Sunday, November 16, 2008

Extra, Extra!


After I posted my last blog post, I decided that I would "volunteer" to be an extra on Friday Night Lights because:
1) I didn't have anything else to do on that day.
2) I don't see myself ever going to UT Stadium for any other reason.
3) I'm one of those special features nerds that likes to find out how shows/movies are made and what better way then to go to a taping myself?
The people that chose to be paid extras had to get there at 9am, but I rolled in around 3pm. The extra's duty on this day's taping was to be a football fan in the stands of the Texas High School State Championship (the final episode of the third season of Friday Night Lights). When I showed up I was already wearing the right color to be a Dylan Panther fan, so they just gave me the black t-shirt (pictured above) in case they wanted us to switch sides and root for the other team and a raffle ticket for the prize drawings they did throughout the day. The wardrobe lady offered me a bright yellow trucker hat to complete the blue and yellow colors of Dylan team, but I declined. She suggested that the hat would make me "pop."
I made my way to the stands. It was freezing cold (for Texas) and many people had blankets. I assume these were the people that showed up early in the morning to earn their $56 for the day. I sat towards the front and, in the two hours I spent there, got to see one scene being filmed. I was lucky that it was a dramatic scene. **Spoiler Alert** It was the end of the first half of the game. The Dylan team is losing. One of the players gets hurt. Anyway, they filmed this about four times and the extras all had to clap, boo, and clap (in that order). Then, after the cast left the field to take a break, they packed all of us into one section of the stadium and had us do the same type clap-boo sequence so that they could copy and paste our section throughout the stadium in editing to make it look like the stands were full of people. During this time, to keep us happy, they raffled prizes and had some of the actors throw free t-shirts into the stands. The Friday Night Lights shirt you see above was thrown at me (quite literally--it hit me directly in the face).
After they dismissed everyone for break at a little after 5pm I took off. The nighttime promised to be even colder and I had enough swag to feel satisfied with my experience.
So...watch the season finale. I'll be sitting towards the front in a long sleeve blue shirt. I expect I'll also be attending the Emmy Awards this year for "Best Clap, Boo, Clap Acting."

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Should I do this?

I saw this on craigslist today. I love the show, but it's a BIG time commitment. What do you think folks, should I sign up?

Season Finale - FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!
Reply to: (see message body)
Date: 2008-11-11, 5:38PM

The critically acclaimed DirecTV/NBC television series “Friday Night Lights” is seeking PAID Extras for our FINAL football game of Season 3. We are wrapping up our third season of filming and this will be the last chance this year to be an extra on our show.
We will be filming at the University of Texas Stadium – 2100 San Jacinto Blvd., Austin, TX 78712 and are looking for local residents to work as football FAN Extras in the stands. Filming will take place on Saturday 11/15/08. Tentative start time will be approx. 9:00am and all paid extras will need to be available for 12-14 hours (may be less, but be prepared for a long day/night).
We are currently booking interested local talent, aspiring actors and those just looking for an interesting new experience or something fun to do on the weekend. Age range for extras is 6 years and older. All applicants MUST be US citizens and have valid photo ID and social security cards. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!!!!
Pay rate is $56.00 for an 8 hour day (guaranteed) and time and 1/2 for everything after 8 hours. Extras will receive a check in the mail approx. two weeks after they work
In order to be booked for paid extra work on 11/15/08, either send us an email with each participants name, contact number and age to: fnl_extras@yahoo.com or call: 512-707-7934. (please do NOT do both!)
If you would like to participate in our final day of filming but can not stay all day, we are also inviting the general public to come out between 1:00pm and 10:00pm as VOLUNTEERS and stay as long as they can. Volunteers will not be paid, but can arrive and leave whenever they choose. If you would like to volunteer, simply show up at UT Stadium any time between 1:00pm and 10:00pm on Saturday 11/15/08 wearing blue & black weather appropriate clothing (stay warm!).
FREE food will be provided throughout the day! Prizes and giveaways will be randomly distributed throughout the day!

Contact: Tina Kerr – Extras Casting Director, ON LOCATION CASTING
“Friday Night Lights”
(512) 707-7934

* Location: UT Stadium
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: $56/8hrs

Original URL:http://austin.craigslist.org/tlg/915282400.html

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Changing Writing About Change

So after Obama was elected I, like many other bloggers I'm sure, wanted to write something about it. It's rare that something so culturally and politically significant happens and even rarer when one event comprises both. But it's been hard to find anything to say that hasn't already been said better.
I guess what I've been thinking about most beyond the event itself is the reaction to the event. My first response (of course) was to link the cheering and exuberance to a movie I love: Newsies. You know that scene where Christian Bale's character comes out after his meeting with the newspaper bigwigs? He whispers the results into a little boy's ear and the little boy yells to the crowd, "We beat 'em!" (the moment happens around 8:20) I've always liked underdog movies, but this one was always especially poignant for me because it was a kid's story about kids making a difference. In the scene where they announce their victory I felt some of the same stirrings of emotion I felt times one hundred on election night. For me, and thousands of other kids, Obama's win felt like victory. Judith Warner addresses this winning feeling very well in her NYT article: "Tears to Remember."
What was also winning was Obama's speech. In her article, Warner mentions the moment when he promised, "To those who would tear the world down: we will defeat you. This is our moment. This is our time." One thing that is significant about this statement is that beyond all the terrorists hiding in caves that this may reference, what it also calls to is the way in which the cynicism and hate in our very own country was tearing the world down. By saying that this is "our moment" Obama seems to suggest to his supporters that by being in his change corner we are now a part of a hope army that is unafraid to have sentimental feelings about our country, feelings that can overthrow our disappointment make our nation what we've always wanted it to be.
These feelings are remarkable for my generation. I was born just after Reagan and have lived only in a Bush-Clinton-Bush world. This has been a world of strategically false politics and scandals that have only further revealed the cynicism of the people in power. Therefore my entire life it has been not only completely acceptable to hate our presidents, but hip.
Warner includes a paraphrase of Wordsworth in her article (poetry he wrote about the French Revolution) that I will put in full here:
"Bliss was it that dawn to be alive / But to be young was very heaven."
According to some recent data, Obama outpolled McCain 66% to 32% with voters under 30. The majority of my friends (and even my dad) canvassed, made phone calls, and donated money to the Obama campain. The fact that all of this seemed to really work increased our faith in Obama and our faith in his politics. The system never seemed to work before (see Gore, Kerry) but his system did. This makes being young heaven right now. Late Generation X'ers were known to be sarcastic and world-weary by age 13, but now all of this angst has been revealed as frustration as opposed to cynicism. When young people the world over raised their fists on November 4th and yelled "We beat 'em!" it was with a sincerity and optimism that has not, in our lifetime, ever connected up with (of all things) politics. The world got us wrong. Obama is our president. And now, this is our moment. This is our time.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Austin Farmer's Market




I went to the Austin farmer's market this morning. There's something about a farmer's market that always gets me going. I think part of it is the thrill of handing money directly to the person that created your goods. It feels old timey and at the same time delightfully progressive. (The formula seems to work something like hippies+dogs+babies+vegetables=progressive) I purchased a head of broccoli, a tomato, and a small bottle of honey.
Oh and this food talk reminds me, here's some recent delicious cooking projects I've completed lately:

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs
Crockpot Barbecue Chicken