Winged Creatures

The budget was low, but the talent was way high. I was an “onlooker” on a feature called Winged Creatures.

I was early. I parked. I got shuttled. I found holding. I ate breakfast. I was forgotten.

I ventured forth to get my voucher and almost ran into Forest Whitaker because I was looking at the ground rather than where I was going. Wardrobe squared me away. I changed into something more boring. I went back to holding.

Where I waited for a few hours. I’m still reading that book about the Wars of the Roses. I thought I’d finish it during this gig, but I actually worked this time.

Or… Well… Here’s what’s kinda weird. And this was a surprising first.

During the first scene I worked, I didn’t know I was actually working. They grabbed all the onlookers, brought us to set and placed us. I ended up the deepest, but I was standing on the ledge of a planter with a tree in it. I thought that was kind of fun. I’d never been elevated above everyone like that before.

But then as I waited for the scene to start, I got bored and started making laps around the tree.

No, I’m not kidding. I was walking around in circles because I was bored and it was kind of cold outside. Around and around and around. I was practicing keeping my balance on the 5″ wide ledge while not looking down at my feet as I walked. Around and around and switch directions and around and around.

Then, the AD called lunch. Huh? Whuh…What?

As I headed toward catering, I asked some of the other extras if any filming had happened because we’d been out there for a couple of hours. Apparently, in the background of Kate Beckinsale, the director wanted us extras too look natural as we struck up conversations and stuff. All the while I’m learning this, my head’s about to explode! They were filming while I was doing laps around a friggin’ tree!!!!!

I never got yelled at for it so I’m assuming that either they couldn’t see me or I was so deep that the movement didn’t look stupid. I dunno. But my mind is still reeling from learning that they were filming while I was walking around a tree.

Yeah. Nice.

After lunch, though, they started cueing us and I got to use my stupid walk around the tree and hop off to move closer to the action. During the course of that, I ended up directly in the path of Jeanne Triplehorn and Dakota Fanning as they left the hospital we were working in front of. That was pretty cool.

And thank goodness I wasn’t still walking around that damn tree!!!!!!!!!!

This was one of those gigs I really gotta laugh about, though. I mean, I got paid to walk around and around a tree. All I can say is wow, I love Hollywood!

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