15 Hours Later...

I'm Famous!! I know you’re all dying to find out how it all happened, so I’m gonna tell you. I thought it’d be best to give you a minute to minute report, then realized that might be too long. And dull. So here's a briefer, yet still broken down, report of my brush with fame. (Times are approximations. I didn’t actually write down every moment that something happened.)

10:45am: Sarah Frantom (aka Franpom) picks me up, looking all punked out and awesome.
11:53am: We arrive at the Extras parking lot. Guy in a Blue Shirt tells us to go over to where "Guy in the Stripedy (pronounced stry-ped-E but said quickly) Shirt" is. We later find out that their names are Chris and Ryan, though we shall always know them as Dubber and Stripedy. (Dubber because he supplied us with our first nickname of the day by calling, or dubbing, Ryan's shirt “Stripedy.”) Both are in charge of directing the Extras. We park (as directed by Stripedy) and make our way into the warehouse.
11:57am: We sign in, get our paperwork, and go into the Extras Holding tent (which is still inside the warehouse - it was a big warehouse). We fill out our paperwork, wonder what the heck we’re supposed to do with it, and end up people-watching for a while. MAN, there were some weird people there! Needless to say, we come up with many more nicknames as the day progresses.
12:45pm: Sarah and I get free donuts and apples and eat a late breakfast.
1:30pm: Half of the room is taken out to film, while we sit and wait and People Watch. There is a group near us of Self-Importants (people who have been Extras more than once and who are aspiring actors), including Business Man By Day, an odd guy who went a little over the top with his costuming - ie: sprayed his hair blue & added a small blue hair extension at the front...yikes!
2:30pm: The rest of us are finally asked to herd into the main filming area. In this area is a roller derby rink surrounded by grandstands on three sides (which have creepy “Inflatables” – inflatable upper bodies with masks, wigs, and clothes on), with a bar (part of the set) and concession stand (with roller derby paraphernalia for sale – also part of the set) at the fourth end.
While Sarah and I are waiting in the grandstands, we spot Drew Barrymore. It was surreal to see her; she’s smaller in person than I thought she’d be. After that first Celebrishock (the shock of seeing a celebrity), it feels really natural to be around them. They just seem like normal people and were super nice and fun!
2:48pm: They move Sarah and me over to the end near the bar, and we are at the edge of a shot with Marcia Gay Harden! They do the scene lots of times with Drew giving Marcia instructions in between each take just feet from us. I can hear the whispered instructions - Drew is trying to really get her into character and into the emotions of the scene. We get stuck behind Afro Guy, who plagued us throughout the day. We also get annoyed that Old Lady With a Hat got in the second shot with Marcia. Sarah and I are SO much more punk rock! (We both had dark eye make-up on, Sarah had on a red tank and hard-core cargo pants; I had on a black short sleeved tee over a long-sleeved gray one with punk rock jeans on and, in some shots, black gloves with the tips cut off- just so you know what to look for when you see/buy the movie.) At this point we also see Jimmy Fallon on the rink and have another brief Celebrishock. I love that guy!
Around this time Sarah and I also find our respective Boyfriends. Mine has a slight Anderson Cooper look to him (and if you know me you know how much I looove A.C.), but younger. He is a grip or something – he helps with the main camera. Sarah’s Bo. fri. has on a yellow AARP t-shirt (though he was definitely NOT old enough to be a member) and a red hat. We were always very excited to see them throughout our day there. It was meant to be.
4:03pm: Sarah and I have to move to another spot, which turns out to be a “sweet spot” – people have to get on and off the rink right where we are. Some of the skaters also have their baskets of gear by us, so we get to hang out next to Ellen Page, Eve, Juliette Lewis, Kristin Wiig and others while they gear up and get on and off. Drew spends more time near us talking to said celebrities, so we feel pretty dang special. I realize later that one celebrity I didn’t recognize at first is Alia Shawkat, none other than Maeby from Arrested Development!

Drew gives us instructions throughout the day as to how we’re to act, etc.
In one scene, those with birthdays from January to June cheer for the Hurl Scouts, while those whose birthdays are from July-December cheer for the Holy Rollers. I cheer for the Holy Rollers, and get to get high fives from all of them! Several times, actually, since there are several takes. I’ll never wash these hands again. Well, I did already, actually. Too much of a germophobe. I DID have my gloves on during a couple of these takes, so I may sell them on E-bay to the highest bidder/biggest Juliette Lewis fan.
5:22pm: We’ve come up with several other nicknames at this point. Some are Extras: there’s Boobs McGee and her boyfriend McMuscles – we try not to have her in our line-of-sight if we can help it; Annoying Guy, who obviously wants to be Discovered, so sings really loudly between takes (really badly) and talks loudly about Drew and his opinions on her movies; Guy From Our Table in the Holding Area, who turned out to be from Ann Arbor and really nice; Short Skirt, who should NOT have been wearing a short skirt – we are terrified she will bend over.
Then there are the Cast and Crew members: J.W. (who’s real name is Jonathan) a.k.a. Sir Mics-a-lot – he is the one who calls us all to order, gets us excited and re-energized, and calls “action” and “cut.” I don't know his official title, but he is sort of the voice of the directors. There is another crew member who wore one of the wigs from the Inflatables for a while, so I think of him as “Wig.” Then there's Angry Guy, this man with chin-length blondish-brown hair and a full beard and angry eyebrows. He is the Hurl Scouts’ coach in the movie and wears a white sweat band on his forehead and cut-off jeans. Awesome! The coach of the Holy Rollers (at least that’s who he seems to be - he doesn't do much) is wearing a striped shirt and always seems to be dancing…and not well. But he is hilarious to watch! He also has beautiful curly hair that I really want to play with. Anyway, we call him Stripey Dancer.
5:48pm: We’ve seen some AWESOME roller derbying scenes! Juliette Lewis isn’t the best skater (she falls a lot), and has a stunt-double. Ellen Page has one, too, but doesn’t use her as much. We’ve had to do a lot of pantomime, which apparently was a new word for a lot of the extras – they started cheering and J.W. had to say, “No! Pantomime!” They finally get it when they see what the rest of us are doing. Jimmy Fallon is hilarious (as is his outfit for the movie) and keeps the Extras laughing.
6:00pm: We break for “lunch,” have to wait in the longest line known to mankind for it, and are rejoiced to finally be able to sit down for a while.
7:12pm: We’re called back to set and the fun starts up again. Sarah’s and my Boyfriends are adorable and devoted to us, and our relationships are stronger than ever.*
8:02pm: Jimmy Fallon comes over towards Sarah and me and I wave (not a crazed fan wave, a “’Sup, Jimmy” wave) and he smiles at us and tells us we’re doing great. Sarah and I are about to launch into a deep conversation with Jimmy when a girl near us says, “Hey Jimmy! Do you remember me?!” Jimmy turns to her, rolls his eyes a little and laughs, then goes back out to the center of the rink. Stupid Girl-Who-Ruins-Meaningful-and-Potentially-Lifelong-Friendships!
9:28pm: We’re moved to the opposite side of the rink. We end up in a small group that kills several of our brain cells just by existing. One bleached-blonde girl tells us that one of the camera guys (not my Boyfriend, of course) said he’d get them some beer. She is lovingly dubbed Eighteen Year-Old Bimbo. (We calls 'em like we sees 'em...) Our group is given a short break, but I stay and hang out to watch a scene that they’re shooting with Jimmy. That guy is such a hoot!! He really works the crowd and cracks us up with his ad-libbing.
10:56pm: Sarah and I are moved back to the other side of the rink, but up in the stands now. Dubber asks who is there for the first time, and picks Sarah and me to move into a prominent position at the front of the stands. We are right in a shot of a conversation between Juliette Lewis and Ellen Page (they’re Jammers on opposing teams – Juliette – a.k.a. Dinah Might – is a Holy Roller, and Ellen – a.k.a. Babe Ruthless – is a Hurl Scout). A guy below us is dubbed Crowd Surfing Pro because he REALLY wants someone to crowd surf and goes on and on about how he knows what he’s doing. He asks Stripedy if he can do it, and Stripedy says Heck No, or something along those lines. Afro Guy is below us for a change. Annoying Guy gets moved…’cause he’s annoying. Juliette hangs out and chats with the Extras. We also chat with the other Holy Rollers – they’re real roller derby players and are super nice. One of them gives us this card telling us about the Detroit Derby Girls, which has several teams. Now that I’ve seen even a simulated game, I’m totally hooked!
12:07am: We’re given a brief brake with snacks. I call Elizabeth and chat for a while before we’re called back in.
12:22am: Sarah and I are faceless cheering arms in the crowd.
12:48am: We’re back near one of our original positions and everyone’s getting a little goofy. We do a scene so many times that I’m starting to think of Drew Barrymore as “Madame Perfectionist.” We’re near Crowd Surfing Pro and Underage Hottie.
1:13am: Sarah and I move to the other side of the rink for the last shot of the day. While they’re setting up, they play some dance music, turn down the lights, turn on the mirrored disco skate and the set turns into an impromptu dance party! Sarah and I break it down with Juliette, Jimmy, Stripey Dancer, Dubber, Ellen, Kristen, and the rest of the cast and crew. SO fun! “Dancing Queen” comes on and we all get excited and break it down more. Woohoo! The energy level picks back up and we get ready for the last shot. I’m not sure if you’ll see much of Sarah and me, but you may see our hands clapping and pounding on the track as we root for Babe Ruthless as she recovers from a fall. Sarah and I get a smile from Dubber as well as a thumbs-up from Stripedy. We know they love us more than the rest of the Extras.
1:50am: They wrap! Drew gets on J.W.’s mic and thanks us all, telling us how AWESOME we are and how much they all appreciate our enthusiasm. She gives Sarah and me a personal thank you, telling us that we can call her any time. Okay, maybe that last part didn’t actually happen, but she did look at us a few times throughout the day and smile!
3:00am: I get home. What a day! I had SO much fun, exhausting as it was. This is something that everyone should do at least once in their lives! I’m really glad that I went with Sarah. It may have been awkward otherwise, and she and I had a great time Naming People.

P.S. I know you were all hoping that Scenario 2 from my previous post would happen. Sadly for YOU, it didn't. Yet I STILL might end up in the Blooper Reel - At one point, Jimmy Fallon started to sing along with "Hey Ya" on his announcer's mic (it's the kind that hangs down from the ceiling like in a boxing ring) and Drew was roller skate-dancing around him. They played music often during the down time between shots, but this time they were still filming, so they told us all to dance. Sarah and I were behind them in the shot, so were breaking it down pretty hard core. So keep your eyes out...we might be more famous than you can imagine!

*It should be noted that the only contact made with our Boyfriends was maybe if they brushed past us, and while we did catch them looking at us frequently, very little, if any, words were actually exchanged. But sometimes...you just Know.