My Movie Career Begins
A Pakastani, an American, a Palestinian, and an Irani, as Evil Soldiers from Nebulous Foreign Country
About two hours east of here is a city with several "film industrial parks", consisting of permanent film sets, with neighborhoods of replica buildings in various styles. There is a small but steady market for foreign extras, and there are a few agents who specialize in recruiting foreigners for these roles in made-for-TV movies and commercials.
This weekend I began my acting career by appearing in a TV movie, playing the role of an evil soldier from a nebulous foreign country. I appeared in three scenes, mostly seen carrying a rifle, chasing after one of the protagonists. We also kill someone off camera and steal some treasure. It seems the part was made directly from the stereotype of the greedy, dull-witted foreign devil.
For most of the day, I was just having fun hanging out with the other foreigners, and suffering in the cold. But towards the end as it began to sink in what sort of character I was supposed to be, and afterwards as I tried to imagine how someone watching the movie would see it, I feel like I have acted wrongly. And it's a given that I acted badly. My career can only go up from here, right?
4 comments:
wow, cool, my movie career restarted again immediately after the exams are finished^_^
last night i watched "shankespeare in love",here are two verses i d like to share with you:what light is light, if Silvia be not seen? What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?
I think you make a much cuter evil nebulous foreign enemy than the others.
Your role can't have been any more dubious than that of my seminary comrade who went down to the studios and got chosen as an extra to stand around a pool hall and look young and hip for a beer commercial. :-)
@slowlane, oh good, at least I'm a cute villain.
@mataikhan, it took me a while to figure out how being young and hip in a pool hall was anything like being a pillaging soldier / stereotypical dumb foreigner. But a student from your seminary, and a *beer commercial* pool hall... I think I get it now.
Post a Comment