Lookout, Hollywood!

I think my movie should be out soon. Didn't you know I was in one? Oh, yeah. I'm all that. It was a production by BCC. Bellevue Community College. My character was girl extra number 10. I think I was number 10. I completely forgot to write about the experience when it was fresh in my head. Let's see if I can step back in time to the month of June.... (if you were watching this like a TV sitcom the screen would go kind of hazy and you would see me looking off into the distance....)

Here is the post I started but did not finish this summer:

If all had gone according to plan I would have had a very normal weekend. Well, normal for me. Working around the house, eating microwaved meals that came out of a box and maybe doing a little yard work. About 4:30 on Sunday afternoon I got a call from Krissy. She said that she had a question for me and that it might sound kind of odd. Jenn (Krissy's roommate and my friend, too) passed on an opportunity to be an extra in a movie that was being shot in Kirkland but would I like to be in it as an extra? I think I said something like, "What? No way! When? Where?! Let me ask Ryan!" I got the name of the place and hung up, then breathlessly told Ryan I was going to Kirkland to be a potential extra in a movie!

... now working from my memory....

I took the fastest shower of my adult life and only mildly agonized over the clothes I was going to wear. Krissy told me the scene was a speed dating scene so I threw on a cute black skirt, a shirt that probably shows too much cleavage and left my ring on my nightstand. That felt weird, leaving my "I'm taken marker" at home.

I didn't find out what kind of production it was until I arrived at TJ's, the bar that was the scene of the party. The official looking guy (read: the guy with the clipboard) at the door to the bar was my first clue that the outfit wasn't super prestigious since he seemed really sincere when he thanked me for coming. Who is excited to see an extra? Really?

I sat and fidgeted for a while and kept looking for Krissy. She arrived just as I was calling her. She too was thrown by the sincere thanks for showing up from Mr. Clipboard. We sat and chatted with some of the other extras. One guy was something else. I just felt so bad for the guy. He really wanted to make it big in Hollywood. Really, really, really. I think he also wanted a girl friend. Really, really, really. I really, really, really wanted my wedding ring on my finger. Really. I don't remember his name which is fine because I would rather not publish not so nice things about him and use his name. Not that anyone outside of a few family and friends are going to read this. So, I'll call him James. James took a liking to me and Krissy. I think because we are cute and were nice enough to talk to him and probably because we were the first girls he saw. James was cute enough but you knew he wasn't all right when you looked at him. He was entirely too wide for his frame. He had short guy syndrome; build out if you feel inadequately short. Someone should really tell them that getting wider, even if it is solid muscle, just makes you look even shorter and less attractive. I shouldn't say that, maybe some women like the, "I'm-so-big-and-strong-I-would-snap-if-I-had-to-bend-to-tie-my-shoelaces" look.

Ladies, if you want to throw a salivating guy off your trail and onto fresh blood I have a GREAT answer to the question: "So, what do you like to do for fun?" Or, "How are you two friends?"

James: So, how do you two know each other?
Me: We are in the same bible study.

James, eyes slightly wider, noticeably sadder, but still hopeful: Oh, yeah? What do you guys like to do for fun?
Me: I like to hang out with my husband and you know, go to coffee shops, study the bible.

It was so much fun. Krissy did well and not laughing out loud although I could see she was dying to let it out.

So the scene that probably took up 5-10 minutes of the movie took at least 8 hours to shoot. Ohmigosh. It was sooooo boring. They lined up the girl extras and gave us numbers and told us where to sit. The guys, 'real' actors had to shuffle from table to table until they got to the table with Sarah, the main character, or was her name Amy? Well, one of the guys was really funny. He was the stereo-typical high school jock guy who seemed like he was staying in character. We were supposed to talk quietly so we chatted about where we were from and all that jazz. But he kept asking really personal questions and me, not liking conflict, kept going along until I couldn't take it anymore. I try to show displeasure but people think it's cute ~ no one takes me seriously until I swear. So, Mr. Nosey finally quit asking questions. Meanwhile James kept circulating through and, sorry Krissy, I was much happier when he was at your table than mine. He was too much.

We put our names and contact information on a list and are supposed to be contacted when the movie is done and ready to be viewed. I wonder if Krissy remembers it is supposed to be done sometime right around the New Year. It looked like a really lame movie. I can only imagine how bad the other scripts were that the students submitted for this one to be the chosen one. It's not very original. A girl decides she wants to get married by the end of the year and sets out determined to find her soul mate at the ripe old age of 22. Hilarity (not really) ensues as she does everything she possibly can to meet the man of her dreams. If the speed dating scene was an indication of the rest of the movie: it's going to stink. My favorite character was the guy who played the business man. He was too busy to date so he tried speed dating and was on his cell phone the entire time. He cracked me up! He reminded me of a friend from high school, Rob Bennett.

So, after hours of sitting in tall bar stools and pretending to talk we finally were released to go but were told that if we wanted to make sure our faces were in the scene we could stick around for the next sequence. No thanks. If it hadn't been 11 pm and a Sunday with work to face the next day I would have stayed because it is fascinating to see how a film is produced.

Ryan and I saw part of a film being produced in Paris and it looked just as boring as what we were doing at TJ's in Kirkland. It was November and very cold and the actors were just sitting at a table outside waiting and waiting and waiting. People all around them were measuring. Measuring from the light to the chair, to the mug to the actor to the camera. It was crazy. Crazy boring. Like this post is turning out to be.