THE WEIGHT of the .38
policeman’s special on my
hip made me walk funny.

By Tina Gilbertson
Contributing Writer

My badge was poking me re-
lentlessly in the chest. I had skip-
ped dinner to race to the set at
half-hour’s notice and now my
stomach was complaining noisily.

The phrase“Are we having fun
yet?”’ sprang to mind, but I kept
quiet. Rule Number One for the
successful movie extra is Don’t
Complain,

Besides, | was already having
fun; it’s not every day that I get
to dress like a cop and stop traffic
downtown while crossing the
Strect from the wardrobe trailer to
the set.

Ah, the power! 1 can. still
remember the squeal of hastily-
applied brakes and the guilty eyes

movie extra:
Book.

I have heard stories from other
extras who have stood in pouring,
freezing rain for hours on end,
who have worked for cight hours
or more without food, and who
have spent an entire night in a
holding area with no furniture to
sit on. And all for five bucks an
hour.

Happily, these experiences are
not exactly the norm, but when
things are tough it’s necessary to
remain where you are and try and
make the best oF it.

Leaving the set before you are
dismissed is out of the questicn if
you ever want to work as an extra
again.

Yes, they will remember you.
Even if you feel invisible as an ex-
tra, the assistant director is
responsible for you, and you can
be sure that the moment you
sneak away to use the loo, the
other extras will be moved to
another area and you will be

Always Bring a

44 As a movie extra, Iam

a living prop,

Jashioned to

blend in silently with
whatever is going on in the
background. 99

staring from behind the wind-
shield.

As a movie extra, I am a living
prop, fashioned to blend in silent-
ly with whatever is going on in the
background. I may show up on
the big screen behind your
favorite actors in an office, at a
nightclub, on a ranch or in an
airplane. And Ill always be the
same character: Jane Average.

However, on that particular
night the setting was a Los
Angeles precinct, and I was Of-
ficer Average to you, bub.

The wardrobe people outfitted
me from head to ankles — ! was
asked to bring my own black
shoes —- in the uniform of the
LAPD, complete with frightening-
ly authentic props. It was a special
treat: we 2xtras almost always br-
ing our own clothes and play roles
no more specific than ‘‘office
worker,’’ “‘parent’’ or “‘restaurant
patron.”’

As usual, I had to wait several
hours before the scene | was in
came up. I was lucky; sometimes
extras end up sitting around all
day and don’t even get used.

I recall the day my agent phon-
ed me and said breathlessly, ‘If
you can get hold of an old-
fashioned baby carriage, you can
work on the set of the TV-series
Neon Rider tomorrow. Phone me
back in five minutes if you want
the job.””

Miraculously (I don’t even have
a date on Saturday night, that’s
how far I am from being a
mother), I managed to procure a
perambulator in the allotted time.

1 arrived triumphantly on set
the next day all ready to push the
pram till § dropped.

What actually happened was |
sat around for nine hours, was fed
twice and sent home.

Nevertheless extras always get
paid for their time, and it was a
lovely day for doing nothing any-
way.

Rule for the

Number Two

missed.

Rule Number Three is Always
Make Sure Someone Knows
Where You Are.

Anyone who can learn these
three rules and follow a map to
the nearest talent agency can be
an extra.

It helps if your schedule allows
you to take a day off at short
notice every once in a while. And
I do mean every once in a while
— you’d by unnaturally busy if
you were called once a week.

Besides, if you work too much
people start to recognize you, and
casting directors cringe at the
thought of viewers saying ‘‘Hey,
look! That guy selfing hotdogs in
the background died of
pneumonia on another show that I
saw last night.’’

You're not supposed to notice
us.
Still, extras do not have to
behave like potted plants just to
avoid being noticed.

Although sitting, standing and
walking top the list of background
‘‘action,”? many people who have
special skills such as horseback
riding, skiing or even juggling,
will be asked to do these things on
occasion.

Anything you’ve ever seen going
on behind the actors in a movie is
being done by extras. You may be
asked to laugh, to panic, to wear
lederhosen, or all three, on cue.
That’s when you ought to feel like
a veal actor.

1 have heard it said that Kevin
Costner started as a movie extra.
It may be true, but [I'm pretty sure
that he also must have taken
courses and done some theatre.

You don't learn to act by being
an extra, but learning how a
movie set works, and seeing what
working conditions are tike for
real actors is an invaluable experi-
ence for would-be film actors.

And by the way, asking the ac-
tors you're working with for
autographs is :rounds for getting

Wednesday, September 18, 1991 - North Shore News ~ 53

A day in the life of an extra

tors for autographs is a sure-fire way of getting sent home.

sent home. (However, many ac-
tors are friendly and will speak to
extras of their own accord.)

Being an extra is not always

“Our No

easy, but as a means of learning
about the movie industry _first-
hand and meeting a variety of
people while earning a couple of

rth Vancouver

“NEWS photo Neil Lucenta
OWN THE set of Kel Gibson's film ‘Bird on a Wire’ shot locally in the summer of 1990. Asking ac-

bucks, it can’t be bear. See you at

the movies!

—Tina Gilbertson is a freelance

writer and a News proofreader.

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