Stars In Their Eyes.
Just a bunch of cuts.
WOW!!!
Thirty years later. Where did that go? And how the hell did it happen? And what the heck is going to happen next?
Extra!! Extra!! Read all about it!
No pinball wizards here, but, perhaps, wizardry of a different kind (in the eyes of some).
The magic of cinema and television, a wonderful mixture of time consumption and painstaking care. Long, carefully crafted days, and indefatigable hours of boredom. A career for some, and an inexorable plod towards retirement for others. A chance to excel, in one’s particular field, and an opportunity for advancement, to achieve one’s goals.
For an extra though, only one of those things is probably true.
Hint: Craft and Advancement are not included.
It’s not exciting. It’s tiring. It doesn’t bring financial security. It’s erratic. It’s not a healthy lifestyle. Eat as much as you can, if you can, whilst you can. Sit for long periods. Stand for long periods. Shuffle, walk and remain silent — however tempting it might be to respond, with more than a nod and a blank look.
Bizarrely, all of this requires a certain mental fortitude; and not everyone has that. But everyone wants to do it.
The promises that are carried by ‘extra’ agencies and the media, paint quite a different story. It’s the stars in their eyes philosophy; sell them what they think they want, and then make money off the back of that.
You could work with…….. You could then be……..You could work on………Be featured…….Be famous…….Be………..Quiet!!
Lights, Camera, annnnddddddddd Action!
It’s the business of show, with the emphasis on business; and there’s nothing really wrong with that. But, let’s be honest, what you will really get out of it is the ability to tell your friends and family. The disappointment that you’ve actually been cut from that shot. Dark rings under your eyes from the ridiculously long shooting days and a little bit of money for doing next to nothing in an ill-fitting tutu.
How it all began, or at least, how it all began for me:
From Hollywood to Bollywood to Borehamwood.
It’s great to have a dream……… a life’s ambition……… an achievable goal.
But, as you may be able to tell from the title, life does not always play out, the way that you might hope; nor even expect.
Thirty years ago I was walking around a mall in central Los Angeles; looking cool, feeling cool (air-con), dressed in black jeans, cuban heel boots, tee-shirt and black leather jacket; when a petite and attractive woman walked up and handed me her business card.
“I’m looking for someone, for a small part (she whispered that last bit) in a movie that I’m producing, would you be interested?”
To be honest, I was pretty shell-shocked.
I’d never been handed a business card before, and certainly wasn’t used to female strangers coming up and speaking to me.
“Erm, yes, yes, I suppose so”, was my initial stuttered response.
“Oh, you’re Australian!”
“Actually, no, I’m….I’m English.”
“Oh, okay. Don’t worry about it, another time.”
And between looking down at the business card, and looking back up; she had disappeared.
In all honesty, I couldn’t have made it anyway.
I was actually only on a stopover, on my way to New Zealand, to see a girlfriend/penpal, with whom I intended to change my life, and perhaps to settle down.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself……. In my hotel room, on the way to LAX, as I sat in the departure lounge, as I boarded the plane…and, definitely, when I was in the air.
But, in my dreams, it was a completely different story.
Things did not work out well in New Zealand.
The girlfriend/penpal had got herself a new boyfriend, at almost the same time that I had started flying towards her. Tricky, inconvenient, embarrassing, uncomfortable, frustrating, annoying and disappointing.
I’m pretty much over it now; although it still burns a little. Travel and new experiences help to heal the wounds and broaden the mind. A hop to Indonesia, then a step to Singapore and a jump to Northern India, assisted enormously in salving, what may well just have been, my wounded pride.
Travel, sunshine, solitude, fortitude; and then eventually finding myself in a Bollywood movie.
It wasn’t deliberate.
Dozing quietly beneath a banyan tree, contemplating my navel, when the sound of gunfire stirred me from my reverie — only slightly stirred; after my experiences with the Cochin snake and the Keralan leopard, I was probably, justifiably; a little relaxed and blasé (a story for another time!) — I looked up and discovered that I had been surrounded by hundreds of Indian foot soldiers running backwards and forwards in the field in which I sat; then hearing “cut!” yelled out. As at this point they had obviously realised that someone was in their shot.
That film, I was definitely not in. But in Goa, a little while later, I was.
Wandering, kind of aimlessly; from my hostel to the beach; I could hear the sound of singing in the distance. Intrigued, I wandered over; and there, within a circle of palm trees were twenty or thirty Indian girls performing a very well rehearsed dance routine. On this occasion they didn’t cut, because they wanted ‘gawping’ tourist reactions to the show. And boy, did I react, and gawp.
My very first experience of being a miscellaneous extra.
The strangeness of life.
And so, in the space of a few months, I had been almost plucked from obscurity in the USA and then, actually/possibly, appeared in a Bollywood blockbuster.
It makes you think that you may be destined for something greater, something more auspicious, something more magnificent and suited to your skillset.
And so, filled with a desire to achieve my new ambitions, I came home.
Destiny, had obviously been taking her time, regarding finding a space for my particular skillset. But, as luck would have it, opportunity struck again, although a little tardy.
“Why not be an ‘extra’?”
Indeed, why not be an ‘extra’. No skill, no training, no qualifications required; simply the ability to listen to instructions and to arrive on time.
I can do that (most of the time).
“It’ll earn you a little extra money, allowing you to concentrate on what you really want to do.”
And that’s exactly what I thought……..at the time.
But, just as with most jobs; hard work, dedication, experience and practice go a long way to securing a future as a background artiste (I’m smiling as I write this).
Though what’s actually more important, is an affable personality, the ability to not take oneself too seriously, a kind demeanour (not everyone is as gifted as yourself), humility, patience, brown-nosing ability, a sense of humour and anger management classes.
I’m still studying! It’s a never-ending classroom.
And that, is how I ended up in Borehamwood.
Elstree & Borehamwood was once a huge film and television studio complex in the UK. Now shrunk to a much smaller film and TV studio, plus BBC Elstree (which is of course in Borehamwood, not Elstree — but what’s in a name), the home to Eastenders and Holby City, amongst others.
I have fond memories of the film and TV studio, as it was the only time that I had been picked for a TV show, on my name alone. My name, as you can see, is Singh. An Indian name, which is in part, my background. They obviously did not consider looking at a photograph (I am white, or puce, or sometimes tanned in colour; but never really an Asian brown), and once they saw that, I was never used; and spent the rest of the day sitting and watching proceedings.
Though it’s not unusual for an ‘extra’ not to be used, — in fact it’s something that is part and parcel of the work — all you have to do is remember that, you’re actually getting paid for doing nothing. It’s the learning process.
I’ve got it made, I’m living the dream, I’m at the forefront of ground-breaking filmic adventure. Brushing shoulders with stars of the future and the past (except, of course, there’s a pandemic, and those shoulders have to be at least two metres apart) — so more like air- brushing, much like the air-kissing, and air-hugging that takes place on a regular’ish basis. I’ve made it. Took a while, but there’s been some fun and laughs along the way.
So, there you have it; my thirty year tumultuous fall and fall and fall again, from Hollywood to Bollywood to Borehamwood. And, to be perfectly frank, I wouldn’t have it any other way — unless of course, I was given the opportunity to have my life again, and could make completely different choices. Hindsight and time-travel are two wonderful failed experiments.
But that’s just my happy story.
Once upon a time, the world was quite a different place; and the world of ‘extra’ was inhabited by a different form of beings; as a group, these were known as background. Background did pretty much the same as that which occurs now; only their population was relatively small and the scraps that they fed upon was sufficient for their size. Unfortunately, in the late twentieth and early 21st century, a population boom occurred, forcing the indigenous background into making changes to their title; becoming a group known as Supporting Artists — SA’s, for short. This burgeoning group now finds itself fighting and arguing over the scraps that were once enough to support their lifestyle, and the world of ‘extra’ has become an entirely different place — and much more like the world itself.
So, what is going to happen next?
The media: Film and television, is getting stronger, growing larger and needs replenishment on an ever greater scale. So, there will always be a place for the shuffling classes. But with an increased SA population, the opportunities for regular employment lessen. It is a job that can now only be seen as temporary and/or part-time; with no security, no pension and no guaranteed appearances on screen.
There will never be a shortage of people wishing to be seen on screen, and some, more than happy to do it for nothing. From a business and financial point of view, what would be the preference; paying someone, or having them work for free?
Personally, I’ve never understood the ethic of working for nothing; nor do I agree with the idea of putting someone out of work, for the simple (and perhaps selfish) reason of wanting to appear on screen.
But, this is what actually occurs.
And this is what will happen:
With the improvements to green/blue screen technology (Chromakey), Special Effects and technical innovation, which will reduce the need for actual ‘extras’ and will potentially save money and time for productions*; especially for Catering, Costume and Make Up departments.
It will be, as the SA pool expands, the potential for work reduces — (it will also adversely affect catering, costume and make up; but that’s their problem, and they may have a strong Union presence, unlike SA’s.)
In essence, more people competing for less work. Though more films and television will be produced over the coming years than possibly ever before; there will be less need for the peripheral departments; such as SA’s, which would then have a knock-on effect on other linked departments. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
What has been, in my fortunate situation, an enjoyable and illuminating career, will, alas, no longer exist, in its present, dwindling form.
Some may accuse me of a negative attitude with this article, but I simply see it as pragmatic and realistic, and, ultimately, only time will tell.
For those, many, who still have stars in their eyes; go ahead, give it a chance; it’s been very good for me; but the times are definitely changing. And, as has always been the case really, we are all still, a bunch of cuts, away from stardom.
*Money and time are the only true driving forces in any business. Since the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century, technological innovation and invention has always led to a reduction in workforce, in a desire for greater profits. Nothing has changed in this business model over the last 250 years.
