Monk and the Curse of the Starving Extras

Okay, so I decided to give extra work another shot. I needed the money, and I'm sure you would do the same in my situation. It was a 2 PM call and would probably only last till dusk at 8 PM. We were to be San Fran people moseying around the Westwood area. I haven't seen the episode, but assume I made it in because Tony Shalloub ran into me quite a few times. My first physical contact with a somewhat famous person. Don't worry..I've washed the shirt since. Along came 8 PM and we still weren't wrapped and the complimentary donuts we recieved were wearing off. I didn't complain...cause I guess I didn't know better, but I found out that they are required to give us a meal break after 6 hours. And since it had been EXACTLY 6 hours, many people were complaining. We wrapped like 15 minutes later, but that didn't matter. A few middle-aged extras were going crazy demanding meal penalties and food and snipping at the PAs. I decided that those people give all extras and even actors in general a bad name. It also made me long for the other side of the camera since I often feel that I relate to the crew much more than the cattle. It's a fine line to walk on and one I will probably continue to walk on as long as I live in LA. Also I learned a new film set term today. They call vans and buses that transport people to and from set and base camp People Movers. Silly, huh? Well apparently people in the entertainment industry need to make up silly nicknames in order to..entertain themselves?