Una ragazza ha fatto la comparsa sul set del film e ha raccontato l'esperienza sul proprio blog.
http://jessilosophy.blogspot.com/2008/06/o...-movie-set.htmlOne Long LONG day on the movie set...Ended up scheduled as an extra again on the film “Ugly Truth”. Talk about a long, crazy day yesterday. More like an endurance contest. Call time was at 5 a.m. at a state park in Temecula, a drive that was tedious and at moments daunting; the last 10 miles of sometimes unpaved road covered in a deep fog. I was already unfamiliar with the roads, so combine that with no sleep from the previous night (a whole other story) and the ticking clock; it’s amazing I made it on time, car and self unscathed.
I arrive on-set with all the other adventurous souls aka extras and we wait the long line to sign in. We were told to head to wardrobe to get approval for our outfits and as I was walking by myself past all the trailers
I see Gerard Butler walking towards me, he apparently was lost/tired a bit that morning, too. A crew lady was like, “Gerry, come over here, you’re going the wrong way!” Those early mornings leave us all a bit disoriented!Made it to wardrobe, was wearing a cute bright blue shirt and jeans. They approved me and and I went back to holding (the extra's tent/hangout) and managed to get a few bites of our catered breakfast before we were called to set.
Being that I can't tell many details of the actual film plot I'll just say we were at a festival and I was a festival go-er. The sky was beginning to light up at this point, but it was bitterly cold and the mosquitoes were attacking us.
During rehearsals I ended up being placed right next to where Katherine Heigl, some male co-star (I think it was Eric Winter) and Gerard were to be filmed. As you can see from the pics above & below they were in a basket, you can probably guess what that's connected to... a hot air balloon. But no, they didn't go in the air. The handlers were too careful for that. At one point they detached the balloon part to get the light reflectors and cameras closer. But when camera was on we all looked up and pretended to marvel at the now invisible big balloon. Oh the make-believe of Hollywood, haha.Before filming a wardrobe lady came around checking people's outfits. Most of us had jackets on top of our approved outfits because of the chill. I had on a brown hoodie jacket and she asked me if I would take it off, otherwise I'd have to wear it all day, even when it got hot, for continuity sake. I took it off, but awhile later a P.A. came over to me and said, "You can't stand next to the basket now, Katherine's wearing the same color". Turns out she was wearing pretty much the exact shade of blue as me and they didn't want people's attention going to the background. I could have just put my jacket back on, mind you, but they would still see the blue so I was placed farther away the background. No film debut for moi, haha. Not only that, but because of taking off the jacket, dear mother nature gave me a sore throat, a cough and sinus issues. Bad call all around me thinks.
All in all it was an interesting day, but as I said before, it became an endurance contest. Freezing for hours standing around (Gerard was in layered shirts and a black parka down to his calves that morning, that’s just how cold it was). When the sun finally came out the crew didn’t want us standing in it during filming because we made shadows.
It did end up getting warmer late morning/afternoon so having my jacket on would have been a nightmare. Between takes we stood/sat/lounged around on the grass under the hot sun, which was lovely at first but then you can get what's called heatstroke and a sunburn, which I got most regrettably. Some fellow extras and I joked, "What do you get when you combine heatstroke and a sunburn? An extra on the The Ugly Truth." Well it was funny to us anyway, in our delirium.
That's extra work for you though. I liken it to being like cattle. Sometimes you're herded around like cows or sheep. Other times left to stand in the pasture/on set and just wait. Wait for crew to set up the scenes (which usually takes longer than the actual 1-2 mins of acting). They're constantly fixing the lighting, the actor's makeup, hair & wardrobe. And when they film, the background people must of course pantomime. So pretend to be talking but not talking aloud.
Extras become expert lip readers in my opinion. Such moments lead to idle mindedness. We extras play games of trying to make each other laugh whilst saying something in lip-read mode. But is most dangerous practice. Reminds me of Sunday afternoons as a kid when my dad used to take naps and tell us all to use our "quiet voices" and tip-toe in the house. If we were loud, and woke him up, we got spanked. Don't think I'd want to get spanked by some random crew guy with scruffy beard and dirty tennis shoes, haha. But maybe some sexy male star would be okay, haha. Just maybe.
Another interesting note about the set. The paparazzi were nearby much of the afternoon, hence the photos. Ironically enough, the security could have made them leave but they didn't. We thought that was odd. I guess any publicity is good publicity.
Though extra work is not something I see myself doing full time, the experiences are memorable. I once made Ben Stiller laugh (Tropic Thunder set). Zach Braff flirted. Nick Nolte once asked me if I knew where the hamburgers were (and no, I didn't because we were in a line for coffee, I think he was high or something). Most amusing tales for dinner party conversation. I see famous people differently now living in L.A. They're just regular people with cool jobs and most unregular paychecks, and with some charisma/talent thrown in the pot.
At the end of the shoot I was a basketcase of exhaustion (pun intended). It was a fun day, too, extras/crew all around very nice company. I was just SOOO tired. We worked over 12 hours, and I realized when I got to my car that I should not drive all the way home in that state. I already have sensitive health, it was rush-hour time, and I had a 1 & 1/2 hours drive home minimum even without traffic. This was a feat I did not want to attempt. I decided to drive the 10 miles back to civilization and find a parking lot to sleep for a bit to regain my energy.
And that was my experience on the Ugly Truth film set PART Deux. Most unexpected adventure. I'm now at home recovering with gatorade, chicken soup and tissues at disposal. Guess the movie biz isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Regardless, hope you all go out and see the film. I know I will.- Jess DiMond, the Blog Authoress
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