Ever Wish You Were in a Movie?

Beezer

Beezer

Well-known Member
I'd love to be in a movie scene where I pop up from behind a bush and yell out...

"That wasn't part of the deal, Henderson! That wasn't PART...of...the...DEAL!!"
 

I have had the chance twice to be an extra in a scene of 2 different movies. I declined both, just not me.

I did see one of the films and the scene I'd have been in was about a minute long and featured only four people, a big part for the two extras.

I don't think the other movie was ever released even though there were at least 3 well known actors in it.
 

I think I have the makings of a great movie star. I had to qualify as a certified CPR Instructor, which was giving a class & demo in front of a 5 person evaluation panel. They all wrote "ham". I must have been good, because that's what all my teachers said about me in all those high school plays.
And, yes, I'd do a nude scene even if it wasn't called for in the script.
 
Not particularly although there were extras calls when several were filmed in my locale - "The Way We Were", "Salt", "Ironweed", and "Rollover". Probably others, but these come to mind. A guy that worked in the lab went to a tryout and got a part as an extra in "Rollover". He said he had to lead a group of men down a hallway at the Corning Tower facility. Then he was miffed when his scene was cut from the movie and he never got to meet Kris Kristofferson or Jane Fonda.
 
Carson McCullers "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" staring Alan Arkin, Cicely Tyson, Sondra Locke was filmed where I lived in the late 60's. Many local people were cast as extras.

The production company also put on a FREE full fledged real-deal carnival with rides and games. They invited the whole town out one night as they filmed the carnival scene from the movie. Townsfolk filled the carnival crowd. There was no pay, just the enjoyment of a free carnival. While I have not spotted myself in any frame of the movie, I was in the area.

It was a VERY bitter cold night and off to the side of the carnival was an area of warmth where heated beef and chicken broth was served.

Other films would be made in later years around the area, but by then I'd moved on.

EDIT TO ADD: The main late 1800's house on Mabry Street where scenes were filmed, had belonged to the Meyers (he was a local pharmacist) when I was in grammar school in the early 60's. I had spent a couple of sleep over nights in that house with the young Meyers brothers, Ronnie and Ricky, who were friends of mine and my brother.

Watching the movie, I was HEY, I've been in that room, walked down that hall and look, those are the back stairs down to the screened porch. It was fun to recognize so much of that movie, scenes about town and local extras.
 
Last edited:
Paco Dennis said:
Never....not interesting to me....sorry. :)
Click to expand...
Pretty much my feeling, doesn't attract me. I have a friend who was hired as an extra to appear in a scene, where he was a street sweeper with a broom & pan, in a period piece. This scene and others for the movie were shot in Vancouver. It was fun to see him on the big screen when the movie came out.

I have a relative who'd created a small sculpture that was acquired as a mantle prop used in a scene in a James Bond movie. Also fun to see.

When I was still pretty young, I was at a Christmas party where George Lucas ("Star Wars") was a guest. He had a hideaway around here. I hadn't yet seen the movie, and Lucas was being a quiet guy.
 
I have been an extra in a movie. Being an extra is very boring work. Sometimes you might get to see the actors do a scene or two, but interacting with them is generally not allowed. There is very much a caste system on sets and extras are a little bit more valuable than the cleaning crew. Actually, the cleaning crew is much more valuable.

But, it was work. Did not pay very well, approximately enough per day to pay for a monthā€™s utilities in a small apartment. But also didnā€™t have to put up with many of the normal job annoyances since you will most likely never see any of these people again so if any of them irked you, no big deal. You will never meet them again.

The extras themselves tend to be pretty friendly with one another since we were all in the same boat of flotsam movable human scenery. The production assistants (PAs) who are the Wranglers of the Extras are usually pretty nice and will help you out if you have questions. Only met one who didnā€™t seem to like us or their job very well, but maybe she was having a bad day? IDK - one of those people I will never meet again.

It is a very strange business, show biz. Total strangers gather to make a product to sell to other total strangers. Such a detached way to make money but oh my God, we place SO MUCH IMPORTANCE upon it as a society! What does that say about us?

Of course, the more success they have, the more VIPs simply hire their friends and people they know from other projects, so then it becomes quite an exclusive job market, which is something everyone in it complains about a lot. SHRUG. šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø Not a lot can be done about that but use the Internet to go around it.
 
Last edited:
VintageBetter said:
It is a very strange business, show biz. Total strangers gather to make a product to sell to other total strangers. Such a detached way to make money but oh my God, so we place SO MUCH IMPORTANCE upon it as a society! What does that say about us?
Click to expand...
It says that since Ancient Times we have been enthralled by entertainment; it says we often use entertainment to learn new things about ourselves and the world. It says we humans enjoy watching other humans in various situations. It says we need to relax and maybe have an intermission from our own complaining and misery.

Entertainment is a good thing; it is valued because it is valuable for Most People
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top