Byzantine

I have a Hollywood Death Cab tour shift tomorrow at 9:45AM. Hours away. I'm just back from extra work on this new movie with Fondue George called Byzantine. He looked great in person, and walked around muttering to himself and then would say "Twelve O'Clock" at the end of every scene (letting folks know that's the latest he would stay). As an extra, your job is to hurry up and wait, so eavesdropping is a worthwhile entertainment. I saw these newly minted lesbians next to me, rubbing each other, lezzing go on the set, and I could sense that one was a lesbian for life, and the other a curious straight girl. The straight girl would go back to her straight life and leave the lesbian devestated. Body language indicated this, and sure enuff, they started talking and it was about how the lesbian-for-life girl was getting too serious. They still continued to rub and bump against each other, however, which was not unnoticed by all the guys in the vicinity. This bothered a hot girl standing nearby, who previously had all the guys looking at her by taking every opportunity to push her boobs out and her ass back.

Hot girl was in a clubby bustier, cuz we were in a club scene. If you ever had a cutie-pie relative who thought of making it in movies, I should take her to the set and let her see all the hot girls, and then tell her: these are the extras, honey. they make minimum wage. these aren't even the bit players with one line. Of course, all these extra dudes, were hitting on these extra girls tarted up for the club. Not much luck, the gals were all keenly aware how little these guys were making. The club seemed abandoned, it was one of those downtown LA clubs that have a nice 2-5 year run, and then they're done. Downtown is a favorite for filmwork with it's forgotten banks & buildings, but the gentrification of these buildings is making shooting venues more scarce. One of my drivers from the Hollywood Death Cab was working on the set, he was on set until 5AM, and had a call at Death Cab the next day at 10AM. As a Teamster, he was making a boatload of money. It's always weird to know when you're on the tour, that the silent guy driving you around is making a multiple of your salary. You may be the star, but you ain't paid like one.

Another girl on the set was complaining that today was her birthday. She was playing a waitress (which they picked the hottest extra girls to do). She also said she was in a lot of hip-hop videos, playing the one white ho hangin' by the pool. Nearby I heard the wives of the producer and director, complaining quite loudly how about the "Ritz doesn't satisfy." I think they had their volume up for the benefit of the extras, to let us know they were so wealthy they could be disdainful of Five Star Hotels.

The scene we were shooting was where Fondue snakes through the club with a lady. It reminded me of the scene from Good Fellas a little, not that intricate, but in the hand-held nature of two folks walking through a bustling night club. As background, we provided the bustling, making lots of crosses before and after Fondue and his lady walked by. Crosses meaning, you stand until Fondue would pass, and then you walk behind him, as soon as he passes you. The AD in charge of us had about 200 extras under his wing. Sneaky, seasoned extras, who would say they were in a particular area, if they sensed that area would get to leave the set early. They also would leave an area that he had just set, if they figured he was distracted. I saw this happen twice, he put a bunch of people standing, and within a half hour, they were all sitting in a different spot (they had no intention of being on their feet for 3 hours at a stretch). It was weird the cat & mouse game being played.

We were fed separately from the crew, and the crew even had catering people making the rounds, bringing them sandwiches. Not us. I think it's tacky when you make up levels of feeding people. We already know the salary gulfs are wide, but in something as basic as food, it's nice to have it more egalitarian. Makes people want to help you more and forget in a sense your cattle that needs to be prodded. Been on lots of sets where everyone ate together, Steven Soderburgh did that for Full Frontal. You'll jump outta window when you sense that you are not actively despised by the director and crew. The person who signed me up for the extra job, said that most people can't hack extra work because "they like to feel special." Uh, no. Part of the burden of extra work is the disdain you get, that you are a necessary evil to the production, but a pain-in-the-butt one at that. It's not about being invisible and needing attention, it's that from the moment you get on set, there's a feeling of "ugh, the extras are here. ugh." Wasn't too bad on the TV set, peeps seemed nicer there, but I think that's part and parcel of TV folks having more security, should they be on a series that's rolling.