Many of us dream of being on the "big screen" or getting
our 15 minutes of fame. As Michiganders, that chance doesn't
come around all too often. But it did for Eastern Michigan
University's Wendy Fritz, a teacher in the Children's Institute.
As a roller derby girl, Fritz was pumped up when she heard
that Drew Barrymore would be producing a film about the
sport. Even better, the film, "Whip It," would be shot
in Detroit. When Fritz decided to work as an extra on the
set, she got more than her 15 minutes. Near the end of
August, Fritz spent three days and 14 hours each day on
the set.
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MOVIE STAR : Wendy Fritz, a teacher in
EMU's
Children's Institute, recently
spent a few days
as an extra on the movie set of "Whip
It," a
movie directed by Drew Barrymore and
starring
Ellen Page.
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Each day she worked, Fritz drove to a warehouse on the
east side of Detroit. The warehouse's interior included
various sound stages, a full roller derby rink, the lobby
and the parking lot. During her first two days, she primarily
spent her time in scenes where she hung around the rink,
but did no actual skating herself. Fritz spent most of
her third day in scenes where actors mingled in the lobby
and the parking lot.
Even as an extra, Fritz was pampered with pumped-in air
conditioning, donuts and bagels, one hot meal per day and
endless amounts of snacks. An enormous tent was set up
for the approximately 200 extras to relax in when they
weren't filming.
But, as celebrities often say, there is more to filmmaking
than just the glamour. Fritz and the other extras had to
sign a contract stating that they would not record, take
pictures of or engage any of the celebrities in any conversation.
They were forbidden to text message on the set.
"This was a business and they wanted to keep it that way," Fritz
said.
It may seem strict but, in fact, everyone was pretty laid
back. Fritz enjoyed mingling with all of the different
types of people around her. There were 20-somethings pursuing
an acting career, along with 40-somethings who were laid
off from their factory jobs and looking for a way to make
a quick buck.
The extras were paid minimum wage and time-and-a-half
after eight hours of work. Quite a bit of the time spent "working" was
actually waiting time in between takes — sometimes hours
of standing — to ensure that the recorded scene
was up to Barrymore's standards. Sometimes, certain scenes
were shot as many as six times.
"Drew was very gracious and seemed really sincere," Fritz
said. "She was just the type of person you would like to
work for. She would make announcements saying, 'Thanks
so much, you guys. You're doing a great job. Keep up the
good work.'"
Not only was Fritz an earshot away from Barrymore, actor/comedian
Jimmy Fallon provided the entertainment between shots.
He sang songs, impersonated people and was open to conversation
with the extras. Although the rest of the stars kept to
themselves, Fritz truly enjoyed this enlightening experience.
"I think being an extra can be hard work but, for me,
it was exciting and I would do it again," she said.
Hopefully, the hard work paid off for Fritz and EMU will
see this teacher's few minutes of fame up on the big screen.
The film is expected to have a 2009 release date.
