be in a film

I just found out that I’ve been accepted into the New York Film Academy!! I’m SO excited. I feel like I’m one step closer to marking this off my list. One of my classes will require me to attend an open casting. I’m not sure what I will be auditioning for as of yet – but with the list of guest speakers including Ben Stiller, Kevin Kline, Jon Voight and lots others – I’ll just say that I’m really excited to learn how to be the best actress I can be.

Someone pinch me??

i’ve been on the books of an extras agency for a year now. done a few things with them and been on tv a couple of times (buying a bag off jason donavon in echo beach was my finest hour!) haven’t seen myself in any films yet but did some work for national treasure which is out soon and also the new batman film. working as an extra is pretty cool though, its usually pretty good pay for not much work except hanging around on sets sometimes with big stars. most famous i’ve ‘worked’ with so far is sienna miller

Cheating here, I know, but after the event, I’ve realised that it was a very interesting experience that I’d recommend people to try to do – it involved a lot of waiting around, but there was lots of things to keep my attention occupied :

- first there were all the passers-by stopping and taking photos (the scenes were filmed in the centre of Barcelona, so the police had to cut traffic and control the crowds)
- then there was the actual process of filming going on around us: the actors, lighting, direction, etc. A fascinating amount of coordinated activity going on with people managing people, objects, etc. I was very impressed with just how well this was done, but then, it was a Woody Allen film, so it’s to be expected.
- I ended up being in the middle of the action, with the actors just behind me (as I bought flowers on the Rambla) for the first scene, so I was able to see and hear a lot more than other extras further out – it also meant that the great man himself was often close, and this in itself was quite an experience.
- Scarlet Johannson – the second scene I was an extra in was shot with Scarlett, although as I had been quite visible in the forst scene, they put me further away in the next one. It was still quite something to see this star in the flesh, and I can say that she is even more stunning than she appears on film.

So, that was my experience, briefly of being an extra – I count myself lucky as I signed up for it (through a webpage of a casting agency) without thinking much about it, and I know that there were over 40,000 people who applied to be extras on this film. So, I’m not sure I can give avice to anyone about how to go about getting in a film as an extra, but I do think it’s something worth trying to do at least once in life.