Today my daughters and I stood in line for two hours for an open casting call for the new Johnny Depp movie, Black Mass. My older daughter is interested in acting so I thought it would be an interesting experience for her, if picked, to learn about how movies are made. Once I learned how many people were going to show up, however, I said what the hell and Gianna and I decided to go for it too. If we were going to invest all that time waiting in line, we might as well give it a shot.
The good news was that it was a gorgeous spring day, so it was really enjoyable to stand outside and catch up with my kids during that time. The bad news was that we were surrounded by people that I think sum up with what is one of the fundamentally broken things in our culture: they are obsessed with the notion of fame.
Right in front of us stood a young woman with multi-colored hair, wearing what I can only describe as a pin-up version of Donald Duck's sailor suit. I suppose it could have been considered sexy if it were on the right body, but this woman clearly was dressing for the body she wished she had, not her actual figure. And yet, she carried her professional headshot and bragged to those who stood around us about her "extra" work of movies past. It struck me that if I know of one Hollywood myth that must be true, you've got to take care of yourself. I would imagine it's infinitely harder to be discovered as the next Jennifer Lawrence if you are shaped more like Rebel Wilson…but think you are Jennifer Lawrence. There seemed an altered state of reality with this girl, about her notion of fame being right around the corner, and the visible obviousness of her not looking the part of a leading lady at all. It wasn't unlike those singers on American Idol who think they are amazing, but can't sing a note. She was bragging so much of her talent, I was tempted to say, "Honey, you are still standing in the open casting call line with all of the thousands of us, so ease up and please get in touch with reality." But I kept my mouth shut and just wished her luck.
But tougher to take than her was the man who stood directly in front of her. He continually called himself "the next James Galdonfini," and boasted of the extra work he had done in some recent Boston movies. "I am always picked because I am authentic Italian guy from the North End with a Boston accent. I'm a shoe in." Again, sir, if you are so fantastic, where is your agent and why are you standing in this line with us scrubs? He was so annoying my kids took a walk to get away from him.
I was looking for a interesting and different experience for my kids on a Saturday afternoon, and what I walked away with was a really sad state of America. Those around us seemed to want a taste of fame, and it appears no one wants to work hard for it. When I asked if any of these people took acting classes, there was a resounding "No!"
And except for a handful of genuinely scary looking older men who looked like they could be Whitey Bulger themselves, no one who showed up seemed to make an effort to capitalize on what could be their 15 seconds of fame. They came dressed in their standard sweats and baseball hats, like they had just come from lunch at McDonalds. And yet, as my girls sat there listening to these people brag about how great it is to be chosen because you get to skip work and eat amazing food from craft services, I thought, why the hell am I exposing them to this?
I am the anti-fame person. Perhaps it would be a cool life experience to get cast as an extra in a movie - especially a Johnny Depp movie - with my kids and see ourselves on screen for two seconds. But beyond that, I don't get it. We've become a society that places such value on being seen and recognized. Or of valuing a high status lifestyle. Don't get me wrong…money is great, but how much is enough? And it's lovely to be respected, but does one really need to be on the cover of a magazine or signing autographs to have self worth?
We all aspire to different things in life. I know some people who are clearly driven by fame - or at least aspire to become famous. I don't judge them for it. It's just different than how I want to live in the world. Having spent time with someone who needed to be followed around by a bodyguard, I can't imagine living like that, or how it would be appealing in any way. Not that I am in jeopardy of becoming famous…I just don't get why it seems so appealing.
We will find out in the next few days what happens with this casting call, and if we actually get called back to do a reading. All three of us are in agreement we are totally cool if we don't. It was a fun experience to see how it worked, and it was an interesting way to spend the afternoon together. If exposing my kids to some fame-obsessed extras results in them remaining grounded people, however, than it was a very worthwhile activity indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment