The Fame

Getting paid to hang out in the background on camera. A hilarious parody of a job and the easiest money anyone could ever make. Free food, free coffee; zero responsibility. If you're close enough, sometimes you get to watch the process. Anyone can work as an extra, as long as you don't look like a creature from 300. Even if you did, you would probably still work occasionally. You don't need any skills; you don't need a resume. There's no reason to have any ego about it because anyone could do it. That being said, I've never in my life encountered so many divas and douche bags.

We all know that the more people are in a group, the dumber the collective becomes. Controlling them is only slightly easier than herding cats. Cats are a little more cooperative than extras, though. They have to be shushed every thirty seconds, they're always wandering around when they aren't supposed to be, and they get cranky when their every whim isn't met. Then they have the gall to turn around and complain that they're being treated like children or animals. If you want to be treated like an adult, how about ACT LIKE ONE!? The sense of entitlement is appalling. These people are worse than the actual actors on set. All they do is bitch about everything all day long. The food wasn't good enough, the hours are too long, the bathroom is too small, they deserve the same stuff as the crew and talent. Give me a break. If you were such an asset, you'd be making more than minimum wage and people would call you by your name instead of "lady in purple, yeah, you."

A little-known fact: Doing audience work or background does not mean you're the next Megan Fox. There's usually not such a thing as "getting discovered". You have to do a little more work to get to that level. If it were that easy, everyone in L.A. would be famous. And that doesn't make much sense, does it?

The favorite topic of discussion among most of these people is themselves and their "accomplishments". Oh, you worked on Transformers? So did 450 other people. Your friends from Nowhere, Colorado are impressed, but everyone else knows it doesn't mean anything. I don't want to hear your thoughts on the difference of directing styles between Clint Eastwood and Michael Bay because you don't know shit. Hanging out on set doesn't qualify you as some sort of expert or movie veteran. You are told what to do and where to stand by some nobody, and you're lucky if you can even figure out which one the director is. That's how much contact you have with the people at the top of the ladder. Yes, it's exciting to see celebrities, but it sure would make their job easier if you would stop staring at them like a slack-jawed yokel. Talk to your family back home. They think it's exciting. Leave me alone. I think you're a loser.

I'm a loser right now too, but I don't act like I'm God's gift to the industry. That's the difference.