My Not So Secret Other Job

Before I begin, I wanted to give an update on my visit to Olive Garden the other night for their Neverending Pasta Bowl. I only did 4 bowls. I know I know...I need to do better next time right? ;-) But we got a coupon for a 1/2 price dinner on our next visit so you know I'll be back! :)

Well, back to my post for today. Right in the middle of my Olive Garden chowdown, I got a call from some lady that seemed to know me, but I had no clue who she was. She started by saying that she met me a while back when I did some Extra work for her company blah blah blah and then congratulated me on getting married. Um at the time that I did this said Extra work, I wasn't even engaged. It was wierd that she knew I got married, but anyway, she called to see if I was available to do be an Extra for a movie sequel, in which I was also an Extra in the original. One of my friends rented the movie and thought that she saw me, but trust me, I'm not a reoccuring character. Just another Extra :) The bummer was that she wanted me to do it on Thursday originally. Um, normally, I'd say yes if it was a 1/2 decent production and if I could take the day off, but since it'll be my first quarterly meeting that I'll be participating in for my real job, I couldn't say yes. However, she did ask let me know that she could use me Friday instead, which works out because I have already put in enough hours in my job for the week, so SCORE! :)

So that's my not so secret "other" job, being an Extra. To me, it's actually quite a fun experience. I've so far been an Extra in The Replacements, Minority Report, Head of State, The Service (a pilot), Ladder 49, XXX2 (not porn, but the sequel to the Vin Diesel original), Live Free or Die Hard, Rocky Balboa, National Treasure 2, Step Up, an AOL commercial, and now another sequel to one of the movies above. People always ask me if it's paid and since most of the projects above are from big production companies, yes. However, don't expect to make much unless you are a part of SAG (union). And the process to achieve union status is a whole other post all together. Those guys make the big bucks because for most of them, that's their only job and they have paid their due or just got really lucky. People ask why I do it all the time if it doesn't pay that much. Well, duh, the experience (it's fun and you meet very "interesting" people LOL) and well of course the break from my normal 9-5 job. I will say however that I've met plenty of people that are newbies to it that don't care for it at all. All they do is B*tch and complain the whole day. It takes alot of patience because it's LONG hours and alot of waiting and repetition. Imagine having the entire day or week to get all the angles and best shot of a a particular scene in the movie. YUP and most times, they are shotting the same scene for the next 2-4 days. I don't believe everyone has the same impressions on being an Extra. In all honesty, it's not very glamorous, but a very humbling and good learning experience about the movie production business. I've met some great people and even have gotten chances to meet the likes of Tom Cruise, Joaquin Phoenix, Morris Chesnut, and Balthazar Getty. Good times! :)



* Disclaimer: Extras Etiquette 101 says that you are not allowed to approach the actors for autographs or pictures because everyone should be professional because everyone is just working. However, I was very fortunate that I knew one of the production guys (who happened to be Joaquin Phoenix's and John Travolta's wardrobe assistant) and he totally hooked me up by asking them for me. YAY! But if you want to be a good Extra, you should never bring a camera onto set. The production folks can confiscate it or send you home for the rest of the day unpaid, which would really suck.

So I better head off for a good night's sleep (Good thing I'm still up late blogging, right?) since most of these call times are pretty darn early and it's about an hour and a half away. YIKES! It's going to be a LONG Friday for Bryan and I since they called for the both of us. We'll need to break out our urban gear cuz we're going to a club! I love party scenes! There's not much faking involved :) Night all!