1:45 am - 05.22.2008
No Acting Required

Where to start...?

Well, I did my film gig on Tuesday - at a location in Santa Clarita, literally a block away from Cary and Kay�s house - and I�ve realized something; I really have to stop bragging about booking things before I know exactly what it is I�ve booked.

When Vicki called me on my birthday, to say the people doing this film (Off Hollywood) had seen me in a commercial and wanted to book me, without an audition, for the small role of �Undertaker�...well, here�s what I wrote yesterday, while at the gig:

When Vicki called me about this, I assumed the part of �Undertaker� was an actual part (A small part, mind you, but a part nevertheless).

It�s not.

It�s �background�, a.k.a. �atmosphere�.

(a.k.a. I�m an extra).

When I finally got the script last night (I was supposed to have gotten it days before ), I was deeply disappointed - forget about having lines; my �part�, if you want to call it that, wasn�t even indicated in the script.

But even though I�m just an extra, the director liked my �look� well enough that they�re paying me the �principal� rate for a SAG �modified low-budget� feature ($268), which is about twice what I�d be getting as an extra.

So, while my search for satisfying acting work continues, and this isn�t going to be anything to add to my reel or put on my resume, or anything that means anything to me, at least it�s gotten me out of my apartment, and I�m getting paid, and I�ll get a free meal or two in the bargain (Editors note: for breakfast I had an eqq-white & veggie scramble, and for lunch, a chicken breast stuffed with red peppers, in some sort of mustard sauce, steamed broccoli, and a salad with vinaigrette dressing).

But I have to be honest - money notwithstanding, I�m still not over my sense of disappointment, and my feeling of having been hoodwinked (Editors note: ...and my embarrassment over having bragged about something that was nothing to brag about at all).

(After reading the script, I almost decided not to do it - that�s how �disappointed� I was. And I did call Vicki afterwards, to tell her that, in the future, I�m not interested in doing extra work.)

Right now, I�m in my trailer, which is bigger than the �honey wagons� I�ve been put up in on some other occasions.

(As I came in and got situated, it struck me that this space, with a higher ceiling - for a sleeping loft and storage area - is probably about the size of some of the Tumbleweed �tiny houses� I�ve checked out online.)

My call time was 9:00 a.m., but in my desire to be on time/terror of being late, I ended up getting here a half-hour early (It�s now 11:15; I�m in wardrobe, which is all stuff I brought from home, and I�ve been through makeup, so now I�m just hanging out, waiting to be called to the set).

I don�t think I�ve worn the black suit jacket I�m wearing since starting Weight Watchers, so I feel like I�m swimming in it. But the wardrobe person said it was fine, and that I could wear it open, which helps (I�m wearing a pair of my black Dickies work pants, so I�m all set �down below�).

I read the entire script last night (I don�t know why, but I did).

Here�s the plot:

As I was in the middle of breaking down the plot - which I�m not going to do now, because really, who cares? - I was called to the set, to do my bit: Along with another �Undertaker�, I close the back door of a hearse (we�re hauling away the body of one of the supporting characters, which you don�t see), then walk out of frame. Then you hear the two of us getting in the hearse, and driving away.

That�s it.

(We didn�t actually get in the hearse - we just opened and closed the doors. Then some production guys pushed the hearse out-of-frame; the sound of the hearse starting up and pulling way will be added post-production.)

There was the usual waiting for things to get set, and the usual waiting to be told you�re �released�, so while a couple takes of the scene containing my little bit of action took maybe ten minutes all told, I was �on set� for about two hours, during which time I watched the real actors rehearse, chatted with Steven (the other �Undertaker�, who was my age, but looked easily ten years younger), and just stood around.

(The first AD actually released us two �Undertakers� while we were having lunch, which is how my last job - doing re-shoots for the AT&T spot - ended as well, with lunch.)

I imagine some of you reading this are thinking �What�s Jim�s problem?�; I got paid quite well for doing nothing, they fed me, and I was done by early afternoon.

Well, that�s all good, it really is (Though to be honest, with the year almost half over, I need bigger scores than $238).

But I didn�t come out here to �get paid quite well for doing nothing�.

I came out here to act.

And seven years is a long time to wait, especially when there�s no end of waiting in sight.

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