The Expendables
A day in the life of a movie extra
Almost everybody likes to watch movies. It’s one of our most popular entertainment options. Predictably, those who star in our favorite movies are pop culture icons with millions of fans and followers. It’s just all too glamorous for words. But the truth is that the moviemaking process is not glamorous at all. And when you get down to movie extra work, it’s downright tedious. Let me take you through a recent day of employment I enjoyed (or suffered through) on the set of a movie.
Once accepted as background talent for this project (you have to pay $26/month dues to a website called Casting Networks to apply for these jobs), I was instructed on where I would need to go to get Covid-tested — and to pick a time slot on each of the two days before the shoot. This is all part of the Covid protocol recent times have dictated.
In my case, the testing site was located a reasonably short subway ride — followed by a reasonably long walk — away. That or a 4 or 5-mile bike ride over a bridge, which necessitates an energy-consuming uphill climb. As a sometimes DoorDasher on a bike, I chose the latter.
On the plus side, we do get paid to be tested. The amount can range from as low as $30 up to as high as $100. With this project, the bottom line was that door to door, I spent an hour to earn $50 each day.
Having passed both tests, I was instructed to report to an address only a mile and a half from my apartment at 7 AM the next day. Our pay (for non-union people like me) would be $165 for 10 hours. Thereafter, we would receive time and a half if we went past the ten-hour mark.
In my role as an upscale restaurant patron, I was told to wear appropriate attire. That appropriate attire was itemized. Some I had. Some I didn’t. But a suit would cut the mustard. And that I had. So I wore a suit to the job.
As luck would have it, the day of the shoot was a soggy and rainy one. I rode over on my bike (as it was only drizzling when I looked out the window). And of course, the rain got heavier once I was on the road. But all in all, not too terrible. I was wearing a trench coat and didn’t get too wet.
The first stop was a dive bar in the heart of Greenwich Village (McDougall Street in fact), New York where all the extras (about 50 of us) lined up for our final Covid test. Given that everybody was summoned at the same time, the line was fairly long. And it was an hour before I was tested and then dispatched to “holding,” the area where we would wait until all the tech people were ready to shoot the scene. Our holding area was located in the basement of a nearby church, where a hard folding chair and little plastic desk had been set up for each of us.
Once our test results came back negative, we were told to proceed to wardrobe and then makeup in preparation for the day’s filming. The makeup people generally don’t mess with me because I have a shaved head. It’s women with a lot of hair who they concentrate on.
But wardrobe took one look at me and decided to strip me of my outerwear. Dashing has caused me to slim down significantly. And the suit I bought 20 years ago is too big now. So why did I wear a suit in the first place you might ask? Oh well. Fortunately, my suit is really comfortable. So not a biggie.
I was outfitted in some pants, a shirt, and a sweater which was not my personal style at all. Again — whatever. I’m here to make money — not become a movie star. I have no delusions therein.
I managed to grab a chair with a little padding and settled in for the long haul when we were told the breakfast truck was ready for us. Food is a nice perk I appreciate on movie sets. Unfortunately, the truck was several hundred yards from the church. And it was raining pretty hard.
So yeah, I got a nice bacon and cheese omelet in a wrap. But I got pretty damn wet walking back and forth. And the coffee was lukewarm. Still, the process took up close to half an hour. Ya know — something to do for a hot minute.
Back at the church, we settled in for a spell and were then summoned back to the dive bar where we’d Covid-tested. It was a cold, damp and crowded environment nobody appreciated. One of the tech people swung by to say we’d be holding there for a few minutes. But experience has taught me how this really works.
Within minutes, the techies handpicked a few people to move on to the set for filming. But the majority of us sat on uncomfortable bar stools in a crowded space for a couple of hours before we were told to go back to holding. Asking why we were moved in the first place wasn’t worth my effort. I knew the drill.
But not a total loss. There was another food truck right outside the bar. So I scored some coffee, vegetable soup, pork loin with beans, and a couple of yogurts. I wasn’t hungry, but hey! Nothing to do? Might as well eat, right? By the time we got back to holding, it was about 1 PM. Six hours on the clock and most of us hadn’t done anything to earn our money. Such is extra work.
After another hour, it was lunchtime! In came the caterers to serve the main meal. Salad, red snapper, grilled chicken breast, string beans, corn, potatoes, rice pilaf, pork loin, Swedish meatballs, and rice pudding with blueberries for dessert were just some of the offerings. Bottom line: Really good food for a guy who’d already overeaten. No problem. I ate like I’d been starving for days.
Over the next few hours, people were plucked from the crowd of extras to move on to the set. At one point, the dude in charge asked me if I wanted to go. I told him if I had a choice, I’d rather stay in holding. I preferred parking my butt in what I knew was a warm and more comfortable space rather than reporting back to the cold, cramped bar where God knows how long I’d once again be placed in suspended animation. Maybe some extras crave being on camera. But I’m not that guy.
Alternatively, I dug into my book. With 100 pages to go, I figured that would be enough reading for the day. But I was wrong. We sat…and sat…and sat. By 5 PM, I’d finished my book! No problem. Our 10 hours were up. We’d be going home soon, right? Wrong. I took to calling every friend I ever had in a sorry attempt to fill the void. I was bored to death!
Finally, at 9 PM, we were wrapped. Yup! Fourteen hours on the job and I never made it to the set. Of the 50 or so extras who were paid for the day, there were 7 others like me who became a member of the expendables. We were paid for absolutely nothing.
The guy in charge apologized when I left. “For what, dude? I’m not an actor or movie star wannabe. You did me a favor by not making me go to the set. I’m still gettin’ paid. That’s what matters.”
By 9:15, I was back home, out of my suit, and in front of the tv with my feet up and sipping on a can of beer. My phone pinged with a message to approve the digital voucher. It said 10 hours regular pay, 4 hours overtime. Click approve to get your $255.
Bada bing bada boom. There it was. $355 in total (with the Covid-testing) flushed down the toilet. But hey! I was the toilet. Mine is not to reason why — just to follow orders, show up on time, and get paid.
And that right there is your Hollywood glamor — background talent style.
