Immortality (Such as It Is). Achievement: Unlocked



Six or so years ago, when I was still in Salt Lake City and GM of a large independent bookstore, we were approached by a site scout for the director, Jared Hess, and asked if we would be willing to be the setting for several scenes of the movie he was then shooting, Gentlemen Broncos. I did some calculations and came up with a price that would cover our lost sales, rent and salaries/wages. They were amenable, we signed a contract and in due course everyone got two days surprise paid vacation. A couple of my booksellers tried out to be extras in the book signing scene and one of them is in the line of fans but it's difficult to spot her because a) they put everyone in some sort of fanish costume and b) she's not that tall and is blocked out by the people at the front of the line.

Looking toward the front entrance. Jennifer is back there, somewhere.

I was asked to be the onsite representative of the company to make sure there was no damage done to our property and that everything was put back where it belonged when they were done. The crew came in, took photos of everything and then completely redid the main floor of the store. They had mock-up books, both hardcover and paperback, posters, banners (for which our store was uniquely suited) and PoP displays. They built, dismantled and rebuilt a set of mini railroad tracks for the camera. The camera crew arrived as did the actors. The make-up artists began work in the cafe. There were probably forty-odd members of the cast and crew present, not counting the extras.

Michael Angarano and Jermaine Clement on set at our front info desk.
My office is on the balcony all the way in the back upstairs.

There was a tense moment when, just as shooting was about to start, Jared Hess noticed a distinct humming sound that turned out to be from our fluorescent lights. Disaster was averted when the sound guy announced he could digitally remove the buzz later. After that, everything went smoothly and they paid me a ridiculous amount of money to stand around and do nothing for two days.


And thus to the point of the story:  They were basically done shooting having just wrapped the scene where Ronald Chevalier's plagiarized book is unceremoniously swept from the shelves when Jared Hess (I don't really know him well enough to call him Jared but he's such a friendly, pleasant person that it feels just as weird to call him Mr. Hess) asked me if I wanted to be in a movie.

Well, duh!

So they shot an unscripted scene of me pushing a cartload of books down the main aisle. They said they couldn't shoot my face for SAG reasons (which was just as well because I was wearing a frayed old blue and white striped shirt as I wasn't planning to be "in public" that day). I pushed the cart down the aisle twice, tracked by the camera dolly. Then they broke set, put (almost) everything back in its proper place, and left.

And that was that. They paid me for my "acting." (About 3/4 of 1% of what they paid me to stand around.) I figured the offer to do a scene was just an ego boost and I'd end up either in the closing credits, if I was lucky, or, more likely, on the cutting room floor. I moved out of Salt Lake before the movie came out. It didn't do well, unfortunately, and I forgot all about it.

Until last night when it appeared on TV. I watched it. I admit to having a strange sense of humor, but I enjoyed it.

And there I was! My entire take! In the middle of the film (or at least in the middle of the resolution). You can't see my face; there is nothing identifiable about the person pushing the cart. There's no credit line. But it's me! Immortalized on film.

And I have the blue-striped shirt to prove it!