Don't Call Us, We'll Call You

The headline in yesterday's Post-Dispatch was intriguing:

"Wanna act with Clooney? No experience? No problem!"

This morning I (and thousands of other people) showed up at Crestwood Court (aka Crestwood Plaza) to attend an open casting call for a chance to be an extra in a George Clooney movie.

The plot of "Up In The Air", according to IMDb:

A professional who specializes in "career transition counseling" (a euphemism for firing people) looks to accomplish his two main goals in life: to accumulate 1 million frequent flier miles, and to land a job at a mysterious management company called MythTech.

The movie is going to be filmed around St. Louis in March and April. According to the article, there were roles for for about 2000 people, especially people with airline and hotel industry experience. I didn't have either of those, but I thought I might have a chance as a generic traveler, businessperson, or "Midwest type".

I arrived at the mall about 9:20 (forty minutes before the posted start time) only to find a line of hundreds of people ahead of me. However, the whole process was well organized; I was given a ticket and told to come back at 10:30.

While I was waiting I decided to get some exercise and walk the mall. I fell in with a nice gentleman who was obviously a regular mall walker; he waved to several other people as they went by. We made about 2 1/2 trips around the mall before we went out separate ways, because it was time for me to get in line.

The queue moved slowly but steadily; while I was waiting I had fun talking to all the people around me. There was a pair of retired women who had been friends for over forty years, a pair of 20-something men who kept cracking each other up with horrible puns and jokes, and a group of travel agents dressed in Hawaiian shirts.

Eventually, I got to the top of the line and was ushered into the room. I turned in my form, complete with snapshot, was asked a few questions, and thanked for coming. They'll call me if they're interested.

As a side note, while I was waiting in line a man came through asking if anyone lived in West County or South County and would be willing to be interviewed for the Suburban Journal paper. When I expressed interest, he led me into an empty storefront, took out his video camera, and asked me a few questions. I may not end up on the silver screen, but I will most likely be on a computer screen soon!