I asked Cara what type of movie she would like to be an extra in. I was hoping she'd say a certain genre of movies but she answered with Inception. That is the wrong answer as far as I'm concerned.... or one of them at least. Being an extra in Inception wouldn't be that special just due to the fact that it mirrors real life to a certain extent. I wouldn't want to be an extra in a movie where I'd be some random kid in the mall, I can do that on any given weekend. I would want to be in a movie that puts me in a situation I can't replicate in my real life.
If I was hand picking a movie to be an extra in, I would use three categories: costumes, sets, and scenes. If I was going to be able to wear a cool costume, be filming on a elaborate set, or be involved in a action packed scene, or any combo of the three, then that is a movie I would want to be an extra in. And the three genres of movies that would pass all three of these test would be a Western, a war movie, and any of the Harry Potter movies.
It would be quite an experience to be a cowboy playing a card game in a saloon in a movie like 3:10 to Yuma, Tombstone, or True Grit. Being able to wear a costume that would be period accurate down to the buttons would be the coolest part in my opinion, and it would only be made better once you stepped onto the set, that would transport you back in time.
Being a soldier in a war movie like Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates, or Apocalypse Now would be amazing because not only would you be wearing extremely detailed military uniforms, but you would most likely be involved in some action packed scenes. Tell me that you wouldn't want to have been an extra in the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan where the American troops storm the beach in Normandy. Hopefully in a situation like that you would be able to travel to the location too, which might be the most important aspect of the extra search and could be its own category.
And finally, any Harry Potter movie. I would be happy to be in any scene of any Harry Potter movie. As far as I am concerned, the Harry Potter series wins every category when it comes to searching for a movie to be an extra movie in. If I was a kid, being picked to be a Hogwarts student would have been like Christmas times a million. Just being able to be dressed in Hogwarts uniform, being able to walk around the castle and all the different sets would be the experience of a lifetime. Personally, I would want to be an extra in one of the Diagon Alley scenes. That was one of the coolest, most intricate sets in the entire movie series, and its transformation to a location in a book to a movie set was just about flawless. It was exactly how I pictured it when I read any chapter involving Diagon Alley.
Can you tell I'm a Harry Potter fan?
I like movies and I feel like I could talk about them for days. I consume IMBD pages, and look for new movie trailers at least once a week. I find myself downloading movies more than I download music (Did I just admit to a crime?).
Hopefully this was a good start to an interesting blog. We'll see.
Peace and Blessings
