appear in the credits of a movie

I’ve been lucky enough to be in the credits of a bunch of films, and there are few things as satisfying as that.

It’s a personal thing, something which makes you feel important in a silly little way. It’s all about Pride which some people will tell you is a deadly sin, but nuts to that. Being proud feels great!

And the secret to enjoying being in the credits of a movie EVEN MORE?

It’s to have worked damned hard, and to see the results up there in the movie. It may just be slight, but if you made the difference to how the film turned out, then you’re a part of cinema – of cinematic history – and no-one can ever take that away from you.

This film gave me my days to get in to the union, I.A.T.S.E. local 484, gave me a crew jacket that says “Lee’s Bros Meats” and apparently (yeah, too busy making ‘em to see ‘em) stuck my name in the credits… “Rigging Grip” ;)

I don’t know if this counts, but my name is on the DVD Credits page of the LOTR DVDs that just came out on 8/29.

It means a lot to me because when Fellowship came out, I watched it at the Mann Theatres in Culver City CA, right in the middle of early motion picture history. I stayed to watch the credits and the movie manager walked up to me and said “Why are you watching this, your name isn’t up there.” I should have hit him. I wanted to hit him, I still want to hit him. It’s not because he said it to me, it’s because he had the audacity to think he knew what someone who worked on movies looked like – I could have been a director, or a gaffer, or sound, or lighting tech, I could have been Speilberg’s @$&@& !ing niece, and he still said that.

The magic of Hollywood is that anyone can be anything, not just on-screen.

While I hope that some of that magic turns that a$$hole into a toad, some of that magic got my name on a DVD that hopefully a few million people will buy and go who is R—... on the credits page?

I did nothing but be on Mooby’s friends list, but I’m still in there!

even if you’re the only one who sees the film.

To see your name scroll past in the final credits at the end of a film? Hell, so few people actualyl stay to watch the credits you can probably lie and say you all ready have and get away with it rather easily.

I got to sing the theme song and help write a short film made as part of the 48-hour Film Project. There’s a strange and fulfilling moment when you see your name on the big screen that is quite rewarding. Go for it!