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I Got Cast in Sex and the City
And it was the worst day of my life. Rebecca Dana plays a lipstick lesbian and lives to tell. PLUS, Samantha's anti-menopause diet and Charlotte's new nanny (who doesn't wear a bra!)
“Tell Cynthia to sit up straight!” Patricia Field hollered across the set of the Sex and the City sequel early one morning during a break in filming.
It was 85 degrees, and Field was wearing a large purple hat with fur pompoms and a pair of lime-green suede booties. The famed stylist’s waist-length hair was its regular electric red, and it swished around as she hustled between costume adjustments. At one point, she took a cigarette break, plopping down on the edge of a dolly, while members of her team presented her with different itty-bitty clothing options for Sarah Jessica Parker.
I spent 14 hours of the longest day of my life as an extra on Sex and the City 2 this week. And then, instead of going back for the second day (and the five nights I was supposed to do in October), I quit.
Field, Parker, and the rest of the cast and crew were shooting on location at the Glen Cove Mansion, a resort complex on the North Shore of Long Island, just down the road from the Nassau Holocaust Center. (If you don’t want to know some things that happen in this movie, stop reading now! Seriously. There are spoilers.) The scene was brunch, the morning after a raucous gay wedding. Cynthia Nixon, in full Miranda garb, was slouching with her three best gal-pals on the veranda of a lovely restaurant, which was actually a rickety assemblage of white-painted plywood walls with fake windows and no roof. The dialogue was five script-pages of the usual inchoate patter:
Charlotte (to Samantha, who is about to down a handful of vitamins): “How are you going to swallow all of that?”
Samantha (incredulous): “Have we met?”
Outside, just so things looked realistic, a few hung-over wedding guests were bopping around, sipping fake cocktails, hugging and kissing each other at random and swatting bees. If you go see this movie when it comes out in May, and if the scene isn’t cut, look out the window over Charlotte’s left shoulder just at the moment she says “swallow.” You will see a group of nubile young men in golf attire pantomiming flirting, a heterosexual couple strolling arm-in-arm, and, in front them, a stray girl in a strapless purple dress, wandering aimlessly in mismatched Jimmy Choo sandals and carrying a hideous $2,100 Valentino handbag. That’s me.
I spent 14 hours of the longest day of my life as an extra on Sex and the City 2 this week. And then, instead of going back for the second day (and the five nights I was supposed to do in October), I quit.
This all started in early August, when on a lark I went to an open casting call for the film in Manhattan. I waited for several hours in line with thousands of other hopefuls, stood for two photographs, and wrote about the whole experience, such as it was. When I didn’t hear anything more, I put it out of my mind. Then last week, I got a call from a woman from Grant Wilfley Casting.
“Do you still have the same haircut?” she asked. I do. “Great,” she said. “You’ll be playing a lesbian.”
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Rebecca Dana is a culture correspondent for The Daily Beast. A former editor and reporter for the Wall Street Journal, she has also written for the New York Times, the New York Observer, Rolling Stone and Slate, among other publications.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Rebecca Dana is a culture correspondent for The Daily Beast. A former editor and reporter for the Wall Street Journal, she has also written for the New York Times, the New York Observer, Rolling Stone and Slate, among other publications.
UGG is right.
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My my, aren't we snarky? Because nothing say journalistic integrity like not showing up for work and trashing your temp employer, not to mention putting your nose in the air over all the people who might enjoy a little mindless fluff in the middle of a recession. I liked the series, skipped the first movie. Get yourself a nice pair of Manolos with your earnings and enjoy.
The Wire is the best show to ever grace any form of television.
Sex and the City... if it was any reflection of reality, i'd be celibate or gay by now.
Bubbles, not Mr. Bobbles. He was a great character, a million times better than any S&C role. And it is so sad you couldn't even get his name straight.
It's actually Mr. Bobbles. Bubbles was, of course, a great character. And a separate character. Google it.
What the hell was the point of that? What a juvenile and disappointing piece. How to project your own nasty expectations on a vibrant opportunity, being on a film set. Snarky and juvenile and just bad writing.
So, what you're really trying to say is that a day in the life as an extra is the worst day of your life because you weren't fed until late and were paid to sit around and wait with wannabe actors.
Not quite sure a) why you are acting surprised and b) what Sex and the City has to do with any of this?
I was an extra on some of the episodes back in the day. Some were good some were bad, but they were all long!
This sounds like a very run-of-the-mill day of filming to me. What's the problem?
You commentators don't seem to realize that Rebecca Dana f#@king rules, okay?! Defend SATC if you must, IF you must, but leave her out of it.
I thought this was a really funny article and I do extra work as a living. What she said is all true, and that's why doing extra work is fun. You never know what you're going to get on any given project. I don't think this article casts too bad a light on the work. So for all you haters out there...SHHHEEEUUT UP
What is the problem and why all the whinging? It is mindless work..walking across a window arm in arm with someone...sounds about right. I don't understand what you thought you were going to be doing? Writing a symphony? Solving the problem of world hunger? Creating a syn fuel that is better, cheaper and proprietary? What?
Yep, pretty normal experience as far as being an extra goes.
Love your blog post though- for those of us who would have given a right arm to be in on the film and experience it... if there were parts for one-armed gay wedding attendees- appreciate you going through it and sharing.
Snark on.
After the second moronic comment about Republicans I stopped reading. What does it have to do with the story? Rebecca should forget journalism and stick to acting.
"Inchoate" does not mean what you think it means.
You're only half right abut "inchaote."
She is using it to say half-formed or half-baked, and to be fair, it is defined as -
1. not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
2. just begun; incipient.
3. not organized; lacking order: an inchoate mass of ideas on the subject.
Hmm....
So, you got to be in a movie that is guaranteed to be in theaters. Got to see how a movie gets made. Got a nice story you can brag to your friends about. Got paid and fed for your day of work and then got paid (I'm assuming) to write this article.
It seems to me that the only negative of this experience is the fact that you're not showing up for work tomorrow.
Movies are easy to watch and hard to make. Now you know.
Holla....I hope every actor she worked with, and even those who didn't make the cut get a chance to see this article. What's the old phrase in showbusiness? "You'll never work in this town again!" Hope that journalism thing works out....(for a long time.)
Seriously, that was the worst day of your life? You don't even bother to explain why. Please put more effort into your writing, this was not worth the space.
Oddly, after reading this story I feel pity for the Sex And The City production staff and the casting office who you knowingly (and so proudly) deceived, trashed and probably lost someone or two a job. As an extra myself, these conditions sound ideal. A burrito truck (on a major production!) friendly stars, interesting co-workers and above all, the ability to learn so much from people around you. Your inexplicable negativity about this whole experience gives the movie business a bad name. Shame on you.
I'm still trying to figure out what's so new about a white woman being cast in "Sex in the City." Like the cable show, series like "Seinfeld" and "Friends," were among the least diverse shows that were set in the most diverse city in the world. They got into some trouble for it, and started to dot the set with Blair Underwood(on the series), and Jennifer Hudson(in the film) to clean it up a bit. Just so you know, being a background actor only counts to the actors fortunate enough to be working somewhere....anywhere as an actor of color. Oops...sorry. Charlotte's character did adopt an Asian baby, so I guess that makes up for everything.
I think the point of this artcile is just a fun comment about how every girl dreams to be Carrie, how glamorous the SATC life is and how the experience from inside is the opposite. I think it comes from a girl like most of us: she loves SATC and is still in love with the glamour but at the same time has outgrown Carrie and her friends. We are a bit more mature and would like to ask the four friends to suck it up already.
I thought the article was just a wink from one girl to another about how the inside of the fairytale sucks.
Isn't there supposed to be a difference between asking to do a story, and spying on me people to get a story.
I mean everyone knows the plot in sex in the city.
Obviously you looked cute enough in your hair cut to get the part, and that is what is wrong with the plot of Sex in the City, it seems to be more about skin than content of character.
So obviously they didn't ask if you were going to be a spy.
Since when does content of character flicks have higher ratings, than shallow plots centered around beautiful and often shallow characters? Then we wonder why so many people appear that way.
I would think being an extra on that show would be boring too but it would still be quiet the experience for your resume, I would think.
What would have happened if two or three stars decided to come out with you, when they didn't realize who you were, or more correctly what you were, would have you written about that too?
I hate to sound like Sarah Palin but .... Gotcha journalism is not very nice ...
Having been an extra myself, your day as an extra, my dear, sounds quite normal to me. Chins up and if you don't mind me saying: Grow Up!
Let me guess....you are 20-something years old? Your entire "Entitlement Generation" wants also instant gratification. At your age, I was on a Red Carpet and no one took my photograph. Boo hoo.
Happily, I would dye and cut my hair like yours, fly to NYC at my own expense at any time for the PRIVILEGE of having fun and hanging out on a movie set for 5 days. Working for a living is HARD. Get over it and stop living off your parents. Get a real job, or 3 jobs like I used to have. Or quit complaining. People in this economy have real problems and no one wants to read about you carrying your $1,200.00 designer purse in the summer heat. Quitters never win.
Katherine Barrett Baker
The Sabot School of Etiquette
www.betteretiquette.blogspot.com
This is a good example of what I was going on about, related to women patronizing women, and getting blindsided related to goal/issue.
Whereas guys talk to each other fast and dirty without an etiquette person spying on them, in this case after this person appeared to be spying on her colleagues, and actually had another job, which appears to be spying on her colleagues in this "boring" job, where lots of twenty something would have possibly given their eye teeth for, but for a day, it was taken. If I understand the article this person had two jobs. Either one would have looked good on a resume.
So what is wrong with instant gratification?
And that said, of course beautiful 20 something women might not be entitled to everything they want, and neither are 60 something over the hill men with huge bank accounts, but many do seem to get what they want anyway, because they believe they can.
If you have a sense of confidence at 20, in many ways the world is your playground.
Materially I mean. Maybe Sex in the City has a deeper plot, than I first assumed, after all.
Whoops,
"$2,100.00 purse" (I meant to write) Please edit my previous comment if possible. Thank you.
Katherine Barrett Baker
Nothing in this peace is a spoiler. I suppose if you preface an article with the usual "spoiler alert", everyone will want to read it. That's one way; the other is to write a good piece.
I think spoiler means she tells us what the "plot" was. I think that is what was telling us, the inside scoop she got, though I think sex in the city never has much of a plot. I think though people watch the show/movie for the outfits, and just to space out. I got a series from the library once, I could see how boring it would be to be an extra, but you would think a usb modem and little netbook would have paid for themselves hidden in that fancy bag that didn't go with the shoes.
thank you 4 all the movie details, but after all with complaints, why you really quit???? You must know what a EXTRA is before going for a casting. Its a job to be prepared for anything.
Life teach you to bring snacks in your purse everywhere you go, but I think you know now....
A great opportunity to another person, who need the money, and you ruined it. I will apreciated that I were paid to sit and do nothing. Grow up girl, this is real life!!! no a $2,100 bag life. You feed and clothe a whole poor family for that amount.
Thank you.
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