1up-an extras life

After spending a twenty hour day on the set of Stranger than Fiction I've learned a thing or two about the ins and outs of the biz. I was an extra who will probably be a blip on the screen when it comes out in 2006 but at least I can say that the fuzzy image you saw was me. Seeing Will Ferrel from ten feet delivering his scenes in person let me check off a box on the things todo before I die sheet. He's pretty funny in between scenes making faces and playing with the artificial light shining on the ground(doesn't really sound funny but he is Glenn Frye). Maggie Gillanhall walked around the extras pen(actually call it a pen) and I wasn't able to muster the courage to say hi so settled on eye contact. I planned to think of something grand and elaborate to say to her but all that went through my head was maybe saying "I love darko." The best perk of the day was filming in an artificial rain scene where they set up 3 huge cranes with rods that shot out water. It was quite a feat and I was happy to be a part of it even if I was just a car driving across the street from Will. On the way home I was exhausted and I noticed a car next to mine being a little larger than life and then I also noticed a zonked out Will Ferrel catching a cat nap on the way back to his hotel being escorted by 3 police officers. It showed that he was in fact human and not made out of pure laughter.

The other extras were pretty hilarious as you had stereotypical goth kids, the overlyflamboyant gay guy, and your run of the mill jocks. We ate lunch at Farugut highschool(home of Kevin Garnett, only know because I saw his picture on the wall in godlike proportions) in its cafeteria and was a throwback to highschool when different people group off due to a chemical association in their minds. I found myself with a goth girl and the bouncer from the beachwood(the one that has all the tattoos, one in particular being a ship going up his neck). It was comforting although the food was like that of a cafeteria- in bulk and flavorless. Although making 2 hundo for the day I almost lost my mind due to lack of activity. I'll do it again but will have to space it out a bit.