My Big Break

Lately Mississippi has been a buzz with movie talk. They're filming the movie The Help right up the road in Greenwood. They're even coming to Jackson this week to shoot a few scenes. The movie will be based on the book by Mississippi author, Kathryn Stockett. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend you do. It's a great read, especially if you're from Jackson. So, a few months ago I saw an article in The Clarion Ledger about needing extras for the movie. I filled out the form and sent in a picture. I'd honestly completely forgotten about it when I got a call from the casting department. They asked me if I wanted to be an extra, the only catch was that I would need to commit to 5 days. I debated over it and decided that I just couldn't pass it up! Work was nice enough to let me take a few days off. So, I headed to Greenwood for the week. I must say I'm so glad I did! It was such a fun experience! Each morning the extras had to be at the shoot between 4:30 and 5 AM with our hair in rollers. We changed into our costumes and waited in line for what seemed like forever to have our hair and makeup done. My scene was the Junior League Benefit scene so I was all dressed-up in the finest formal attire.

What a fun scene to be in! I got to see Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard and Sissy Spacek just to name a few. Basically, the production assistants just gave us simple directions, like pantomime with each other and pretend to be mingling, then on this cue walk across the room to the auction table. There was lots of down time each day while we were waiting for the crew to change lighting, set up for a new scene, etc. By the end of the week all of the extras had gotten to know each other well. Everyone was so nice! Here's me and some of my "co-stars" below -Becky, Laura and Marley.

On Friday, we ended up filming until about 3:30 AM that night! We filmed the benefit arrival scene. It was amazing to see everything that went into making this scene, from the antique cars and outside landscaping to the costumes and props. My stage "husband" and I along with another couple got to stand on the balcony of the Greenwood Courthouse (aka the Andrew Jackson Hotel). Hopefully, that shot will make it in the movie! Now I realize there's a huge chance my scene could end up on the cutting room floor, but I have to say the whole experience was completely worth it! Now I only have to wait until October 2011 for the movie to come out!