A movie about the life and death of Harvey Milk is being filmed in the Castro. I keep forgetting and of course driving home I often drive right into the blockade. I don’t mind so much as it is easy to go around however, it does get a bit annoying when you are trying to get from point A to point B and you can’t.
The other day, I inadvertently walked thru the set while they were filming. I wonder if I’ll end up camera? I should get some sort of compensation! lol Speaking of, I got several emails from friends in the area about the casting for extras. I’m shocked how much they don’t pay. Fifty bucks for the whole day. And if you’ve ever been an extra for a film, you know the mean the WHOLE day. There was a time when I would have jumped at the chance to make $50 however, that day has come and gone thankfully.
It is interesting to see how they prep and stage stuff. All the awnings and old business signs gives one a sense of nostalgia. Definitely before my time in the city but I like it. I’m almost wishing they would leave the retro look. The Castro is slowly losing it’s neighborhood feel. Every year, it seems to be just another random ‘burb with no distinction to set it apart.
I’m only half complaining. Nothing ever stays the same. Change is inevitable. You either learn to change with the times or you find yourself left behind. That said, I can still reminisce about the "good ole days".
i’m totally with you Moby. I would love it if the Castro stayed the way it is now during the shooting. It would be fun to have that feeling of how things used to be. Could acually help with the tourism trade and the Castro could always use some new meat.
Funny that you feel the Castro is losing it’s neighborhood feel – whenever I visit SF, I love the various neighborhoods that pop up at various intersections. So very different from Detroit, which feels mostly like an abandoned shell of a city.
I was a background extra in a movie once, right out of college. And they didn’t pay anything.
Oh – it’s just all that time in the make-up trailer you hate!
$50 for the whole day? Certainly you could make even more than that in, say, about 30 minutes of doing something way more fun. Ahem. I’ve been following this and really dig the way the Castro looks.