’ll be called to set.

Watched them spraying “snow” in the yards on the van ride over. Bitterly cold Minneapolis, but still lots of green leaves on the trees.

Awkward.

9:30 - Sitting in the bar with a bunch of increasingly crabby people. I’m hanging out with two people that had answered last minute desperate phone calls for “Café Worker” roles. They’re not “Pedestrians”, nor “bus riders”. Cool chick predicts she will be forgotten about, and will be riding that bar stool all day.

11:40 – back in the bar with my friends the café workers.
I’ve spent the last two hours, walking up and down a street. Southbound on the West side, Northbound on the East side, and vice versa. When I was walking southbound on the West side, I was told that I was to be, and I quote:
“A fast walker. You’re not angry, you’re not running, you just happen to walk faster than everyone else.”

But when I got switched to the east side of the street, someone else informed me that I was… walking too fast.
My goal in life became to time my walk so that I’d be as close to where the bus was stopping (all the action was on the bus) as possible.
And I was nailing it. Take after take.
Until YET another person took me aside and said:

“We really don’t want you directly in front of the bus when it stops. So if you get to the corner by the bus stop, before we cut, you’ll need to turn the corner and keep walking.”

I watch another extra walking with a pronounced limp on the first few takes. All the sudden, on the next take, he was walking normal. The assistants to the asst. director apparently healed him of his "affliction". Puh-raaaaiiiise Geez-Hus!

I become friends with the two women smoking outside the diner at the corner by the bus stop. I stop for a second and say hi to them as I walk by, and then we critique each other’s performances after each take.
“How was my corner turn this time?”
“I dunno, it really didn’t seem like you were feeeeeeeeeeling it.”
“Well, you totally OWNED the ‘good morning!’ and cigarette drag this take. “


12:45: We’re done. And my new friend the café worker’s prediction came true. She was the only one that did absolutely nothing all morning. Her partner in crime got to play an EMT, and share a scene with Kate Winslet. HIS day turned out pretty okey dokey.
And there are no vans to drive us back to the tent area, because crew’s on break. So we hump the 6 blocks back to the command center, arriving 15 minutes or so later.
I turn in my hat and scarf for my pay voucher.
I turn in my pay voucher.
Food smells great. But we’re told we’re not allowed to eat yet. We’ll need to wait a half hour for the crew to finish up and vacate the tent. And there’s no shuttles back to the parking lot until after they’ve eaten, either. I see no reason to stick around, and my near-to-tears café worker buddy has expressed strong desire to go as well (uh, to say the least...). I get a picture in my head as to where the parking lot is in relation to where we were, and we take off. I’m in my car 20 minutes later.

Guess I’m glad I did it. My effort in obtaining the gig was minimal, thanks to my friend.
It WAS an interesting experience. I’ll certainly be more selective about the type of extra work I do, should the opportunity arise again.

For instance, I won’t sign on to walk up and down the same block by myself for two hours, in 45 degree temps…….