the life of an extra

Think being in a movie is a glamourous thing? Apparently not. Maybe it is if you're a big star like Nicolas Cage, but not if you're an extra in his movie.

I am flat on my back in one of the oak-paneled rooms in the Library of Congress, where the sequel to 2004's "National Treasure" is filming. The crew is setting up a shot in the grand reading room, and we extras (or "background actors," if you will) are consigned to this smaller holding area. Cattle in a pen. Twelve-thirty to 3:30 a.m., there on the floor. Heaps of tired meat.

This is the "wait" part of "hurry up and wait."

One of my coworkers was an extra in Blue Chips because they filmed in his hometown's high school. He's never watched the film, so he doesn't know if he can be seen in it or not.

Do you want to be an extra in a film? Go here.