Monday, April 16, 2007

Leatherheads - My first day

I arrived for my 6 am call for extras and rode the shuttle bus over from near the Bobcats Arena to the set at Memorial Stadium. This is a "closed" set, meaning no pictures and things need to remain a secret as far as the movie is concerned.

Once I arrived as a first day as an extra, I was in a line for 'wardrobe'. This movie takes place in the 1920's so I was fitted with clothes of that period including a hat and a large brown coat. The costume team made sure that all the actors and actresses were dressed in that period.

After that, I went into a tent where they do hair and makeup. In this tent were about 15 or so makeup artists and stylists working on the cast. Although I had just had a haircut last week and I thought my hair was relatively short, they cut it to fit the 1920's era.

I then asked about makeup and was told I only needed to put "sunscreen" on. (I was to find out later that this is so the actors and extras don't start tanning).

After that I walked down to the "holding area" and eventually made it out to the football field where they were filming todays scenes. I had expected to be just a fan in the stands. However, I found myself, in a role as a "news reporter" standing on the sidelines....the pad I was to write on was "authentic" from that era also.

I did get to see George Clooney from a distance as he is both director and actor in the film. Renee Zellweger was also there and some of the extras (not me) got to be in some scenes near her.

The field was windy today as a large storm had just come through the Carolinas and was wreaking havoc on the East Coast. Our fall football attire was perfect for today's weather.

We were served a buffet lunch and after I spent most of the afternoon sitting with other extras and making it a point to meet some of the production crew. Most were from the Charlotte area and some were in from LA.

At the end of the day, they had a raffle of items and I won an "Ocean's 11" poster (another George Clooney film).

We then checked out and I finally arrived home around 8 pm (a 14 hour day). I was told to return to the set at 6 am tomorrow.