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Shreveport: The Unlikely Hollywood-of-the-South

February 2009

By Amanda Newton

Keep in mind that you probably won’t end up with a starring role. You can, however, appear on screen as an extra without having to take acting lessons, move to Los Angeles, or hire a publicist.

The job of an extra is to fill the background of a TV show or film. It would look very odd if the star of a movie was the only person shopping in the grocery store. It would also be pretty odd for the loving couple in a movie to stroll through a completely empty city park or shopping mall. (Unless the movie was “Castaway” or “I Am Legend” - but those are definite exceptions.)

Extras walk around, shop, eat, talk and laugh in the background so the setting looks as realistic as possible. Extras don’t usually have speaking roles, although there are times when they might have a line or two to say.

Ten years ago, people in Shreveport-Bossier City would not have often had the opportunity to appear in movies. Today, due to tax incentives offered by the state to the film industry, Hollywood has come calling.

In addition to appreciating all the positive publicity the film industry as brought to the area, many want to try their hand at being a part of this new industry.

The first step, if you are interested in being a movie extra, is to register with a casting agency. There are several in the area and they maintain a database of extras. When a film crew is getting ready to shoot a movie, they contact a casting agency and tell the agency what they are looking for. The agency then contacts people who are registered with them who they think would be appropriate for the movie.

A list of casting agencies can be found at Shreveport-bossierfilm.com, a website that is a joint effort between the two cities. It has information for both amateurs and professionals.

Pam Glorioso handles the Bossier City side of the site and said the site is getting a lot of usage. The average daily page load count for the final two months of 2008 was 150, so there is clearly a lot of interest in the local movie scene.

“I think that the ‘amateurs’ are looking at it when something appears in the media about the local film industry,” Glorioso said. “Then the counts really do go up. It does have a lot of useful information on it and (a) database for vendors, housing and crew base, and other information.”

Arlena Acree, director of film, media and entertainment for the City of Shreveport said some productions require more extras than others. The need for extras will continue, said Acree, who has already been contacted about several projects for next year.

“Things seem to be going great and we want to keep it that way,” Acree said. Shreveport/Bossier City have doubled for cities across the nation and throughout the world. A few of the locales: New York; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Kodiak, Alaska; Amsterdam; Arizona; and the North Pole.

In January of 2008, “Movie Maker Magazine” ranked Shreveport-Bossier #3 city in the U.S. for best places to live, work and make movies. In 2007, the cities were ranked at #6. Louisiana was selected as the best destination in the U.S. to shoot movies for 2 years in a row, 2006 and 2007, by P3 Production.

Since the film industry has taken off in the area, Acree said she is often approached by people who want to be in the movies and she does offer them one piece of advice.

“I tell them to visit our website at Shreveport-bossierfilm.com and there are links for casting agencies and talent agencies and they can pick and choose or call all of them. There are a whole bunch of them.”

Don’t think you have to look a certain way or be a certain age to be an extra. Each movie needs a variety of different people to fill the background. Short, tall, fat, thin, balding or handicapped, there are needs for a variety of people. Just think about the mix of people you see when you go to the Louisiana Boardwalk. Variety is the spice of life and it is also what is needed when it comes time to hire an extra.

If you are wondering if “hire” means you get paid, the answer is yes.

“The pay scale here is typically $58 for eight,” said Ryan Glorioso of Glorioso Casting in Shreveport. “So what that means is you are guaranteed eight hours of pay, so you are guaranteed $58. But the day is usually 12 hours or more, so after eight hours you get overtime. It is usually about $100 a day for a regular extra. Stand-ins and photo doubles are usually a little more, like a guarantee of $120 a day or so. That is pretty much the basic rate, and then sometimes there will be bumps in pay for doing specialty things.”

Those specialty things are little skills or talents you have that might be needed for a film, like the ability to juggle, ride a horse, or ride a skateboard. Can you shoot hoops like nobodies business? Then let the casting company know. You never know when that particular skill might be just what is needed.

Jeannie Perrin, a local pet sitter, has worked as an extra on 23 productions. She fits it in when it doesn’t interfere with her pet-sitting work. The casting companies she is registered with know that she is comfortable working on set around animals.

Ryan Glorioso said his database of extras is currently around 20,000 people, but they can always use more. If you have a computer, you can easily go on line and register. He has also recently rolled out a new site: mycastingplace.com. This new site is like a social network for movie talent, where people can network with each other on the internet. Local residents who have appeared in movies can talk about their experiences with others.

One of those locals with movie experience is Andy Sibley. He recently worked as an extra in “Acceptance,” a Lifetime Movie of the Week starring Mae Whitman and Joan Cusack. He also worked this year on “Leaves of Grass,” starring Edward Norton and Tim Blake Nelson, as well as Hallmark’s “Front of the Class,” starring Treat Williams. His daughter, who is 11, also worked as in extra in the Hallmark movie.

“They cut my scene but she was in it, so she got to see herself and that was cool,” Sibley said.

Sibley said he thinks working as an extra is a lot of fun. He has a background in music, both as a musician on stage and also a stagehand and he likes seeing the production process while on set.

“I enjoy seeing how they set up the camera angles, how they make things look bigger or smaller, how they set-up the scenes. That kind of stuff is pretty fascinating to me so it is a nice break from my regular job to do that kind of stuff.”

His advice for those who are thinking about working as extras is to “just try it” but realize it is not a quick process and you won’t become famous.

“Those who think they are going to be a star from it may get disappointed, so just take it for what it is: the enjoyment of getting to be around movie stars and seeing how they put (movies) together,” he said. “Getting to see your face on screen occasionally is just kind of a fun thing.”

Perrin worked as a core extra for five weeks on “The Mist.” She, along with about 50 other extras, portrayed people trapped in a grocery store. She said it was one of the best experiences she has ever had.

She got to interact with Diane Keaton during the filming of “Mad Money.” Her scene didn’t make it into the movie but she had a lot of fun.

Perrin worked as an extra in the lynching scene depicted in “The Great Debaters.” There were only about 12 or 13 extras in the scene and Perrin was one of only three women. For three long nights in a row they shot the scene. The long nights were worth it to Perrin, though.

“We were directed by Denzel Washington,” she said. “It was so worth it because we were being directed by him. Normally as an extra you don’t get directed by the director, unless it is really important and you are going to be on camera. That was just a thrill. He was walking all around me and my heart was just beating real fast. I just love him and he is one of my favorite actors.”

Angela Thomas said she had a lot of fun when she worked as an extra, but did put in some long hours. Thomas worked on the TV movie “Not Like Everyone Else,” about a girl who is accused of being involved in witchcraft. Thomas said her day as an extra was “really, really long.” They arrived at the filming location before sun-up and worked to almost dark. Besides the day being long, Thomas said it is important to remember that you might be out in the elements the entire time and that can be a challenging experience.

“It was very chilly that day and a lot of times, the season in the movie isn’t the season here,” she said. “It was chilly in the morning and they were filming a springtime scene. Then later on in the day, they were filming a more fall/winter scene, but it was warmer here. We were bundled up when it was warm and not bundled up when it was cold. You have to be prepared for that and you have to act like you are not at all cold, which is hard to do.”

In between scenes, Thomas said all the extras huddled up together, bundled in coats and shivering.

It was worth it to Thomas. She was in two scenes, though only one of them made it into the movie, so she did get to see herself on screen. She does caution, though, that regardless of the long hours, that doesn’t translate into a lot of screen time.

“Keep this in mind,” she added, “we spent roughly 12 hours out there and I saw myself in the movie for about three seconds right at the beginning.”

If given the opportunity, she would do it again.  She has had the opportunity to be in two more productions, but her schedule hasn’t allowed her to take those jobs. She hopes more are offered on the weekend so she can get another chance to work as an extra.

“It is kind of hard to get in, but I kind of hope to get to do it again. I did enjoy that.”

Long hours and time in the elements aside, there are perks to working as an extra.

“It is long hours and sometimes you can spend hours waiting,” Perrin said. “You might wait seven or eight hours in the holding area, but then you might get called to be in a scene with a famous actor and get to do something really cool. To me, the long hours and the wait are worth it.”

Perrin advises people to bring needlework, a book, or something to help them pass the time. She also says to bring a few of your own snacks because, while snacks are sometimes supplied, they might not always be what you like. Perrin also reminds people considering working as extras that all the time you spend waiting you are being paid for, and you are fed lunch, too.

Sibley enjoyed learning about the behind the scenes aspects of putting a scene together, and Ryan Glorioso confirmed that the biggest perk is the learning experience an extra gets to be a part of.

“If you are somebody who wants to be involved in the film industry it is an excellent way to get on set to see how things are done,” he said. “If you want to be an actor, it is a great way to get to watch how the pros do their scenes and what they are doing. It is not like you are sitting on set the whole time, but when you are on set you definitely can soak it in.”

Glorioso, whose company just completed work on the TV movie “Acceptance” and the film “Skateland,” had some advice for those who want to start working as extras: “If you commit to it, then do it.”

He added that you need to show up on time and be reliable. That will result in a person being used more often as an extra.

“Reliability is a big factor,” he said. “When you are starting out, previous work as an extra doesn’t really matter. But we have folks who have been working with us for a couple of years now that are really reliable and they enjoy doing it and we know they enjoy doing it. So we try to get them as much work as we can.”

The film industry in Louisiana, and especially in the local area, is very exciting for all the people involved. The local government is pretty excited about it, too.

In an editorial that ran Dec. 14 of last year in “The Times,” Cedric Glover, mayor of Shreveport, stated why he thought the Louisiana tax incentives and the film industry they have brought to the area are good things.

“Because of this movement into the film industry, northwest Louisiana has experienced an influx of members of the “creative class” such as crew members and executives, as well as several small businesses that form the infrastructure necessary to support a significant presence of movie and video production,” Glover wrote.

“With over 60 film and television productions since 2005, this year alone has seen over 24 projects with total budgets of $258 million and over 32,000 local hotel nights booked.

We would not have the tax-paying small businesses that have grown and developed through providing goods and services to this industry. We would not enjoy the national and international publicity that has resulted from movies made here and stars and producers who have visited (or bought homes) here.”

Glover went on to write, “These tax credits represent sound economic development tax policy by developing a new industry that has enhanced and diversified our local economy and community. We will continue to nurture our film industry and the jobs and opportunities it represents. Other states may have no need for such opportunities, but we appreciate them.”  

To contact a casting agency visit:

bamcastingla.com; gloriosocasting.com; couloncasting.com; bathersoncasting.com; emergecasting.com