An Extra Distraction
Posted: August 23, 2010 Filed under: humor | Tags: courtroom, drag queen, extra, extras, judge judy 8 Comments »How do you know you’re a real fan of Judge Judy? How do you know when perhaps you’ve seen one too many episodes?
When you start to recognize the fact they’re using the same people in the audience over and over again, that’s when. Don’t be too impressed. I’m not actually that good with picking up small details like noticing the extras in a daily courtroom TV show.
But when one of the extras stands out like this one, you can’t help.
There she is in the upper left-hand corner. She just has a look that stands out. The harsh make-up. The angry eyebrows. That distinct Is-That-A-Dude-In-Drag uncertainty. That’s not an easy look to forget.
Especially when he/she pops up again….
…and again…
…and again…
…and again.
Hey, Judge Judy producers: I think it might be time to do another casting call for extras. When it becomes more fun playing Where’s The Angry Guy In A Wig than watching Judge Judy yell at people, that’s sort of a sign.
August (Not In A) Rush
Posted: February 20, 2007 Filed under: movies | Tags: amazon, august rush, central park, devil you know, extras, freddie highmore, imdb, jonathan rhys myers, keri russell, lena olin, movies, robin williams, terrance howard Leave a comment »Almost a year ago I did some extra work on August Rush, a film starring Jonathan Rhys Myers, Keri Russell, Robin Williams, Freddie Highmore, and Terrance Howard. I spent four freeeeeeeeezing nights in Central Park from 11pm to 6am and the scenes they shot with us were some of the last scenes they were shooting.
I just checked the Internet Movie Database to see when in the world this film is coming out, as I haven’t seen any trailers or anything for it. They don’t have any trailers listed, no picture or image for the film, and the release date they have only says “February 2007.”
What a bunch of liars.
I also looked up the only other project I worked on while in New York that still hasn’t come out, a film entitled Devil You Know starring Lena Olin. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the release date was “2006″ and it only played in New York City. No box office stats or anything. It is my suspicion this little gem was probably a direct-to-video deal gone awry, but I haven’t been able to find anything else on it at IMDb.com or Amazon.com.
Let’s go, film people. You’ve had a year. Ed’s tired of waiting.
The Devil Does Indeed Wear Ed-a
Posted: July 9, 2006 Filed under: movies | Tags: devil wears prada, extras, movies, the break-up Leave a comment »I’ve had some people ask me if I can be spotted in either of the two movies that are currently out that I worked on, The Break Up and The Devil Wears Prada, and the answer is yes and no.
I have been lazy and haven’t gone out to the theaters yet to check them out and then realized I could download bootleg copies of them, review them, and find out. Now don’t get yourself in a bunch, I didn’t watch them, just skimmed them in 30-second intervals to look for the scenes I was in and then promptly deleted them.
I’m nowhere to be found in The Break Up. The roller blading scene and beach scene, in fact, didn’t even make the final cut of the film, so all we can do is hope I make it in the deleted scenes on the DVD.
The Devil Wears Prada is a different story. You have to be fast on your toes to see me, but I can indeed be seen! About 2/3 of the way through the film, there is a short montage of models on the runway at different fashion shows. The camera moves from shots of Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci to the models doin’ their runway thing. Immediately after that brief scene we cut to a party, and everything in the background is in white. The camera quickly pans back to reveal more of the party and there, right there, you can see me in the bottom right-hand portion of the screen.
And then I’m gone. Outta there.
Am I disappointed you don’t see more of me in either of the two films? Not at all. I got my check. Thanks. Cha-ching. See ya.
Without A Number
Posted: May 1, 2006 Filed under: humor | Tags: artist, extras, kiwi, new zealand, without a trace Leave a comment »Yesterday I worked on the season finale of Without A Trace here in downtown Manhattan. I’ve never seen the show, so I wasn’t crazy stoked about being on the set, but I was definitely glad to get in more work.
It took place at a Chase bank that they had altered a bit to make look like an FBI building. They were only shooting the outside of the building and the rest of us were FBI employees evacuating the building.
It was a very efficient crew and we were on the set and working very quickly (comparatively). While on the set I met a really cool girl named Taisha from New Zealand. We had a good time chatting together but then we got separated and I didn’t get a chance to get any more info from her to keep in touch. So…that was weak.
If by any chance you run into a kiwi artist named Taisha, tell her I said hey.
Return of the Vampire
Posted: April 14, 2006 Filed under: humor, movies | Tags: august rush, central park, charlie and the chocolate factory, dennis miller, extras, felicity, finding neverland, freddie highmore, jonathan rhys myers, keri russell, match point, movies, new york philharmonic, orchestra, robin williams, tim burton Leave a comment »I think maybe I’ve seen the sun a total of 5 or 6 hours this week. I’ve been living the night life (complete with glo-sticks) and partying all week long. Either that, or I’ve been standing around the last couple of nights on a movie set waiting for the cameras to roll.
Just finished a 4-day shoot on the movie August Rush. The shoots were all overnight shoots, meaning I had to be there each night at 6:30PM and we got done each day around 6 or 7am. I would get home, watch TV for an hour or so, go to bed, get up at 4, and repeat the process.
I was told by my agent that Robin Williams would be there and good times would be had by all. I forgot that agents are LIARS. Not only was Robin Williams not there but I also wasted 75 dollars on my Mork costume.
In attendance was Jonathan Rhys-British guy (from Match Point), Keri Russell (from Felicity who, in person, looks like a clenched fist) and Freddie SomethingOrOther, the kid from Finding Neverland and the Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
We spent all four nights in Central Park shooting a scene as audience members at a NY Philharmonic performance. And I must admit, I was really impressed with the kid. He had to play like he was conducting the orchestra and in between shots he was the most professional, well-behaved robot of a kid you could ever imagine. My parents could only dream that I would have been that well-mannered when nothing was going on and we had to wait around for the crew to set themselves.
The highlight of the shoot was befriending a girl named Joan. We had a good time making sarcastic comments and remarks about everyone else in attendance who drove us nuts (or just looked funny).
During the shoot I was also able to read Dennis Miller’s The Rant Zone. If you’re a fan of Dennis Miller and his sense of humor, then you’ll really enjoy it. If you’re not a fan, then…well…you’re dumb.*
All in all, a good week. But man, if my sleep schedule was screwed up before….
*This book review brought to you by Ed as his 12-year-old self.
The Wedding Album
Posted: April 3, 2006 Filed under: humor, movies | Tags: august rush, central park, extras, film, fox, robin williams, set, wedding album Leave a comment »My first time on a film shoot in a while and it was nice to be back in the saddle again. Today I was on Wall Street shooting some scenes for a new television pilot (I believe for FOX) entitled The Wedding Album. If I am correct, its a romantic comedy about the ongoing adventures in love of a wedding planner.
We shot in a huge building (used to be a bank, I don’t know what they use it for now) that was all set up and decorated for a wedding party. Call time this morning was 7am. YIKES.
I got up extra early to ensure I would find my way there. They gave us the address to check in at but didn’t tell us that the actual address was a block and a half away on a different street. Good thing I left early.
The last few times Ive been on a shoot Ive played attendees of high-class occasions so I had to wear a suit and tie. It was nice today to be playing an electrician so I could wear the same crappy jeans and T-shirt Id wear on any other day.
It was an interesting psychological study to see people dressed in cool hip clothing playing floral designers gathering together in one clique and looking down on the people dressed as caterers or servers. The guy who was chosen to be the head Floral Attendant, with his gaudily bleached hair and Im-Jonathan-from-Bravos Blow Out attitude, believed he had been cast as the King of the World (or, more appropriately for him, the Queen) and began to prance about the set ordering people around. I enjoyed watching people roll their eyes at him and defying his power.
The first half of the morning was a little boring, as I didn’t do anything. Usually I dont mind doing nothing as its a movie set and nothing is usually what happens, but they had us waiting on set away from the holding area, which means away from my Soduko puzzle book Id brought along.
We broke for lunch and imagine my horror when they announced they werent providing lunch for us. That was a first. And, of course, the reason for my horror was I was carrying zero money. So during the lunch hour I did Soduko puzzles and secretly wondered why the lady in charge of the extras was in such a bad mood.
After lunch they put me in the background of a scene featuring a rigged table that crashed to the floor (with wedding cake on top of it). I don’t care if I am ruining the storyline or giving something away by revealing the cake doesn’t make it to the end of the show. Maybe next time they’ll think twice about not getting me a sandwich for lunch.
After that, they grabbed me out of the bunch to carry some flowers in a scene. According to the onlookers I got some good screen time in that scene so that was nice. After that they had me in a scene working on a speaker and in another scene working on a table.
All in all it was a good day. I was a little grumpy for a bit because I was hungry but I still enjoyed myself. I was on the set until 8:30PM and I didn’t mind a bit. A lot of people were ready and eager to leave, but since we get paid overtime I didnt see what the big rush was.
Needless to say I came home exhausted. I have a 3-day shoot coming up next week for the new Robin Williams movie, August Rush. I don’t know if hell be in any of the scenes were shooting but they are overnight shoots and take place in Central Park. I wonder if anyone will be there to walk me home.
Just a Regular Day for Ed
Posted: October 26, 2005 Filed under: movies | Tags: accomplice, devil wears prada, extras, heidi klum, meryl streep, movie, stanley tucci, valentino Leave a comment »So Ed, what did you do today?
Oh, you know, the usual…went to work on the set of the new film The Devil Wears Prada where I got to work in some scenes with Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Heidi Klum, and the designer Valentino.
What an odd day indeed. I got the call last night from my agent a little after midnight that they needed extras and I was out the door at 9:15 this morning for my 10am call. The shoot took place down in Chinatown, not far from where I work with Accomplice NY.
Extras were being held in the basement of a church. There were probably about 150 of us there and it took about 2-1/2 hours for wardrobe to look at the change of clothes we brought along, to approve them, and to let us know what they wanted us to wear (there were 4 different set-ups to be shot with 3 changes of clothing).
After they got us straightened out, we went to the set which was a short bus trip away. It was in a beautiful building (I don’t know what this place is during regular business hours…it looked like a cross between a church and a restaurant and a hotel). They had one area set up with white sheets all over to shoot a party that takes place backstage after a fashion show. I was chosen to stand right next to Meryl Streep and Valentino as they enter the room and I believe this is where I got my best shot at some nice screen time. It was fun.
After that, we were led into the main room where they had a fake fashion show runway built and we all portrayed the people in the audience. They shot 3 different fashion shows and changed the set each time, so if you ever see this movie you may have to watch it on DVD to pause it and pick me out each time. But I’m in there, trust me.
It only took 14-1/2 hours to shoot all of this, so needless to say I’m a bit tired but I had a lot of fun. It was cool seeing Stanley Tucci. He’s actually pretty witty.
I could go on but I won’t. I’d bore you and I’m tired anyhow.
And to think I shop at Old Navy
Posted: October 25, 2005 Filed under: humor, movies | Tags: agent, devil wears prada, extras, movie, set Leave a comment »Just got a call from my agent and tomorrow I’m wanted on the set of the movie The Devil Wears Prada. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve fooled them all.
Diva Extras
Posted: September 20, 2005 Filed under: movies | Tags: chicago, craigs list, devil you know, extras, fizz, hollywood homicide, lena olin, mystery men, new york, romeo is bleedingcourt tv Leave a comment »I have returned to the world of doing extra work. If you’re familiar with my adventures, then you know that I was able to get some background work on movies when I was in Chicago. I am glad to say that today I continued my legacy as an extra in New York City.
I found a post on Craig’s List about a small-budget film looking for extras. They couldn’t pay a whole lot but hey, it’s something for my resume, and I love being on the set and watching how things run. The main requirement for doing extra work is having patience because you spend 99% of the day waiting and 1% actually doing something with the cameras rolling. So, if you don’t mind waiting around talking to people and getting paid for it, then you may want to look into it.
The film I was working on today is called Devil You Know and we were shooting in this really cool club in New York called Fizz. The only info we got was we were supposed to dress formal/semi-formal as they were going to be shooting a scene that takes place in a posh restaurant. We were also asked to steer away from bright colors. So, I wore black pants, a black shirt, a black tie, and my black blazer. I was stylin.
Shortly after arriving, the director pulled me aside and asked if I would like to play the maitre d’. Hey sure! So there you go. All of a sudden I’m the freakin’ maitre d’. Step right up! They brought me into make-up and touched me up a bit and then they sent me to the hair department so they could tweak me. That was cool. My first time on a film getting the whole hair & make-up treatment so that was cool. All of the crew members were really nice and friendly.
They had me stand in the entryway of the club, behind the desk. No lines, I just had to stare at the lady who walked in and kind of exchange looks with her. And they brought the lady onto the set and it was Lena Olin! I know, I know, you may be asking yourself, “Who’s Lena Olin?” She’s one of those actresses you see all the time but can’t name anything she’s been in. She’s a very beautiful actress from Sweden and you’d never guess she was 50 years old. If you’ve seen Hollywood Homicide (Harrison Ford), Alias, Chocolat, Mystery Men or Romeo is Bleeding then you’ve seen Lena Olin. Anyhow, I was told I was supposed to be a snotty maitre d’ and when she enters, just look at her and then look back away like I don’t care about her. I was told she was going to look at me in similar distaste and when the cameras rolled and she came in — Man — she gave me a look like I just ran over her dog. We did it again and this time I looked at her like she just ran over my dog and then threw up on him. The director was really happy with it, so we moved on to the next shot and Lena just looked at me and laughed and it was cool. She was really nice. And that was our only exchange.
After shooting my scenes with her, I returned downstairs to a room where they had the extras holding. Everyone else there had all done extra work before, most of them more than me, but they had started to complain that things were taking so long for them to get on camera. The ringleader, some guy I worked with on the Court TV shoot, is one of those guys always name-dropping and talking about his connections and generally annoying everyone else. And he started having a fit when, after they finally used him on camera, he wasn’t getting more time. He wanted more food, refused to be quiet when they called “Action,” and in general was just being a big whiny baby because it was taking so long (despite the fact that we were told the shoot would last all day). He gave the girl from the crew who was our contact a really hard time and finally she told him that he was done and he could go home.
I didn’t get it. He got screen time, he got free food, and he’s done extra work before so he knows that when he goes to an extra call he’ll spend most of the time waiting around to be called to the set. He would have brought me down if I wasn’t having fun snickering at him behind his back.
All in all, though, a good day. We got done late and I spent some time on a fun set working with some really cool people. Who can complain about that?
You know….besides that one guy.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Posted: June 28, 2005 Filed under: movies | Tags: break up, christmas story, curb your enthusiasm, entourage, extras, hbo, jennifer aniston, jon favreau, lisa kudrow, peter billingsly, the comeback, unscripted, vince vaughn, wrigley field Leave a comment »Yesterday was the big Wrigley Field shoot on the set of “The Break Up.” It was long, hot, and draining but still a lot of fun. I checked in at 6am and signed out at 10pm. I got home around 11pm and crashed. It was the first time my roommate’s loud clump clump footsteps and loud slamming of doors in the morning didn’t wake me up. It was nice.
Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston were there once again, along with Jon Favreau. It was a good time. In between shots, Vince did a really good job of keeping the crowd entertained and our spirits high. As hot as it was yesterday (there was a heat advisory!), and since we were sitting in the sun all day, that was no easy task but he is the man. At one point, Vince was introducing the different people working on the film and he pointed out a guy named Peter Billingsly (he didn’t clarify if he was a cast or crew member). I knew I knew that name but couldn’t figure out from where and then Vince told us that if you ever saw A Christmas Story (and who hasn’t?), he was the lead kid who played Ralphie! Ha! I never would have recognized him in a million years. Our Ralphie’s all grown up!
I don’t think I got any screen time yesterday but I can’t complain. I spent all day in Wrigley Field in the sun and got paid for it. We even got a few hours of overtime, which is always good.
This weekend in my attempt to spend absolutely zero money, I stayed at home and watched some new TV shows (or at least new to me). They are all HBO series and I gotta say, I love HBO! Entourage is amazing…the half hour flies by and it’s a lot of fun to watch. The Comeback is also really well done and sort of like Curb Your Enthusiasm with Lisa Kudrow, who does a great job of shedding her “Phoebe” persona. The last one I got was Unscripted. I haven’t watched it yet, but am looking forward to it.
So….how are you?
