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| La Cité du Cinéma, the recently opened studio complex in Paris. |
Stephane is traveling again this week, which means that we're back to using one of our most frequent modes of communication. Text messages.
10:00 pm., Wednesday, January 23
Stephane: How are things going?
10:25 pm
Mary Kay: Fine. We're dodging bullets again.
10:27 pm
Stephane: Ok. Be safe.
Just in case you think that I was speaking metaphorically, or that Stephane wasn't overly concerned about my safety, the bullets were actually blanks fired from real guns on the set of Kevin Costner's new movie, "Three Days to Kill". Saddened that our days of endless partying with our new friends had all too abruptly come to an end last Saturday night, Sara and I were overjoyed when we were invited back to the swanky Parisian penthouse for additional shooting yesterday. What the casting company neglected to tell us is that we would be dancing to Rihanna (again!) and running from bullets in high heels until 12:30 am. Would it have mattered? Not in the least because I'm hooked.
If low pay, unpredictable hours and interminable waiting sound like your cup of tea, Casting.fr and Cineaste.org list positions for professional actors/actresses and extras (figurines). But please remember that you must be able to legally work in France and that you will probably have to show proof that you pay taxes here. Current listings on Casting.fr include one for an Anglophone actress with an American accent to play different roles in a movie set in 19th century New York and another one for an American actor who resembles Joseph Pulitzer.
With the recent opening of the Cité du Cinéma, a Hollywood-sized studio complex offering high-grade film services on the outskirts of Paris, the city is expected to attract more foreign productions. Dubbed "Hollywood on the Seine", the $200 million complex was built on the grounds of a former 1930s power station in Saint-Denis. It's an impressive location, even if the colossal rooms are freezing in January and we had to trudge outside in our cocktail dresses because there aren't any indoor restrooms in the soundstage. Nonetheless, if you ever hear of a film being shot in Paris that needs extras, please let me know. I'll be there in a heartbeat!
Please click here to read Sara's post "Dances with Extras" in which I learned about my daughter's crush on Kevin Costner!
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| We were lucky enough to eat inside one of the main buildings at the Cité du Cinéma a couple of times while filming. |