I just got back and I'm about to pass out from exhaustion, but I'll try to do my best...

So, yesterday I call up the place and find out we have to meet in Philly at 8:30 in the morning. I get there around 8 and see most of the people are already there. I check-in and get that nifty thing on the left. I then proceed to check into wardrobe. Where basically they say, "You're clothes are OK" or not. So, I'm waiting in line. And a black SUV with heavily tinted windows rolls by.

Our line tilts to it's side to see who gets out. Why it's Ben Affleck and CO. Ben gets out and the other people scramble to their trailers. But, he takes his time and walks up to his trailer and looks over to our line full of lowly extras and smiles and waves. It was a nice moment.

OK, so at this point I'm excited. I mean, nothing even happened yet. But, just being around it was exciting. So, I find out we have to sit in a tent and wait around for them to call us. There was a breakfast buffet set up in there and I was like, "Shit. I can eat food too?" There were a lot of people in there. A lot of them do this extra stuff ALL the time, which was kind of weird. I wouldn't say all these people were Kevin Smith fanatics. Some people had no clue who he was. Anyway, I listen to some people talk and they're complaining about not getting paid and the weather and all this.

And I'm thinking, you assholes. You're on a movie set!

AND THEN... It happens. They call the first group. It wasn't mine. We wait around... Then they call the next group...

It's ours.

The actual scene was to take place a block over at the Hard Rock Cafe. On the way I got to talking with a cool guy from Boston who goes to school in Connecticut and studies film too. He also was a Junior at his school. It was nice to have someone to talk to and we got to hang out most of the day and laugh a lot. As usual I gave him my site address, so if you're reading. "Lay off the oatmeal cookie pies."

Anyway, we're at the door of the Hard Rock Cafe and about to enter and holy shit, I've turned into a kid in a candy store. I walk in with this goofy ass smile. All these film crew people are around and there's all these lights and things going on. Without a doubt, one of the happiest moments in my life.

So anyway, enough of that mushy shit. The Hard Rock Cafe was setup where all the tables and chairs were stripped out of the place and if you've been there you'll know the big painted mural on the wall of Chuck Berry, Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Well, that's where the platform was setup for where Ben was and everyone was facing him.

So, the scene is a press conference for Ben's character. And we're the press. I can't say anymore cause' they kinda' don't want us spilling the beans. Anyway, so Kevin Smith comes out and jokes around with the crowd and thanks us for coming. He also finds out we aren't getting paid and comments, "I think that's illegal guys, I'd talk to someone. I'm sure this studio has money to spare."

Afterwards Ben Affleck comments how, "He has made a few movies with this guy, but none of them turn out any good."

So, they go through a quick rehearsal and then we do some takes and I'm on cloud 9. I'm on a real movie set. And our crowd actually has stuff to say in unison.

But, let me back this up a sec. Shooting a big studio movie takes an INCREDIBLE amount of time. I knew it did, but I didn't know it was this slow. To put it this way, it was practically a 12 hour day (minus lunch break) for probably about a minute, maybe two of screentime.

We stood around an awfully lot.

But, man was it worth it.

Kevin Smith would peak in every once in a while and talk to Ben or the crowd. But, for the most part we saw the director of photography (Vilmos Zsigmond) the most. As he painstakingly setup each and every shot. I got a kick out of this guy. He's over 70 years old and talks in this soft, withered, accented voice. In my mind, I thought, now THIS is a film guy. He's photographed so many movies, a lot of them classics. And here he is, barely audible amongst the crowd. There he is, eating lunch across from the extras. Crazy.

Then the hours started dragging by. We get back to our tent, we eat. We end up waiting 2 hours to get back on the set. The adrenaline has been replaced by exhaustion. I see people sleeping in the tent.

Some guy from London came down for this.

But, what was so bizarre is how welcomed and how part of a family you felt like once you were on that set. People were friendly and sociable. They laughed together. We felt like we were all on the same team. And the weird thing was because our scene was basically Ben talking to us (the press), you kinda' felt like these guys were your friends.

When it was over, I felt like, wait, what are you talking about? Aren't you guys gonna' stop over for dinner? Wanna' watch some TV?

The amazing thing is how people were so cool about not being fans to these guys. Jason Biggs walked by me from his trailer, just a few feet away and no one bothered him. It was bizarre. The same for Ben. It was such a laid back atmosphere.

So, it's getting later and we find out that the day's shoot probably won't wrap till 8-8:30. Then I think to myself, holy shit. This has been a 12 hour shoot. By this point, I can safely say EVERYONE wanted to wrap this up.

We get back into the Hard Rock Cafe and this time they film reaction shots of the crowd. (Basically doing the same scene, just flipping the cameras to get us reacting.) We do that and the whole crowd is enthused more so then ever.

And then even later... It happens.

They need a tight shot of a few reporters spread amongst the crowd taking lots of photos of Ben on stage. Light bulbs flashing off and on, the whole bit. They have 5 cameras. And the guy handing them out works his way down the crowd. I was toward the end.

He hands the last camera to a guy, 2 people over from me.

They frame up the shot. Vilmos Zsigmond says, "that guy is too far out." So the guy who gave out the camera looks at me. I've been sort of giving him the "PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD" look the whole time and he says to the guy 2 guys over, "Give it to him."

And there I was. On the sound of action, clicking away the flashbulb on my camera. Me and 4 other people. The whole crowd was silent. click-click-click-click-click.

The camera had nothing to see through, so all I saw was black. It's one of those surreal moments and it seemed forever.

Then, CUT!

I'm not sure if they'll use that particular shot, but if they do, I know I'm in it. Guaranteed. They might also use a shot I was in that wasn't camera related. Or I might not appear at all, anywhere.

And you know what, I can safely say it doesn't matter. Regardless it has been one of the most joyous experiences I've ever had.

Maybe one day I'll be the one beforehand talking to the crowd. Cracking a joke.

A guy can dream can't he?