Saturday I got the call. They wanted me to be an extra in the Hunger Games. It was so exciting! The call, of course, went straight to voicemail and I had a few minutes to process what was happening before I called them back.
They wanted me. The filming time was perfect for me. Ahh!!! This was happening. I could be in extra in a huge movie with huge stars. I LOVE the book. Oh my gosh!
I called the lady back. Her message had said the filming was for 4-8 days and I'd need to go to a fitting first. And herein lies the problem. I thought it was for 4 or 8 days. It was a minimum of 4 days, up to 8 days and they needed the commitment for all eight over two weeks, with three days off in the middle. Eight days is more than I wanted to film for. I really only wanted to work maybe 1 or 2 days. I wanted to see what a big budget movie production was like.
The agent and I discussed this. I would need somewhere to stay. They didn't know how long filming would take. I wasn't sure what to say. She told me to think about it. I did. At first I was ready to say YES and have a huge adventure. It would be great. I'd regret it if I didn't.
I could get the time off work. That wasn't the problem. The problem was lodging. Where would I stay? At a hotel? With a friend? With a friend of a friend? With a stranger? Staying a hotel would cost money, and I don't know how much the work paid. And I wouldn't know how many nights to reserve. That would stress me out. I have a sorta friend in the area. Wouldn't want to ask her to stay with her. I HATE asking people t o do things for me. My dad has a cousin in the area. I seem his family every few years at large family gatherings, but I wouldn't want to ask them. And I'm not familiar with the area at all. More stress.
Then two hours later, I decided I had some more questions—very simple ones—so I emailed them the questions before I went to an event Saturday evening. How much did it pay? What were the hours? (Was it 8 a.m. until wrap?) Was I correct in understanding the dates? I have yet to hear back. They do have 4,000 applicants for the parts.
Making this decision is really stressing me out—and maybe that's what it comes down to. I need a vacation more than I need to make multiple 3 hour trips to Shelby, N.C. and the stress that would come with that.
It would be long hours. Call times start as early as 4:30 a.m. And the scenes would probably wrap when they're done. It would like be outside. And with my allergies and asthma this year, I don't think it would work. I was outdoors for five hours Saturday and afterwards I was so sick. There weren't enough sinus and allergy meds to make me less miserable.
And maybe not regretting it isn't enough to make three trips to N.C., take 8 days of time off and miss work. Long term, I have no interests in Hollywood. I don't even like being on camera (though I have reluctantly done extra work before.) I thought it would be cool to do this film. I love the books and it would be amazing to be a part of this. But I don't care about seeing movie stars. I wanted to do this for the experience, to have an adventure. But I think an adventure isn't what this homebody needs right now. After those eight days of filming I'd need a vacation to recover.
Right now, I need to take some days off work and catch up on my sleep and relax. I don't need to have a panic attack because it's 11 p.m. and I'm in a strange city with no place to stay for the night.
The more I think about it, maybe I won't regret it. Sure I've blown tons of opportunities in the past, but I have few regrets. My mistakes make me who I am today.
So Hunger Games, I appreciate the opportunity. I'm sure it would be an amazing project. I'll sit this one out, but I'm rooting for you.
May the odds be ever in your favor.
Update: So filming didn't start on time for the first time,which pushed back the filming for the scene I was needed for. That's stress I don't have to worry about.
