[VPM] OT: my casting in X-Men 3

[Darren Duncan]

Addendum for local folks:  Were any of you involved?
----------------------------------------------------

Over the last few weeks, something interesting happened with me, here 
in my home town of Victoria, BC.

I have been cast as a background performer / extra in the movie X-Men 3.

So if you see that movie next May, and perhaps the trailer this 
christmas, you should see me in it, fairly recognizable (I'll post a 
still online after it comes out, to use for recognition); I'm dressed 
up in a black suit jacket.

The casting call took place on Sunday July 24th, 11am-2pm, where 
about 1000 showed up, and about half got in the door during the 3 
hours and were photographed.  I applied there and I think I was the 
last one to get his picture taken prior to the casting people packing 
up and running for the ferries.  I only found out about this the day 
before, as it was mentioned in a small article in the back of the 
local newspaper, the Times Colonist.

A few days into August I was contacted, the first of about 4-5 phone 
calls to do confirmations of availability and get costuming and 
location plus date/time instructions.  I was one of about 170 people 
chosen to take part from those photographed.  But I didn't know right 
away, since I was away at a computer conference (OSCON 2005) from Jul 
31 - Aug 6, but found out of the first contact when I got home.

The filming with the majority of the extras, including myself, 
happened on Saturday August 13th; it was sunny and clear all day, and 
there was a light breeze from the ocean near by.  I showed up at 
Royal Roads University / Hatley Castle around 10:30am and went to the 
tent where the extras were gathering, then signing in and filling out 
a few forms.

A little while later, I went to the hair/makeup department (in an 
adjunct tent to the extras) and they did something to make my hair 
stand still, and sit in a slightly unusual configuration, but 
otherwise I was unchanged.  The wardrobe department, an open area in 
the parking lot, then validated that the clothing I had brought was 
perfect and no changes were necessary.  The filming proper that 
involved me and most extras started at about 1pm and went to about 
7pm; I signed out and left about 8pm.

About a dozen of the main cast were in attendence, and while I spoke 
with none of them (professional courtesy; they are working), I did 
get within several feet of them on a recurring basis.  This was a 
rather large and important scene with a lot of people there.  The 
filming was all outside, and the sun was hot, so it was standard 
practice for everyone to use umbrellas to keep the sun off when 
filming wasn't happening; but, it was also said that any tears 
generated from the sun can contribute to the scene.  There was also 
an hour lunch break around 2pm, which was quite enjoyable; the 
catered food was very good.  At certain times there were a lot of 
wasps around, mainly the ubiquitous snack table, but none but one 
person got stung by them.

Everyone was very friendly, there weren't any significant mishaps. 
Most of the people involved were in a union, but the extras weren't. 
The scene in question was filmed about 20 times, from various angles 
and distances, and will probably end up being around 2-3 minutes long 
in the final version.

Half way through, there was an announcement that it was Halle's 21st 
birthday, and a quick birthday song was done; the 21 thing was a lie, 
but she had trouble having the right emotion for the subsequent take 
because of it.  Suffice it to say that Halle is having more to do in 
this film, considering that the one scene probably has as much of her 
speaking as the sum of any prior film.  Hugh Jackman wasn't in the 
scene, but was involved in producing the movie, so was around.  Most 
of the other main cast was in the scene, plus about 150 extras.  And 
there were supposedly 250 crew around, though I didn't see more than 
about 50 myself.

Based on certain previous experiences, between behind-the-scenes type 
videos and attendence at conventions where actors etc talk about 
their experiences, plus watching a scene being shot near my house for 
a movie-of-the-week, I had a rough idea what to expect.  What 
happened was largely in line, but there were some surprises also; for 
example, many things were less formal than you may expect.

One thing I will say is that all the speakers had microphones to 
record their voices, and they are barely audible to the other cast 
(as a standard person speaking normally in a large room, without a 
mic, would be), but they are just loud enough that you can still hear 
them if everyone else is silent, and they are supposed to be. 
Another surprise is that, at certain points the director is calling 
instructions during the filming+action time, which would presumably 
appear in the recording; however, I would guess that they will only 
be using the audio from one of the 20 shoots and overlaying it with 
images from many others, so those instructions won't come through.

Now, while I hadn't been told anything about the film besides what is 
shown and inferred in the scene I was in, suffice it to say that I 
can't tell you what the scene is about.  We don't want to spoil 
things for the viewers, and all that.  So if you have questions, I 
can answer any that don't involve spoiling the story.  But ask any 
on-list, so others benefit from them.

The experience was quite enjoyable, and I look forward to doing it 
again.  I have also made a few or one contact within the crew that I 
would probably talk with again in the future, perhaps long term.  In 
the short term, the filming continues here for another week, before 
moving to Vancouver, so there is a chance that I may be called back 
for another scene (I reiterated to the casting person that I was 
available for any day), though no offers have been made yet.

FYI, I applied to do this for 3 main reasons:

1. I enjoy being involved in creating things.

2. I like X-Men a lot, and am happy to be involved with a related production.

3. I've never been in a movie or TV show before, so this is a new 
experience to be involved in, outside the things I usually do.

Have a good day. -- Darren Duncan

P.S. Yes, I did get paid; technically this was a job.