Saturday, August 31, 2013

Interesting faces on The Blacklist

Episode aired 10/14/2013

It was a great day in Yonkers, NY when we did our background gigs at the courthouse.  Only a couple of us were picked to be part of the lawyerish scene wherein the two FBI agents react to a commotion in one of the courtrooms.  The episode with a body-cleanup villain was called The Stewmaker -but we didn't know that at the time.  As extras, we're usually kept minimally informed about the plot for... DUH, obvious reasons (not that I'd ever give away any spoiler secrets here).  I've always intended this blog to be a kind of cathartic experience on my part: sharing my impressions about what it's like to be in the background as an extra -in both adulation and venting modes. And judging by the number of visitors to this blog (other than an occasional "anonymous" spammer), I have no problem with writing into the void.  In fact the older I get, the more I void.

But I digress.  So, getting back to the shoot inside the courthouse... I was paired up with an attractive young actress who was telling me about her upcoming marriage when the AD's and PA's began shouting their "QUIET PLEASE!" mantras.  And as we kept our chatter down, one of the main characters, Lizzie, played by Megan Boone decided to entertain us with one of her aloof moments.  She'd been gazing at the tee-shirt of one of the stand-ins, which had a Star Wars print on it stating: "When you think about it, all galaxies are far, far, away."  Megan decided to repeat that sentence several times while asking the poor stand-in "but what does that REALLY mean???"  The stand-in, feeling uneasy, cleverly changed the topic and Megan was sidetracked with a call to rehearse the scene.  After rehearsals, there was another break of silence and Megan began again by giving us all a once-over look after which she exhorted with wonder-filled tones (and Betty Davis intonations): "Look at all these...." (she almost created an uncomfortable silence as she searched for the word)..."interesting faces!  It's so great to work with such...  (pause)... interesting people."  Our silence to her mini-soliloquy was deafening. We didn't know what to make of it.  Was she trying to make a connection with us (we extras are not allowed to talk to the principals) or just channeling her inner-philosopher? It's worth noting that in the first episode, her character is asked to "profile herself" by her FBI boss. She answers with descriptions befitting herself in real life.


Nonetheless, Megan was excellent with her lines... her acting... her character persona.  In fact both my wife and I got hooked on the show -it's really good!!!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I love your comments on filming in Yonkers. I write for a local newspaper in Yonkers, Yonkers Rising, and would like to include your thoughts in an upcoming story on filming boom in the city.

Let me know if you are interested, thanks Dan Murphy --dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com

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