I Like Being In Show Business

I missed all of last night's Red Sox-White Sox finale at Fenway Park. Junichi Tazawa got rapped around good, and Terry Francona let Nick Green finish the game on the mound, and he pitched two shutout innings as the Red Sox didn't get the sweep, 9-5.

New York's loss keeps the Red Sox six back, but the Texas win puts the Rangers 1 1/2 games behind the Sox in Wild Card hunt.

I couldn't watch last night's game as I was doing my new job. A few weeks ago, I hooked up with a New York casting agency, on the recommendation of a friend, who thought me working as an extra in films and TV might be something I might enjoy and be pretty good at. So I went for it. I had some headshots taken by my friend's friend, and they came out really well. I sent them a resume and a photo and they took me on.

The agency so far has done right by me, and I've been on three projects so far. I've been an extra on the TV show "Law and Order SVU," and filmed extra roles in the upcoming movies "The Bounty" and "You Don't Know Jack."

In "Law and Order" I did a walk-on role, or in technical terms, I was a "Courthouse Passerby." I walked on Centre Street in front of the State Supreme Court building as a guy just passing by. I walked directly behind a reporter doing a story as the cameras moved forward. I also walked up and down the courthouse steps as the stars filmed a scene below. I was there about four hours, and just walking around is harder than you think, mainly because a lot of it is standing around waiting for the director and crew to set up scenes. And then you have to do it over and over again.

The two films were longer and a bit harder. "The Bounty" is Jennifer Aniston's new film, and the scenes I was in was at Belmont Park, just over the Queens line. I spent an entire day being a part of scenes where Ms. Aniston was being chased all over the park. I was at a betting window, chatting with a friend as we walked around the park, and in a major scene, Jennifer ran behind me as I was lined up with a group of fans watching horses heading from the paddocks into the actual park. We filmed it last week on a really hot day, but the crew made sure everyone had water and sun block. I was there for about 9 hours and it was a great experience.

Last night it was my first "all-nighter." I was an extra in the upcoming HBO biopick "You Don't Know Jack." It's the story of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who is being played by Al Pacino. The scene I was a part of last night was at Radio City Music Hall, set in 1998 when Dr. Death was invited to Time Magazine's 75th anniversary celebration, but turned around as he entered the building and left. I was a paparazzi, snapping pictures as soon as the stars came out of their limos. Mr. Pacino was there, looking very much like Kevorkian. I had to dress like it was March, so I had to wear my leather jacket and scarf to make it look like it was winter. And I wore it all night. Fortunately, it wasn't too hot, but the filming went on from about 10 PM to nearly 3 AM.

They took shots from all different angles, and I won't be surprised at all if I'm in this film. I was snapping away with a Nikon camera all night, at Al Pacino and also his stand-in, and all the extras who played glamorous stars (including my old friend John from my Tower days who turned up last night in a nice surprise). At one point, Al was about 10 feet from me waiting for a scene to start, and I couldn't help but think "Here's the man who made Michael Corleone a legend." It was again tiring work, as a lot of it was waiting for scenes to be set and redone. I was on the clock for nearly 10 hours last night, and didn't make it home until nearly 5 AM.

I'm not sure when any of these productions will be airing, but I'll be looking for them. It's been a great experience so far, and the people I've dealt with have been extremely professional. It would be really cool if I could turn this into a full-time thing. I don't have any illusions of going on to bigger fame. But, who knows?