Since I have the time and the inclination, I decided to join the masochist ranks of paid extras for Fever Pitch directed by the Farrelly Brothers. Yesterday (at least I think it was yesterday), I reported for duty at 4:40 p.m. in Kenmore Square, and then I spent the next ~14 hours at Fenway Park pretending to be an excited fan watching a game and reacting to stuff in the story.
I haven’t seen dawn in Kenmore Square since I was a kid and had a whole lot of explaining to do to my mother about where I was all night.
Here’s what I have learned so far.
It is fucking COLD when it’s 50 degrees at 4 a.m., and you’re sitting in a ballpark without that much to do.
There are a whole lot of people with aspirations to fame and glory. Most of them won’t make it.
There’s a lot of pain in the ass, unglamorous work to making a movie.
If you tell hundreds of people to “pantomime” watching a game, many will do peculiar actions unlike those you may have seen at an actual sporting event.
People who have performed or acted previously seem to have much fewer delusions of grandeur (and are funny to talk with mostly about the more optimistic extras).
Being in the actors union means better cookies. (Having a friend in SAG gives you access.)
Drew Barrymore can run much further and gracefully than I ever could or any other mere mortal, especially at 5 a.m. in the cold.
The water in the Fenway Park bathrooms is blistering hot and makes a completely mediocre cup of tea.
Hot water bottles should make a comeback! (At least that’s what I delusionally realized while stuffing a Poland Springs bottle full of hot tab water into my jacket to keep warm.)
get a real job 🙂