Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Independent Film - Insignificant Others


The last two days, I spent time as an extra working on a film called Insignificant Others. We filmed at the old courthouse building in Charlotte. My roles included a police detective or lawyer, and a police officer in full uniform.

Here is a blurb about this project:

In/Significant Others" is John Schwert's follow up feature to "Among Brothers" (www.amongbrothers.com), which played 17 film festivals in 2005-06 and was just featured on Dateline NBC (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18619158/). Although it's a low-budget project, the script is strong and will be a top-tiered festival piece targeting the 2009 Spirit Awards.

Story line: Blurring the lines between drama, comedy, mystery and crime, In/Significant Others is a modern thriller that voices a unique narrative by trailing an eclectic ensemble cast of characters through their unpredictable daily lives. The film peeks inside personal, intimate moments of these unknowingly-linked character’s lives, including glimpses of drug addiction, stand-up comedy and murder. The character’s parallel storylines converge and we build to the climactic finale with a captivating and visceral series of reveals.

The Family That Preys - Day 1 - Arriving in Atlanta



I drove down to Atlanta for the role as an extra in the Tyler Perry "The Family that Preys" movie. We arrived outside the Atlanta Civic Center after maneuvering through downtown Atlanta which was just recovering from a tornado a few days before. When I arrived at the parking lot I was met by some of the production assistants on the film and then went to line up. I was to be in group "B". My call time was at 5:30 pm. As I went to the back of the line, I heard someone call my name. It was Edd, who was in Leatherheads and Gospel Hill. He had driven down from NC. We talked about the movie and also that as I stopped by at the Greenville, SC Starbucks, there was a poster for a "premiere" party for Leatherheads being organized. With Ed was Gina and Alisa who also were in Leatherheads.

Since it was about 4:45 when we arrived for our bus, the earlier groups to go over to the set were band members and the "A" group. We were going to the Bank of America Building (31st Floor) for extra's holding. On the 31st floor were racks of the tuxedos we were to where for the scene. I finally met Tiffani-Mishell who I had spoken to numerous times on the phone. I was given my tuxedo and then went into the dressing room which was really someones empty office.

We then were asked by different groups to take the elevator to the lobby...dozens of production people were there and it looked exactly like a real black tie gala. We had a 20 piece orchestra, dance floor, bars, and tables with 4 ft high centerpieces.

At our table, I sat next to Joe and Tiffany. Our waitresses name was Hope. My "wife's" name was Ylian. We started to film at about 10 pm and spent the next 6 hours filming the party scene.
I had sushi (real) and champagne (sparking apple juice). the red wine was cranberry and the chardonnay was white cranberry. I even had a "scotch" placed in my hand.

During one of the scenes Robin Givens (actress) comes to our table and talks to a couple sitting across from me. A large camera on a boom is being used to film this scene. I had seen a similar large camera in Leatherheads. It is on a crane about 40 ft high/long.

The others on the scene included Jennifer Hudson and other actors and actresses. Here is the IMDB Listing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142798/