Extra, Extra

March-April 2009  Up In the Air

Earlier this year, I had the good fortune of receiving a call back from St. Louis Casting to be an extra for George Clooney’s upcoming film, Up In the Air. Unfortunately, I had to sign a disclosure statement which prevents me from blogging or discussing the filming until the movie is released later this year. While I have kept most of my memories to myself, I found it to be a very interesting experience and not as glamorous as one would think — with the exception of GEORGE CLOONEY, who is definitively hot. During our initial meeting, I even asked him if he was hot. Trust me, the brain shuts down around such godly heat.

This week in CoMo, they are shooting an independent film, Ten Hours a Week. I spoke with Jenn from casting (Why are all the casting people named Jenn?) and was set to be an extra at Shakespeares, a local pizzeria.

Filming began at 5 a.m. I don’t know why I sign up for these things … I am NOT a morning person. For Clooney, it was a 4 a.m. wake-up call.

There is a huge difference between filming a major studio-sponsored film and an independent one. For the indie film, I was one of five extras and met most of the crew (all very friendly and thankful for the extra help). Everyone is very open and social. There are no big-name actors so I could actually talk to everyone on the set.

A smaller budget means smaller perks. Craft service consisted of three coolers packed with drinks and string cheese. There was a small table with boxed snacks. Wonder bread and beef jerky were a favorite. Don't ask. Everyone (except for me) was eating beef jerky.

As an extra, waiting is the same — tedious and boring. Waiting is 70% of the job. Napping is a good alternative between filming.

They shot an interior dining scene this morning. It was a small set with a small group of people so I had more camera-face time than my previous experience. I’m not sure that was good thing since I looked and felt incredibly tired. But it was interesting to watch the crew, local actors and Josh Slate, the young director, at work. However, he would also do the same scene over and over again, until we all could repeat every line. Talk about déjavu.