If you did not read parts one and two, go back, or I should say down, to the previous posts and read them first.
So we all gathered around to find out what our work for the rest of the day would be. First off, the keepers began, you have 10 minutes to do anything you need, such as use a restroom, smoke a cigarette or make a phone call. You will not have another opportunity to do any of these things again until we are done shooting, and there is no way to tell when that will be. It could be as much as nine hours, when dark falls, so do what you need to do now, meet us back here in 10.
Holy mackerels, no chance to hit the loo for nine hours? Outta the way, I’m coming through! How do they expect us to…oh, wait, it’s a movie set, we are officially professionals now and if the cast and crew can do it, so can the extras. I was trying to toughen up for the experience but my eye wandered to the back part of the lot where the huge motor homes were. Apparently if one of the stars or the director needed a potty break, it would be managed in luxuriant fashion and I bet nobody tells Tommy Lee he can’t take a leak if he needs to.
Ten minutes later the keepers explained that we were to become the town’s folk on an afternoon when the carnival was expected to come through town. The shops are full; it’s a happy, exciting, holiday atmosphere day for the people of this sleepy little town. This I guessed was the background information we all needed to get “into character”. They were setting the mood for us, there would be no extras walking around with frowns, or looking sad, we were to be jovial.
The mood was set, now the parts were cast. The keepers split us up, you three are friends in the scene, always stay together talking and laughing. You four are a family in town to see the show; you will be patiently waiting the carnival and wondering at all the improvements in the town since your last visit. You sir, are going to be walking with the dog and his trainer, just visiting, stay with the dog all day. Now all of you are my “street people”, so follow me. And away went the three friends, the family of four and the dog trainer’s friend. Presumably the dog and his trainer were in another holding tank for the talented animal stars in the film. The trainer’s friend would hook up with them on the street.
The second keeper split off another group of us and proclaimed us the “window people”. I was paired with a dapper looking gentleman; we were both the height of urban fashion for the day. We were “husband and wife going for a stroll”. We were to walk arm in arm, chatting and laughing. Other members of our group included a pair of “sisters on the way to the market”, a “cowboy and his horse”, (which galloped up behind us take after take after take) and a “young mother and her son walking to the square”.
We were escorted to the set and handed over to our director, a young lady with headphones. She explained that an important scene was being filmed right inside that building there and we would be walking by the window in the scene. We would be visible on film behind the main characters when all was said and done. She then gave us our “marks”. This means she showed us where to start from and where to go to when they called “action!” We were to return to our start point as soon as she called “cut!”, and be ready to go again. This is exactly what we did for the next five hours. We walked up and down that street so many times I lost count. Between takes we had time to visit, tell stories, and generally get to know each other. “My husband” was a very nice writer from Santa Fe who had worked on other movies.
Now, I must say the director did try to mix it up a bit, she had us do a few takes where we walked up the street and then crossed it, we walked up the street, stopped and chatted with another extra, we walked up the street and up onto the sidewalk, we walked up the street and jumped back when a horse and wagon sped by. So we did have some variety you see. Meanwhile the special effects guys and the lighting guys were scurrying back and forth between each take, changing light screens, angles, bulbs and adding water ( big trucks watering the street) to keep the dust down.
Now, this of course was funny because in New Mexico in the spring you are going to have some dust, and sure enough about mid afternoon one of our famous dust storms rolled across the plain. The US southwest has dust storms that will sand the paint right off your car. Those are rare, but even the everyday dust storms are nothing you want to be outside for. So the dust clouds started rising and all us sensible New Mexican extras were wondering when they were going to call it quits and let us go inside for a while, but those crazy California film makers were just enthralled with our dust storm and even said “ It’s so authentic! What a look! We love it!”.
Yeesh! These guys are nuts is what I was thinking as I pulled my cute Victorian bonnet tight around my head and covered my face with my shawl. Honestly, the storm was so bad I had to remove my contact lenses; there was too much dust in the air to wear them. I had dust up my nose and for days after I was digging dust out of my ears and I was wearing a bonnet! The storm lasted about two hours and they did take the animals inside for breaks from it but we extras stayed in our scenes the whole time.
Soon after the dust storm we did have a little excitement on the set. The “extras directors” came around and told us Tommy Lee was expected and not to talk to him or look at him or swoon over him or pay him no mind a’tall. He was going to be crossing the street and we were not, I repeat, not to stare at him. He was “just another town’s person going about his business”. Ok, I can do this, I mean it’s not like it’s Hugh Grant or Russell Crow or John Chusak, it’s just Tommy Lee, who is just about the cutest Texan I ever saw except for Matthew McConaughey of course. I’m a acting professional now for heavens sake!
So walk he did, across the street and into the sheriff’s office, right in front of me. He was every bit as tall and handsome as he looks on film. He was in character of course, so some of that confidence he exuded may have been an act. I noted him, as you would someone who crosses the street in front of you. I’m an acting professional by now of course, so I had to note him. I did not stare, drool, or swoon. My “husband” hardly even noted him and I’m guessing noting Tommy Lee is a “girl thing”. I also noted that Tommy Lee is such a talented professional they only had to film him walking across the street one time. They did not have to do 367 takes for him to get it right.
The rest of the afternoon wore on, us walking up and down the street. The extra directors yelling “action!” and “cut!”. The lighting and special effects guys scurrying about. The extras walking up and down the streets. The whole set had settled into its pace and though we could not see it, we could feel that we were contributing to the real action which was painstakingly being committed to celluloid for eternity inside the sheriff’s office.
Anyway, we had taken 3726 strolls up and down the sidewalk and finally were given a break to sit a minute. We were instructed to stay on the board walks, don’t wander off, don’t take off your costume and yes, there is a porta potty behind the general store and big cooler of drinks behind that large wagon. Be ready to resume working in 10 minutes. My gosh I think we were all so glad to step out of character for a moment and drink, pee, smoke, do yoga postures and just relax. It takes an amazing amount of concentration to follow a director for seven hours and we were all feeling the strain.
During our break some “extra wranglers” (I made that up, I just figure if the people who keep track of the animals can be called wranglers, than so can the people who keep track of the extras) came round and took Polaroid photos of us extras, and got our names and phone numbers so they could identify and contact us “in case we have to do a scene again and you are part of the background”. By that time my feet hurt from those almost-but-not –quite-my-size Victorian boots, my ribs and lungs hurt from the corset, my eyes hurt from the dust storm, and I was praying they didn’t mess up a scene I was in and have to bring me back for another grueling 16 hours the next day.
I guess you could say I was becoming a bit disillusioned with the whole Hollywood thing. Yes, it was interesting, but it was a lot of repetition and a lot of hurry up and wait. It was a long day becoming longer as each hour past my dinner time went by. I knew they had a whole barn full of snacks right across the lot, but they might as well have been on mars, I couldn’t get to them!
During our break a whole new set of characters arrived on the set. A complete traveling circus/sideshow with Snake oil wagon, a dancing bear, jugglers, gypsies and a guy on stilts dressed up like Uncle Sam. The dancing bear wasn’t real, after all, this is just a movie set, and it was an actor in a costume. Darn, I would have liked to be on the set with a real bear.
The sun was getting lower when the directors came and gathered us around to prep for the last scene.The fair citizens of this small frontier town were about to be treated to a sight that was rare. They were to be entertained by a traveling circus. The circus would announce its arrival by a parade through town, and then it would start to set up at the field. We, the jovial, excited and happy towns folk were to gather on the streets to watch the parade go by, waving to the dancing bear and laughing and making exclamations of joy and wonder. OK, the scene is set, we have our motivation, and we have our marks. My “husband” and I stand with the sun to our backs right at the crossing of the two streets. We are joined by a crowd of other towns’ folk and the parade begins.
Now the set is in a frenzy. We’ve done 15 takes already, the sun is setting; we are loosing the light and each time we do a take the whole parade has to hustle back around the backside of the set, re-group and start down the road to town again. At dusk the word goes round that this is about it folks, one more time and we are going to have to “wrap”. On your mark everyone. And then, it was then, just then that the door to the sheriff’s office, the building right behind me, opened. I turned at the sound and out strode Ron.
Yes, Ron Howard. In jeans, a jacket and a baseball cap he looked just like an older version of Opie Taylor. He walked right up next to me and started talking with the mobile camera guy. I was looking at Ron, but trying not to stare because by now I was a professional and seeing stars up close was old hat and and and… It was surreal…I felt like I was in a movie…Oh, wait, I was in a movie and not just any movie, but one directed by Ron Howard! It seemed, well,… odd to be standing next to someone I had been watching on TV my whole life. From Opie Taylor to Richie Cunningham to director in the news, Ron had been a part of my life for years. He was so familiar I thought I knew him.
My feet quit hurting, my lungs and ribs quit hurting and my eyes, well I guess they started to tear up a bit and the sand was washed away and they quit hurting too. There I was, working with and standing next to Academy Award winning child star/actor/director Ron Howard.
Then the unbelievable happened, Ron took a speaker and stood on the steps to the general store and thanked all us extras for doing such a great job. He told us how important we were to his film and how much he appreciated our patience, as film making took a lot of time. He asked us to be patient for a few more minutes, and then we were doing our last take. Then he started directing us, the lowly extras.
Ron asked us all to gather in a little closer for this scene, “be neighbors” he said, “it’s your town”. He asked for just a little more waving and smiling as the snake oil wagon went round the corner. He asked a few children to run after the wagon and a few parents to run after the children. He asked us to turn to one another after the wagon went by, as if to say “did you see that?” He thanked us again, and climbed down from the steps. He spent a few more moments with the mobile camera guy, explaining the angle he wanted to get on Uncle Sam, and then he disappeared into the sheriff’s office.
The final take went smooth, some one yelled “cut and wrap”, the sun set and all us actors ( notice we aren’t extras any more, we’ve taken directon from Ron Howard, we are actors now) headed back to the big barn to collect long ago abandonded cell phones, books, backpacks and toys. We climb on the bus that takes us off the lot, back to the entrance, costume and make-up area, back to the big tent of food, which, at this point is depressingly empty of caterers and food.
We are instructed by our keepers to head right for costume, change to our street clothes then report to hair so they can brush our hair out. We have plenty of keepers at this point, to help us remove our costumes and make sure no one steals anything. We are told we are not to remove a thing from the area, not even a hair pin. (I have to admit I removed a few of those hair pins, I had to because you are not going to believe the huge industrial size bobby pins these Hollywood types own, they even worked in my hair).
I am feeling a little tired and a little meloncoly as well, and I think I’m not alone. I see it in others eyes as they take off those high collar Victorian dresses and slip back into jeans. I hear it in the voices of people who were family for the day and now say a fond farewell.I feel it in the cool New Mexico night as I wave goodbye to my “husband” and the “dog walker” and head for the parking lot. It’s a long drive home after dark and I have plenty of time to think about the day.
I make a note to self to call Joyce and thank her for giving me the opportunity to be in Ron’s movie. I wonder when it will come out (about a year later) and I wonder if I will end up on the cutting room floor. I wonder if someone kept messing up in the sheriff’s office because we shot that scene so many times. I wonder if it was Tommy Lee, and I immediately dismiss the idea. It must have been someone else. I wonder what it would be like to live out on the plain where the set is, with such a big beautiful open sky and no light pollution. I wonder when I will have a chance to make another movie.
A few weeks later I get a check in the mail from the movie company. I almost don’t cash it. I want to put it in my scrap book. I compromise, I make a copy before I cash it.
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