WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB
Women's Murder Club is a crime drama set in San Francisco. When I looked it up online, I found out it's going to be shown on Fridays. To me, that means it's doomed. If it's your first season and you're placed on the Friday night line-up, you'd better hope you get an audience. Otherwise, there won't be a second season. That's true for most series, but starting out on Friday is like getting chosen last for a team.
The drive to the Los Angeles Center Studios was a quick one. My call-time was at 6:30 am so I left at 5:10 am. I got there way too early and had to sit in the parking lot for about half an hour.
I started walking down the street to the first sound stage. The LA Center used to be office buildings and when it couldn't get leased out, they converted them to sound stages that studios could rent out. As I strolled up to Stage 1, I noticed there was a hot set for Ugly Betty. It looked like a fashion premier party with the red carpet and the photo backdrops.
There were no signs for Women's Murder Club, so I stepped into the sound stage to look around. No one looked real friendly, and I didn't want to get in the way of the crew, so I stepped back outside to wait. A guy walked up and asked if I was there for Murder Club and I nodded. It was reassuring to know that I wasn't the only one hanging around.
I noticed some ladies hanging out next to the stage so I asked them if they were here for the same series. They said yes and didn't know what to do either. It always feels good to know there are others that are just as confused as you. After a little while, they walked off and I followed. We ended up on the other side of the stage.
A short line formed and I met a guy who was set to play a lawyer. The funny thing about all these background actors is that everyone really did look like the part they were supposed to play. That guy looked like a junkie and that girl was definitely a hooker.
The production assistant checked people's names off and when I got to the front of the line, I told him my name and told him I was supposed to be a uniformed police officer. He went through his sheets, asked me my name again and shook his head, a little confused. He said, "I'm sorry but I don't see you on here."
I looked a little dumbfounded and hesitantly asked him what he thought I should do. He walked off quickly and I was left standing there, looking around, wondering what happened. It was my the one thing I was worried would happen. Sure enough, it's exactly what happened.
I noticed someone asking for the Central Casting emergency number. I kind of thought this was an emergency and asked her why she was calling. Her name was Mary Ann and she said that her name wasn't on the list. "Oh really?" I said. "Mine wasn't either. Did you have Melissa book you?"
"Why yes. I guess we found the common link," she said. After she got in touch with the casting agent, she handed me the phone. I asked the agent the same thing and she told me to tell the PA that I was an "additional." I wish she had told me that before.
After the PA heard this, he wrote our names down on his sheet, handed us our copy and told us to go to wardrobe. We walked over there and the wardrobe guy asked if he could see my shoes. They worked for him so he handed me a blue shirt, button up uniform, pants, a belt and a fake bullet-proof vest.
I put everything on and when I handed the wardrobe guy my hangers, he said, "You've never been a cop before huh? The vest goes under the shirt." "You'd better give me a bigger shirt then," I said. The button up I had was pretty snug. So he handed me a bigger one.
Putting that vest underneath that shirt gave me an appreciation for SF cops that have to wear the real thing. But it's colder in SF than LA, so they probably have it easier. It was hot as hell with that vest and I could already feel a sweat brewing up.
They told us we could get breakfast and after getting a little lost, I found my way to a courtyard that had a burrito truck and a little outdoor grill in full effect. I ordered eggs with ham, olives and jalapenos. While I waited, I chatted with Michelle about her experience in background acting. Michelle looked like she could be Chinese, but I suspected she could be Filipino. She told me she had been out of the business for awhile having burned out on non-union pay. The only reason she was doing this was because she was getting a SAG voucher.
SAG vouchers are kind of like the holy grail of background acting. If you can get three of them, you are all set to join SAG and get union pay. The difference is pretty big. Instead of the average $65 rate for an 8-hour day, you can get nearly double that amount. There are also several perks for being a union member like pensions, health care and the like.
It's easy to tell who's union or non-union. Just wait for the 16th hour of a workday and you can tell. For union folks, the 16th hour is known as the "golden hour." Any minute after that and they get another full day's pay for each additional hour they work. I spoke to one guy who told me he worked a 20 hour day once and got over a thousand dollars for it. The greed in my eyes was probably very obvious when I replied, "awwwwweeesoooome!"
The cops were called onto the set to get propped-up. We got a belt with clips, mace, a holster and gun, some keys and a case for cuffs (but no cuffs in them) as well as a badge and name tag. They told us that if we're ever going to leave the studio to check the gun in. The gun must never be taken out of its holster and the leather clip should always be in place. I guess they were worried that someone would act the fool and get shot by a real cop.
Before I knew it, it was lunch time. There was barbecue beef, lamb, schwarma, couscous and all other kinds of goodies. The old timers told me I was lucky because the bigger studios don't usually feed the extras lunch. I had my fill but I didn't feel that great after because my belt and vest made it tough for the food to digest.
As we waited in the rooms, the extras had some interesting conversations about The Secret, global warming and background acting. I played it safe and tried to laugh-off much of the political or religious comments that were being made. I was taught to stay away from religion, politics and sex when you first meet someone.
As I hung around the hallway, several women dressed for Mad Men walked by. I noticed January Jones (who plays the wife of the lead in the series) walk through twice with the cutest darn dog. It walked up to me, licked my hand and I smiled. So did January. Unfortunately, I didn't what her name was until I looked it up when I got home. She looked better than she did on television.
Finally, I got called to the set in a hurry. They needed a cop to walk past the camera to start the shoot. Then, I was to walk back the opposite way and that would end the scene. I was nervous as hell and tried to stay calm by repeating the mantra, "fake it till you make it" which I learned from West Wing.
I ended my first day working 12-hours. It wasn't bad at all because I spent most of that time lounging around. It was also nice to be able to get that OT. The topper was that I was going to get to come back the next day. I felt a little privileged because other people weren't so lucky. They didn't get the call-back.
The drive to the Los Angeles Center Studios was a quick one. My call-time was at 6:30 am so I left at 5:10 am. I got there way too early and had to sit in the parking lot for about half an hour.
I started walking down the street to the first sound stage. The LA Center used to be office buildings and when it couldn't get leased out, they converted them to sound stages that studios could rent out. As I strolled up to Stage 1, I noticed there was a hot set for Ugly Betty. It looked like a fashion premier party with the red carpet and the photo backdrops.
There were no signs for Women's Murder Club, so I stepped into the sound stage to look around. No one looked real friendly, and I didn't want to get in the way of the crew, so I stepped back outside to wait. A guy walked up and asked if I was there for Murder Club and I nodded. It was reassuring to know that I wasn't the only one hanging around.
I noticed some ladies hanging out next to the stage so I asked them if they were here for the same series. They said yes and didn't know what to do either. It always feels good to know there are others that are just as confused as you. After a little while, they walked off and I followed. We ended up on the other side of the stage.
A short line formed and I met a guy who was set to play a lawyer. The funny thing about all these background actors is that everyone really did look like the part they were supposed to play. That guy looked like a junkie and that girl was definitely a hooker.
The production assistant checked people's names off and when I got to the front of the line, I told him my name and told him I was supposed to be a uniformed police officer. He went through his sheets, asked me my name again and shook his head, a little confused. He said, "I'm sorry but I don't see you on here."
I looked a little dumbfounded and hesitantly asked him what he thought I should do. He walked off quickly and I was left standing there, looking around, wondering what happened. It was my the one thing I was worried would happen. Sure enough, it's exactly what happened.
I noticed someone asking for the Central Casting emergency number. I kind of thought this was an emergency and asked her why she was calling. Her name was Mary Ann and she said that her name wasn't on the list. "Oh really?" I said. "Mine wasn't either. Did you have Melissa book you?"
"Why yes. I guess we found the common link," she said. After she got in touch with the casting agent, she handed me the phone. I asked the agent the same thing and she told me to tell the PA that I was an "additional." I wish she had told me that before.
After the PA heard this, he wrote our names down on his sheet, handed us our copy and told us to go to wardrobe. We walked over there and the wardrobe guy asked if he could see my shoes. They worked for him so he handed me a blue shirt, button up uniform, pants, a belt and a fake bullet-proof vest.
I put everything on and when I handed the wardrobe guy my hangers, he said, "You've never been a cop before huh? The vest goes under the shirt." "You'd better give me a bigger shirt then," I said. The button up I had was pretty snug. So he handed me a bigger one.
Putting that vest underneath that shirt gave me an appreciation for SF cops that have to wear the real thing. But it's colder in SF than LA, so they probably have it easier. It was hot as hell with that vest and I could already feel a sweat brewing up.
They told us we could get breakfast and after getting a little lost, I found my way to a courtyard that had a burrito truck and a little outdoor grill in full effect. I ordered eggs with ham, olives and jalapenos. While I waited, I chatted with Michelle about her experience in background acting. Michelle looked like she could be Chinese, but I suspected she could be Filipino. She told me she had been out of the business for awhile having burned out on non-union pay. The only reason she was doing this was because she was getting a SAG voucher.
SAG vouchers are kind of like the holy grail of background acting. If you can get three of them, you are all set to join SAG and get union pay. The difference is pretty big. Instead of the average $65 rate for an 8-hour day, you can get nearly double that amount. There are also several perks for being a union member like pensions, health care and the like.
It's easy to tell who's union or non-union. Just wait for the 16th hour of a workday and you can tell. For union folks, the 16th hour is known as the "golden hour." Any minute after that and they get another full day's pay for each additional hour they work. I spoke to one guy who told me he worked a 20 hour day once and got over a thousand dollars for it. The greed in my eyes was probably very obvious when I replied, "awwwwweeesoooome!"
The cops were called onto the set to get propped-up. We got a belt with clips, mace, a holster and gun, some keys and a case for cuffs (but no cuffs in them) as well as a badge and name tag. They told us that if we're ever going to leave the studio to check the gun in. The gun must never be taken out of its holster and the leather clip should always be in place. I guess they were worried that someone would act the fool and get shot by a real cop.
Before I knew it, it was lunch time. There was barbecue beef, lamb, schwarma, couscous and all other kinds of goodies. The old timers told me I was lucky because the bigger studios don't usually feed the extras lunch. I had my fill but I didn't feel that great after because my belt and vest made it tough for the food to digest.
As we waited in the rooms, the extras had some interesting conversations about The Secret, global warming and background acting. I played it safe and tried to laugh-off much of the political or religious comments that were being made. I was taught to stay away from religion, politics and sex when you first meet someone.
As I hung around the hallway, several women dressed for Mad Men walked by. I noticed January Jones (who plays the wife of the lead in the series) walk through twice with the cutest darn dog. It walked up to me, licked my hand and I smiled. So did January. Unfortunately, I didn't what her name was until I looked it up when I got home. She looked better than she did on television.
Finally, I got called to the set in a hurry. They needed a cop to walk past the camera to start the shoot. Then, I was to walk back the opposite way and that would end the scene. I was nervous as hell and tried to stay calm by repeating the mantra, "fake it till you make it" which I learned from West Wing.
I ended my first day working 12-hours. It wasn't bad at all because I spent most of that time lounging around. It was also nice to be able to get that OT. The topper was that I was going to get to come back the next day. I felt a little privileged because other people weren't so lucky. They didn't get the call-back.
posted by Tito Eddy at 10:00 PM
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