My Star-Making Performance
Lana Turner was one of the most glamorous stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. My entry into movies parallels Lana's in so many ways: She grew up in Idaho, I grew up in Iowa; the same state for most people. She was discovered at the age of 16, I was at 63. We both have long flowing blonde locks (mine disappeared when I was about 19 years old but let's not quibble) She, legend has it, was discovered sitting in a malt shop. I was discovered in Detroit landmark, American Coney Island. The similarities are so obvious!
I recently answered a call to be an extra in an independent film by Alex Wraith who not only stars in the film but wrote it and is directing it. The film is a story about a Detroit boxer trying to make it big. I was part of a group of five guys (no, not like the hamburger chain which, let's be honest, never has five guys working anyway) who sit at their usual table outside at Detroit's famous Coney Island corner. We were all blue-collar guys (what!?! Quit laughing, I totally pulled it off! I had a blue shirt and everything!) who give our underdog hero a hard time when he comes by. And then other stuff happens which I'm not at liberty to indulge.
For me, the experience was fascinating. The five of us had a few lines and, over the course of a couple hours, Alex expanded the lines to create a scene. He'd come by and give us hints about some background for the characters. His patience with five utter amateurs was remarkable. Eventually, we filmed the small scene several times from various angles. It was great fun.
This is not a major motion picture. I have no idea about the budget but, if I were to put it in Marvel movie terms, I'd guess the entire budget is probably 10 seconds of CGI for Iron Man's suit or 2 minutes of hairdresser time for Chris Hemsworth. The small crew was therefore incredibly efficient; time was money and there wasn't a lot of money. Everyone treated everyone else with respect, even the five amateurs sitting around the table asking elementary questions. The whole thing took a couple hours and we were all sincerely thanked by Alex and the crew and then they packed up and went off to film elsewhere in the city.
As I said, I'm not at liberty to reveal major plot points, but I can reveal a few spoilers:
- It turns out that Underdog Hero's father is Darth Vader.
- It turns out that Underdog Hero was a ghost the whole time.
- It turns out that Underdog Hero loses the big fight to a sled named Rosebud.
- It turns out that, when Underdog Hero gets over the wall surrounding the village of Detroit, it is really the 21st century.
- It turns out that Brad Pitt is really Underdog Hero and he's been fighting himself the whole time.
- It turns out that Underdog Hero invented teleportation but his opponent was really a pair of identical twins.
- It turns out that Underdog Hero discovers he's been on Earth the whole time when he finds the Statue of Liberty half-buried in one of Detroit's beaches.
- It wasn't Underdog Hero's mom who fought, but Underdog Hero pretending to be his own mother, who was dead.
- It turns out that Underdog Hero was really Kaiser Soze the whole time.
To summarize: I'm on the road to stardom, but don't worry, I'll still be the same down-to-earth guy I've always been. I won't forget you little people who are no longer important.
jpj stories by John Jackson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
