Movie Extra

Discussion in 'Senior Employment' started by Corie Henson, Aug 17, 2016.

  1. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    We have a friend named Lita who is fond of working as a movie extra. She is an accountant and she can get work as a consultant or auditor but she prefers to be in the movies. Lita has no family, never married, and she lives with her mother. By the way, Lita is more than 60 years old when we met her.

    According to Lita, in the shooting of a movie, food is provided so you don't get hungry. One of the perks is meeting movie stars and selfie with stars is getting to be a tradition in the movie set. And the bonus is when the movie extra is included in a scene to be shot, she gets paid. But what about if she was not cast in the movie? It's all right with Lita as long as she had free meals for the day and she has some selfies with the movie stars.
     
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  2. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
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    If you are a reliable extra, they will use you again and again, I think Lita is in for the long haul :)
     
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  3. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    My wife was an "Extra" and lived in Los Angeles, CA when she was. She was doing this while she was getting her Bachelor's Degree at a State University. Her and a girlfriend got into it thru an ad. At the time, she was 47 yrs. old. She had her own Agent, who, when she first met him, supplied a Portfolio of photos of herself..........some darn good looking photos, I have to admit. She was in some Commercials and in movie scene's/sets.
    Movies she was in:
    Air Force One.......Banquet Hall when Harrison Ford was giving a speech and when Harrison Ford left the banquet. We are able to pause the movie and see her and her girlfriend in both scene's.
    Primary Colors........John Travolta movie. Don't remember where she told me she was in this one, but she did see John.
    Volcano.......Tommy Lee Jones movie. She was among the people who were standing around and running around when ash was coming down. She seen the little boy that Tommy Lee Jones movie daughter was asked to take care of.
    Never Been Kissed.........Drew Barrymore
    Starship Troopers.......couldn't pinpoint where she was in this one, but she was in it.
    She also had a one-on-one interview with Christine Applegate (Married With Children fame).
    She was invited to be on the set of Titanic (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet), but turned it down. Her Agent told her to be ready to "get wet" and that she refused to do. So, after that, her career in being an "Extra" ended. Didn't bother her though, because, right after getting her Degree, she got a nice job, which, compared to the $40 a movie, for being an "Extra" was getting old.

    She did tell me about all the catered food they had laid out for the "Extra's". "We never went hungry", she told me. Oh, another thing she didn't like was getting up at 3 AM to be on a Set and, sometimes, would have to be on the Set, setting around, for hours before the Director called for the "Extra's" to be in a scene.
     
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  4. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    That's a nice read, @Cody Fousnaugh. Yeah, one requirement for a movie extra is to be on the set very early. They are treated like props who should always be available when needed. Sometimes Lita would be on the set by 5am and the shooting would start at 8am. But in fairness to the production company, there would be breakfast. Lita was once cast in a Nescafe commercial which was shot in the northernmost province. And she was paid handsomely for that because she was one of the main characters.

    You are right, @Patsy Faye, Lita is in for a long term career although she is already old but she's still aiming for a good supporting role that we also hope would come to her lap one day.
     
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  5. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    It sounds as if she's found a way around the lack of employment for seniors over there @Corie Henson. A former co-worker was an extra on Blown Away, which was a pretty big movie filmed in Boston back in the 1990s. She really seemed to enjoy it. They were filming another movie up there recently, and I told my mom to give the information to my nieces, because I knew they would probably be selected, since they're young, pretty and in great shape physically. I'm not sure if she ever shared the information with them, but they could certainly use some career direction, and I had hoped that would work out for them. If anyone is interested, I have seen these gigs posted on Craigslist in the past. There are also casting companies you can sign up with to be notified when there's a part open.
     
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