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Showing posts from September, 2009

Another "happy" day on Sex & the City2 as a piece of human background

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Just did another day on Sex & the City2 (the movie sequel)...once again, I was merely a "person on Fifth Avenue" sitting on a bench behind Samantha (Kim Cattrall), looking at my book as Carrie & Charlotte (SJP and Kristin Davis) strolled by, and finally, strolling in front of Cynthia Nixon in front of Bergdorf Goodman. It's so funny...the good things about being an "extra" in a film like SATC: 1. being part of a pop culture "event" like this that people will talk about for years. 2. being paid to be close to these fabulous "star" ladies and observing them and their "star attitudes" and conversations up close. At least now I have a LOT of great first-hand stories for my personal tours of New York City from every experience like this. 3.being on a major film set amid all the noise and craziness and watching how the big money is thrown around (dozens of trucks and trailers, huge lights suspended over Fifth Ave., lots of hired N...

Working in the Background on Sex and the City2: warts and all

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Today I was part of the sexy, glamorous, fabulous life of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda for a dozen hours...I was an extra (background actor) on the new SEX AND THE CITY2 movie, the sequel to last year's smash summer film. Today the scene was one of the opening shots of the movie...all four girls meeting up in front of Bergdorf Goodman Department store on Fifth Avenue, dressed in fabulous summer frocks (even though it was a chilly, barely 71 degree day in Sept. instead of a 90 degree day in July. Everybody was there for the shots we did....Cynthia Nixon (Miranda, the redhead), Kristin Davis (Charlotte, the prim brunette), Kim Cattrall (Samantha, the nympho), and Carrie (SJParker herself). Patricia Field was there (the wardobe genius), as was series creator/writer Michael Patrick King, and all the usual suspects. The scene on Fifth Ave was sheer madness...hundreds of people gathered: tourists, office workers, and paparazzi by the score. And EVERYone was snapping pictures, ...

Just worked on "30 Rock" Friday 9/4/09

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So much fun! I got called by casting director Barbara McNamara to work on 30 Rock this past Friday..Sept. 4. A really nice, professional crew that knows exactly what they want and is very efficient about lighting, camera work, and getting what they need so nobody has to waste time bumbling around. My "call time"...the time I had to be there was 4:30pm!! OMG...my last few call times for The Bounty and Law & Order were 6am and 7am!! 4:30pm was a dream...plus I got there just as they were serving dinner....a wonderful spread...absolutely yummy ribs and sushi, and all kinds of various meats and veggies, all served on the 4th floor with huge windows facing the Manhattan skyline and the 59th St. bridge. Oh yeah, 30 Rock films in Queens at Silvercup Studios (NOT in Rockefeller Center at the real 30 Rock, the NBC Studios bldg). After a quick nosh, I played a game of chess with another actor (Gary Silberman) and then we reported to wardrobe, did a couple of quick camera rehearsals...

More "background" work---The Bounty

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I worked last week on The Bounty...a new romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard (Gerry) Butler scheduled for release next summer. Another background job...but it was 3 days work, all filmed at The Belmont Stakes in Queens. Actually in two scenes I'm quite visible. In the first scene I'm a security guard by the racetrack entrance, and Aniston flees past me (wobbling on high heels), into the parking lot where Gerry Butler (playing her bounty-seeking ex-husband) grabs her and tosses her into the trunk of his classic car. Sound fun? It was fun, looking back on it...but that one scene took one entire day of shooting to get right. First, there's setting up the lights and cameras which takes forever. Then doing a bunch of rehearsals using Jennifer Aniston's stand-in, Kelly (who looks just like Jen). Then we did a few takes with Jennifer. In between takes, her hair & makeup and wardrobe has to be adjusted because of the extreme heat & humidity. I was so cl...

Human Furniture anybody???

Well, they say whenever God closes a door, someplace he opens up a window. And since the door seems to have closed for awhile on my group tour business, magically my showbiz career has reopened in recent weeks as an "extra" or "background player." Recently, I worked a 16 hour day on Law & Order SVU in the extreme New York August heat & humidity but I was just a background player (extra)...also known as "human furniture"--still it was fun. Other SAG extras were chatting on break about how we got our SAG cards and they were all amazed that I had starring roles (called "principals") on major national TV commercials, but until now, I had NEVER done "extra" or "background" work. A few weeks back I registered with Central Casting, Grant Wilfrey Casting, and several other outfits and they began calling me almost immediately because a. I'm union, b. I'm tall with a normal appearance, c. I'm punctual and don't ...