Extra, Extra... Locals vie for parts in "Killshot"

Everybody wants to be a star.

Or at least take a shot at having their faces appear in the background of a movie.

That's what prompted 18-year-old Melissa Miller to apply to be an extra in "Killshot," which is scheduled to be filmed in Cape Girardeau in December.

"I just thought it would be cool. It's two seconds in a movie, but it's something different to do and you get paid for it," said Miller, a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University.

According to the movie's casting director, around 100 local people will be hired to participate in the film as extras, a group that will help "create the fabric" of Cape Girardeau when the movie is shot here for five days in December.

Applications became available Nov. 8 and those who are selected will be notified around Dec. 1.

Miller said she sent in a photo and filled out an application, answering questions about her clothing and shoe sizes and whether she had a pet or hobbies.

Chris Freeman, a 23-year-old senior at Missouri Valley College, said he applied after his mother, who lives in Cape Girardeau, contacted him.

"I never thought about being in movies," said Freeman, "but this appears to be something interesting to do."

Freeman said if he were casting himself in a movie, he'd probably play an athlete, because he was on the football team in college.

The extras are needed to play townspeople, river workers and welders. One of the characters in "Killshot", based on Elmore Leonard's novel, gets a job at Cape Girardeau's Missouri Dry Dock while on the lam from two hitmen.

Applications to be an extra in the movie will be available in two spots in Cape Girardeau, probably the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the public library. Applications will also be available for downloading at the Missouri Film Commission's Web site at www.mofilm.org.

Extras likely will work one 12-hour day. For eight hours of work, they will be paid $55 and overtime for hours after that. They will also be provided lunch.

The film is also looking for local people to serve as production assistants.

Business editor Scott Moyers contributed to this report.

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128

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Extras for Extras:

Here's a list of terms the website "www.soyouwanna.com" suggests learning to prepare for a gig as a movie extra:

Blocking

While "blocking" sounds like something you'd find in a hockey movie, it actually refers to the placement of the various actors and extras in a shot. But you can pretend that it's a movie about hockey. When the assistant director tells you it's time to go over the blocking, it means that you have to go and be told where to stand and what to do during the shot. In short, it's what you actually do when the cameras roll.

Marks

"Marks" refer to the specific spot on which you are to stand during a scene. These are actual marks, usually made with tape or sandbags. If you don't stand at your mark the camera won't focus properly. Extras are not usually given marks, but you need to know what the term means, i.e., that if someone tells you to "hit your mark" you need to go and stand on a piece of tape which should have been pointed out to you earlier.

Assistant Director

The assistant director, or A.D., is your boss. The A.D. is usually in charge of all the extras, and he or she is the person to whom you need to endear yourself. Assistant directors can help you in all sorts of ways, from not screaming at you and firing you to getting you lines or letting you work for more money on a union voucher.

Taft-Hartleyed

To be "Tafted" or "Taft-Hartleyed" means to get into the union based on having worked on three union vouchers or by saying a line. The name comes from the Taft-Hartley labor law, the details of which we don't know and which don't concern you anyway. Just know that when people talk about Taft-Hartleying, they aren't uttering random syllables in an attempt to confuse you.

-- www.soyouwanna.com