Why They Hate Us

Why They Hate Us

     When I was doing extra work, there were no drug tests, or background checks, done on anyone. As a result of this, some of the people, I worked with, were absolutely unbelievable. I’m sure some of them probably felt the same way, about me. First, there was the woman, at the “Gatorade” commercial, who filled up a large Ziploc baggie, with food, to take home later. Some of us did not get to eat, because of her. We were pretty pissed off, about it. I have seen many examples of extras, hoarding food. On the set of “Showtime,” I saw one of my co-workers, carrying a tray of food that had 3 pieces of cake on it. I said, “David, if I get up to the dessert table, and there is no cake left, I am going to beat the s**t, out of you.” He brought a piece of cake over to where I was sitting. I am guilty of gluttony, on set myself, but I never went back for seconds, until everyone else had gone through, the food line.

     Some extras make it really difficult, for production to appreciate our work, or even like us. Stealing props, or stealing time, costs production a lot of money. Have you ever wondered how much money it costs, if your cell phone goes off, during a take, and they have to shoot it over again? Probably not. Go to set. Get your paperwork. Now hide all day, so you don’t have to do any real work. I know people, who have done this. I know people who have gone to set, and gotten their paperwork, and then they went home. Another extra called them, on the phone, so they could return, at wrap, to get their paperwork signed. My favorite was the guy who went to sleep, in his car, only to be awakened by the police, for blocking traffic. The set had been stricken, and everybody was gone, so he could no longer get his paperwork signed, unless he contacted the production company, and had a good explanation of why he did not get his pay voucher signed, on set. I love it! I hope he did not get paid. 

     When I worked on “Eye for an Eye,” starring Sally Field, they were also shooting “Heat,” a couple of blocks away, in downtown Los Angeles. One extra got himself booked, on both shoots, ran back and forth, between both sets, all day, and got paid twice, for one day. Sounds far-fetched, but it would not surprise me if it were true. The only time I ever got paid twice, for the same day, was when I worked a “Triple.” A triple is 3 bookings, in a row, without going home. I was pretty beat, when it ended, but I was happy on payday. Here are a few more examples of questionable behavior.

     When I worked on “A I,” there were rumors of a couple of extras, who were caught trying to smuggle a copy of the script, off the set. They were unsuccessful, and got sent home. 

     Worked a crowd scene once, and people were drinking alcohol, on set.  Two girls got into a fist fight, in the ladies room, and trashed it, so badly, it was no longer usable. They had to bring “Porta-Potties” in, for the female extras. 

     Worked at LAX once, and one of my colleagues spent several hours at one of the airport bars, when he was supposed to be on set working. He got paid anyway.

     I believe that some people think Hollywood has so much money, they can justify doing whatever they want. Others feel they do not get paid enough. Still others want bragging rights. “Guess what I got away with, on set.” All these people have one thing in common. They are a******s. Bragging Rights? I worked on a film, with Denzel Washington, and Russell Crowe. I got to meet Maureen O’Hara. I made over 600 dollars, in one day. I have some pretty good bragging rights myself, without being a total fuckup.

 I even went aboard a space ship!

     There were rumors of a guy who took pictures of Tobey Maguire, on the set of “Sea Biscuit,” and sold them to the tabloid news, for 500 dollars. If this is true, I hope he had to pay a fine, go to jail, and suffer a beating, in addition to losing his job.

On the set of “Ali,” a guy I know, was going around, underneath the bleachers, and loosening the bolts, holding them together, with a wrench. He was hoping to provide someone with grounds for a lawsuit, if the bleachers fell. He did this because the production company was not very nice, to the extras. The bleachers never fell, while I was there. 

     I have done things on set, that I shouldn’t have done. On “Ali,” I showed up in the wrong clothes. When production asked why I changed my wardrobe, I said, “I have been wearing the same suit, for several days. I asked the wardrobe dept,  to clean it for me, and they said “no.” I am not wearing that suit again, until it gets cleaned.” Production was pissed at me, but they did not send me home. They placed me among the “cardboard people.” I had a pocket sized radio, with me. I listened to music all night, and got paid for it. F**k that movie. Many bad things happened on that film, and most of the extras I knew were very happy that it did not do well, at the box office, and that Will Smith did not get the Oscar.

     On “Black Sheep,” an extra ran his car into a power pole, showering everyone with sparks. On “Champion,” an extra tried to drive his car, up a hill, to avoid the long line of cars, in front of him. He did not make it. His car rolled backward, down the hill, and struck another car. 

     On “61*” an extra actually drove his car onto the set, which was inside the L A coliseum, without permission. His car struck a large rack of clothing, that belonged to the wardrobe department, knocking it down. He said he drove onto the set, because the parking lot, for the extras, was too far away. That was the last time I saw him on set. On that same set, 2 other extras got into a fight, which ended with one extra losing his job, and going to jail. They were fighting over a chair. A chair that did not belong to either one of them. It belonged to the production company, and there was easily over 1000 of these same exact chairs, on set. These 2 dipshits make all of us look bad. 

     Production people, and crew members, do not get as much down time, as extras do, and sometimes they hate us, for that too. I remember being in the “nosebleed” section, of one of the many stadiums, in the L A area. An extra seated near me, had brought a portable DVD player, and was watching “Ferris Bueller’s day off,” and getting paid for it. A member of the crew saw this, and was not very happy, about it, but there was nothing he could do about it. I guess he felt that if you were getting paid, you should be paying attention. This doesn’t happen in the real world, let alone “movie land.”

     Some extras argue, fight, and complain, about everything, but they would never accept a job, working 9 to5, in the real world. Some folks want a pay raise, for everything. Like getting hired to wash dishes, and then bitching, because while you are at work, you are expected to wash dishes. I once heard an extra complaining, because catering did not have her favorite cereal, at breakfast. I will never understand people who complain about free food. Of course there are extras who are just a******s, at all times. Plain and simple. They work in show business, because no one else would hire them.

     I remember people bitching about the long lines, to do anything, on “Waterworld.” At checkout time, I would return my wardrobe, and then sit, in the extras holding area, playing cards with my friends, instead of standing in the mile long checkout line. We played until the line was almost gone, and then we would get in line. We ended up with 45 to 90 minutes of extra overtime, every day. We did this at every “Cattle Call,” we worked on. For me, a cattle call is more than 250 people, on set. 

     I have certain expectations, from my employer. Bathroom breaks. A lunch break. Available water, to drink, and at least to be treated with  a little bit of dignity. If these conditions are not met, I probably will not b***h about it. I will just end up costing you more money, than you thought I would.

     There is a lot of nepotism, and favoritism, in show business. Extras who suit up, and show up, are sometimes resentful, against people who get more work, or special treatment, because of who they know, who they are related to, or who they are sleeping with. They wonder what happened to the work ethic. It is still around, but it is getting harder, and harder to find. Most of us are well-behaved, and professional, but as I have already mentioned, many are punished, for the sins of a few, and we are not as quick to forgive each other, as we say we are. Especially in show business. Exploitation, not forgiveness, is the rule.