ever had one of those days? the ones that take a funny turn?
i picked up a movie from the library recently, ‘the five year engagement,’ and when i saw the cover, i remembered that i had almost been in it. by accident. really.
it was a couple of summers ago, and i’d walked downtown to meet my date. when i got to one of my favorite local townie spots where we’d planned to meet, i noticed there was a barricade, some roadie types, a sound system and all sorts of equipment, set up outside. having lived here for more than a decade, i knew there was always a festival, parade or protest popping up, so none of this surprised me. it could easily have been for a street dance, a car show, or god knows what else, so i simply stepped over and around everything, and walked on in.
once inside, i looked around, it was a bit dark and hazy and didn’t see him there yet, so i sat down at an open table. while waiting, i noticed that something about the place looked different than it normally did, but i couldn’t quite put my finger on it. i then got a phone call from my date, asking where i was, and when i told him i was already where we’d planned to meet, he said he’d arrived, but couldn’t get in because it was closed off to the public, as they were shooting a movie there. and he wondered how i had gotten in.
ah – that’s when it all made sense and it dawned on me. i had unwittingly walked right into the middle of a movie set. i thought it was awfully dark for being the daytime, and things were moved around, and i heard someone yelling out something, but figured it was a bartender, and thought maybe they’d redone the place, trying to go a bit more upscale. i loved it just the way it had been though, a cozy, casual, old-school, welcoming place. all this went through my mind quickly and then i remembered, they’d been shooting in various locations around town for some weeks now, but it never occurred to me that i had crashed their party. i was suddenly an accidental extra.
i’m sure the only reason they let me on set in the first place, was because i’d ambled on into it like i was supposed to be there, (and i thought i was), so no one stopped me. and i was dressed like a townie, (since i was a real one), so i fit right in.
we laughed out loud on each end of the phone as i shared my revalation, and i casually got up and walked off the set and into the daylight once more, as if i was walking to my personal production trailer, only to find my date waiting in another location. where they were NOT in the middle of shooting a scene for a movie.
when i picked up the dvd at the library, a part of me somehow hoped to see myself in that scene, but not surprisingly, i was nowhere to be found, other than somewhere on the cutting room floor, perhaps.
Acting in’Star Wars’ I felt like a raisin in a giant fruit salad, and I didn’t even know who the cantaloupes were. – Mark Hamill
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image credits: universal studios, old town bar
From one twist to another, Exactly like being in a movie yourself. 😉
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exactly, andy )
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I do love “your life”….
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thanks deb and happy you have been a part of it )
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Oh this is too funny!!!
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thanks and it was, jules )
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Photobombing a movie would be awesome….
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absolutely, es –
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You almost had an extra-special day back there, Beth. I love the idea of walking into any situation because it looks like you belong.
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well, it’s all in the attitude i suppose, mark )
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And I dig your belong-in-my-local-joint attitude, Beth!
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haha!
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)
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That’s still really cool though, whether you made the final cut or not 🙂
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oh yeh, it’s such a fun memory, lydia )
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If anyone asks, tell them you didn’t stick around because the script wasn’t up to your standards.
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perfect, cbc )
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Incredible post. Well written. I don’t come by them often. Of course, it’s my opinion..So here’s the highest award I give anybody – “Good Stuff.”
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wow, thank you so much, kl )
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Good point. Always look as if you know where you’re going:) Funny story.
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absolutely right, and thanks )
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Ok, this is officially one of my favourite stories of yours ever. So so funny! And so well told! I loved reading this 😀
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aw, amb, it was so fun and thanks )
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Very cool
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thanks, becca )
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Great story! So was the movie as good as your own story?
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thanks barb. well, it was cute and it was fun seeing some of the familiar spots around town (filmed here and in san fran too), but i’d give it a 7. real life adventure – a 10.
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Your crazy life is more hilarious than any movie, Beth! Slipping on ice during dates, under car with daughter filming it, now on a movie set. You are a ‘star’ in our eyes!
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well, thanks robin. i guess it takes a certain audience to appreciate it all. )
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You fit right into the limelight! Surprised you didn’t climb on stage in your newest post, to dance with the troupe! The kids have loosened you up for the part! Smiles, Robin
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so funny, and you’re right, robin )
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What a great story!
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thank you )
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Fun post, Beth! You could have said a quick ‘do you know who I am?’ on your way out – you may have been kept in as a cameo!
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great point, tom. i will do this the next time this happens )
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Awesome that you fit right in, Beth.
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yeh, that was kind of fun )
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Awesome! I’ve never crashed a movie shoot! The closest I got was a private party at a restaurant. I was offered beer and food and a tour of the kitchen before I realized maybe it wasn’t open to the public. When they asked me who in the party I was related to, I knew for sure haha.
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that is so funny, and sometimes you just have to go with it )
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Who wouldn’t let you in?
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yeh!
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Brilliant Beth – well you have been told you look like a celebrity so I don’t see why they would have cut you out 🙂 How cool though, you owned it (for those moments) and you wrote about it so well, thank you. 🙂
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exactly, jen. and thanks )
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Great story. And that Mark Hamill quote is… bizarre…
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thanks, michael. and i agree about the quote, that’s what drew me to it )
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What a great story! Too bad you had to meet your date. If not for that, I would have just stayed were I was and watched the action. How fun that would be!
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so true, pif )
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Well, now I know someone who was almost a famous extra! Probably the closest I’ll get to fame.
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oh, boy – that is really a stretch, but hey you take what you’ve got )
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Hilarious Beth! You so nearly had your fifteen minutes of fame. I’ve seen that movie as well 🙂
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very true, jade and i just enjoyed the adventure. hope you enjoyed ‘my film.’ )
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Ha ha.. I did 🙂
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Okay, mystery solved – you were that elegant but amused lady who walked and —- 🙂
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)
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Hah! That’s fun. I probably would have stayed until they kicked me out… just to see what was going on and maybe get into a few scenes. 😀
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if i didn’t have a date waiting for me elsewhere, you bet i would have )
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Would have been a good test of his understanding and patience.
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very true, dj )
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I think you are witty, wise and super funny = authentic, I am so glad I found your blog! I look forward to following and reading your next adventure.
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thank you so much, that is very kind of you to say and i look forward to reading your words as well ) beth
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That’s so funny! 🙂 Well, as they say….”lifes a stage”, or in your case a movie set!
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hahaha, so true )
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What fun! It’s a shame they didn’t keep that bit in the movie!
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i agree! )
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🙂 You certainly don’t belong on the cutting room floor!
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thanks )
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awesome story, Beth! I love how you collect these anecdotes. And I LOVE the Mark Hamill quote. I thought HE was the cantaloupe 🙂
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thanks so much, liz. and me too!!
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So awesome! I went out for a cattle call just for the heck of it once in Newport, RI…turns out I wasn’t exactly what they were looking for in the film Amistad…how cool it would have been to see then up and coming Matt M. Or the amazing Anthony Hopkins??? Great post!
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oh wow, that really would have been! and thanks )
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Funny story, interesting how when you look like you know what you are doing and where you are going, no one challenges you on it.
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that is so very true
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