May 4
...serving up your daily dish.
In case you were wondering when all those Sopranos shoots at the Charles Bierman House in Montclair would make their way to the small screen ... it happened this past Sunday. Here's a spoiler alert, in case you're behind on your Sopranos watching, but the scene in question was in Episode 73, "Johnny Cakes," where ....
... AJ goes the psychiatric hospital (aka The Bierman House) with a knife and the intent to kill Uncle Junior.
Meanwhile, all you Soprano Sue fans out there, keep your eyes peeled this Sunday for an appearance of our favorite Sopranos maven in Episode 74, "The Ride," during a street fair scene in Newark. Sue writes about the experience of being in front of the camera here.
What a lot of people don’t realize that being an extra is nothing like being a principal actor. You are background, you have no lines, and in the pecking order ranks, you are right there on the very bottom. But for me, it’s not so bad being on the bottom, it’s a dream come true. It’s something that I never thought would happen and I had to slap myself, to realize that it is happening, and it’s so wonderful to know that something I had considered as wishful thinking on my part, had come true.
In real life, away from the set, several members of the Sopranos cast have been behaving badly. A roundup of their latest crimes and misdemeanors here.
"... being an extra is nothing like being a principal actor."
Yah think?!
Posted by: Gonzo Journalist | May 4, 2006 1:04:55 PM
I was an extra recently in an indie movie, and it's harder than you might think! I was supposed to be eating soup (actually a bowl of water) in a diner and it was hard to feel relaxed and look natural. Also I was trying studiously to avoid looking at the real actors-- but wouldn't it have been natural to glance over at them?
They also wanted me to act as if I were speaking to a couple of family members, but just move my lips-- not make any noise. That was VERY difficult to do without looking exaggerated.
Posted by: latebloomer | May 4, 2006 1:15:51 PM
"...but just move my lips-- not make any noise. That was VERY difficult to do without looking exaggerated."
Nah, I talk to myself all the time...:)
Posted by: Conan the Chowdahhead | May 4, 2006 1:34:40 PM
Since you asked, Butch--They're making a movie out of my brother Brian Morton's novel "Starting Out in the Evening", starring Frank Langella and 2 actresses from "Six Feet Under"-- Lauren Ambrose and Lili Taylor. I am SO proud of him!!
Posted by: latebloomer | May 4, 2006 3:02:11 PM
My then-girlfriend (now wife) and I were extras in a little known mob movie from the '90s (Mira Sorvino's first film!). The bar/restaurant scene we were in required all extras to pretend to be talking, drinking, eating but without making a sound! The principal actors were the only people on set that were allowed to use their voice. I learned that night that filming is technical (lots of light metering, lens/mark metering, sound metering), tedious (lots of waiting around for crews/equipment to get ready, retakes), and requires discipline to act "real" but following a script (both verbal and movement). Once you participate in a film project, even at the "extra" level, you appreciate the studio budgets they require to produce, and feel like $10/person tickets are a bargain!
Posted by: Jim | May 4, 2006 3:24:42 PM
Late:
A hundred years (or so) ago in Boston I saw Langela as Dracula in the production staged around Edward Gorey's set designs. I thought he was terrific. Ironic that now he is paired with two actors from 6 Feet Under. I hope the movie is a boffo smash.
Posted by: Conan the Grammarian | May 4, 2006 3:37:50 PM
Frank Langella is still gorgeous plus he's from Maplewood.
Posted by: Krys O. | May 4, 2006 4:08:33 PM
Actually, Krys O., Langella from Newark. His father, Frank Sr., owned Bayonne Barrel & Drum, and the family had a huge white house (it's still there) on South Orange Ave., virtually on the Newark-SO line.
Daddy was also a longtime financial backer of Tony Imperiale, I still remember that Tony would take the time at every fundraiser he ever held (the big yearly one was "The Chrysanthemum Ball" at Thomm's) to thank Langella for his support. But the son was never in any way associated with the former karate school man and his covey of thugs.
Posted by: cathar | May 4, 2006 6:19:06 PM
And Jim, if that Mira Sorvino movie is one also starrring Mariah Carey, where they're working as waitresses in a goombah dive but one is a Fed plant, I've actually seen it. (God bless the "lesser" HBO channels twixt 1-6AM.) All that metering, however, and they still couldn't come up with a coherent, believable plot? That one is definitely not even worth catching at a bargain matinee.
Posted by: cathar | May 4, 2006 6:22:59 PM
Cathar: the name of the movie is Amongst Friends. Not the same movie you are referring to.
Posted by: Jim | May 5, 2006 9:36:49 AM
Jim, okay, I see now from IMDB that Mira Sorvino has made at least two very bad LCN movies. And the one I was thinking of was even after she won an Oscar.
Posted by: cathar | May 5, 2006 9:47:45 AM
A long time ago, they were shooting a scene for a film in Anderson Park, in which a lacrosse game was being played. We were told to stand on the sidelines and cheer madly when the team scored. It was tedious, and with two small kids in tow, we lost interest rather quickly and left.
Posted by: DS | May 5, 2006 11:18:40 AM