Oh, well, no Oscar
for best supporting extra

Robyn’s Hood
By Robyn McCloskey

This Friday, which just happens to be Friday the 13th, marks the premiere of the latest M. Night Shyamalan film, The Happening, starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo and . . . oh yeah . . . me.
All right, maybe I don’t get fourth billing, or even 40th billing for that matter, but I am in it. Or at least I think I am. When it comes to film editing, you can never be sure what will happen to your great performance.
When the casting company that I work with called to see if I was available for this particular project, I eagerly answered yes!!
Working as an extra in movies is just one of the ways I try to help pay the bills around here. Besides, I am a fan of all things Shyamalan and thought it would be fascinating to watch him in his element.
It also marked my third Mark Wahlberg movie, and I was under the delusion we were forming a bit of a friendship.
The scenes I worked on were shot during the heat wave of September 2007, and for the last nine months I have been sworn to secrecy as Night (yes, I am on a first-name basis with the man . . . six days in the sweltering heat will do that to a person) tends to keep his movies shrouded in secrecy.
But I feel free to talk openly now, consent form or no consent form, as I promise not to reveal anything that can’t already be seen in the movie’s trailer.
It was on my fourth day of filming somewhere out on the bucolic farmlands of Pennsylvania when M. Night Shyamalan gathered those of us who were going to be in that day’s scene. As he was explaining what was needed, he very gently put his arm on my shoulder. Until this point I had very little personal interaction with him, but I did notice early on that he is extremely kind and patient, not to mention pretty darn easy on the eyes.
And so it was that I found myself gazing up into those deep, dark, penetrating eyes surrounded by eyelashes that God had no business putting on a man, and that dazzling smile with brighter-than-white teeth, that I was so taken aback by it all that the only thing I could hear was Charlie Brown’s teacher, waaa-waaa-wa-wa.
I know Night was talking because I could see his lips moving and sound was coming out, but I was completely unable to concentrate. That is until he said the words, OK, Robyn, I’m going to need you to run, as he pointed far off into the distance of the rolling hillside.
As my brain kicked back into gear, the only thought going through my head was Run? Did he just say . . . run?? Dude, I haven’t run in like twenty years.
Not wanting to be fired on the spot for not listening to the famed director, my head nodded yes as my body screamed no. As those of us who were about to embark on this mini-marathon took our places, Night had one more thing to say. And remember, whatever happens don’t stop running until I yell cut!
Being the good sport I like to think I am, when action was called I started running. Being the total non-athletic spaz I actually am, I fell . . . flat on my face . . . in full view of cast and crew. With the cameras rolling. As I lay there sucking dirt, the only voice I heard was the one that had told us Remember, whatever happens don’t stop running until I yell cut!
I was pretty sure I hadn’t heard the word "cut." But I was absolutely sure I wasn’t running. Since the ringing in my ears from the fall was pretty loud, I had no choice but to pick myself up, dust myself off, and continue running, and running, and running, since it seemed like a good 15 minutes until Night finally got around to yelling Cut!
Heaving for breath, I painstakingly hobbled back to my starting mark. Much to my surprise I was greeted with a round of applause. Seems the crew thought it was a pretty good stunt.
Thankfully, we shot the scene only two more times, which was about all my poor body could take. I even managed to remain upright for both of them.
But no matter which take, if any, ends up in the movie, for me personally it was quite a happening. ••
Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in the Northeast Times. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net