NOVEMBER 7, 2007

There’s no business like the extras business

SHORT FILM: Extended Stay

On the HBO series Extras, the daily duties of Hollywood’s lowest-rung performers are mined for very good jokes. But in reality, the life of the extra — tellingly called “background” in the industry — has rather more pathos than comedy, as director Pamela Littky’s short documentary film Extended Stay proves.

For one week, Littky followed around a journeyman extra named Jim Jenson as he auditioned for the role of Tommy Lee Jones’s stand-in, received casting-call instructions for Pirates of the Caribbean (“Please make sure you arrive with no pirate stuff on at all”), and reminisced about his days working on Dallas and studying technique with the actress who played Cindy Brady.

It is a life of minor indignities and constantly delayed dreams, but while Jenson (who’s been at it since 1990) is obviously lonely, he’s not defeated. Indeed, Extended Stay showcases his weird professional pride — this is a man who would deliver the famous punch line “What, and leave show business?” without an iota of irony.

Extended Stay on Pamela Littky’s Director’s Reel

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