Disappointment

After working as an extra on two episodes of the TV show Detroit 197 last summer I was looking forward to my network TV debut. But I was disappointed.

Even though we extras spent a 12-hour work day playing the parts of guests at a wedding in the episode that aired last night, very, very few of us actually ended up on TV for a very, very short time.

We worked that day in a ballroom completely decked out for a wedding with a huge cake, wrapped gifts, tables with centerpieces, etc... They had employed a band, brought in a troup of polka dancers, and all of us guests were dressed in our best. I was really looking forward to seeing it all on TV, but there was only the briefest shot of the ballroom with hardly any of the guests or the tables in view.

And this seems crazy to me when I think of all the time and effort that went into that faux wedding. There was a woman on the crew who's job it was that day to make the plates look like they'd been eaten on. She came around to the tables distributing plates with what looked like the remains of a dinner - little dabs of potato, some gravy, half a broccoli spear, etc... Another guy came around and half-filled our wine and drink glasses just so.

We'd all spent time standing in line that day waiting our turn with the wardrobe department to make sure we looked our best. I was instructed to wear more jewelry and so picked out some dangly earrings and a bracelet. This required filling out a special form to make sure the jewelery was returned, and standing in line again at the end of the shoot to do so.

So much attention to detail - for nothing! Now I feel silly for telling all my friends and family to watch the show. I was paid for my time as an extra that day, but the money is hardly the point. The point is the fun of seeing yourself on TV and in the movies! What a disappointment. There wasn't even a glimpse of me.

Detroit 187

I spent the day on a boat yesterday, pretending to be a guest at a Polish wedding. It was a long, hot, grueling day, working as an extra for a new television show that will be on ABC this fall.

"Detroit 187" is a drama about homicide cops in Detroit who are having a documentary film made of their work - or something like that. I think. The show appears to be filmed, at least partially, in a documentary style. And it also seems to be partially humorous.

It doesn't sound like something I'd watch, but of-course I'm intrigued because it's set in Detroit. It's always fun to see familiar Detroit places in films and television shows, but it's too bad about how the city will be depicted.

I'm sure Detroit's image as a dangerous, dirty, dying place will be exploited as much as possible. And even though there is truth to that, it's not the whole story of Detroit. I'm afraid this show will just perpetuate an already bad image. And that's a shame. But I sure didn't hesitate to be part of it!

It's a scream!

I'm not a fan of horror movies, but I'll be anxiously awaiting the release of Scream 4. It's currently shooting here in the Detroit area and I got to work as an extra in it yesterday. It was a long, exhausting day, on the set from 7AM to 7PM, wearing fall clothes in 90 degree heat, but I got to be in a scene with Courtney Cox!

My movie debut!

Well, it sure was fun to watch a movie with me in it! I had an extremely small part as an extra in the HBO movie, You Don't Know Jack, and finally got to see it yesterday. There I was in a movie, on TV! And it was a movie I'm really proud to be part of. How cool is that?

Even if I wasn't in it I would have enjoyed watching this movie. It's a high-quality production with great actors and a compelling topic. It was also especially interesting to me because it took place in Detroit and many of the settings were familiar.

Here's a great little HBO promo that features the actors talking about their roles and some of the actual characters, including Jack Kevorkian.


Behind The Scenes