I’m a spec.
Lingo is important in Hollywood. I’m an outsider, but I have ventured into the waters a few times here, and it’s soon evident that if you speak the lingo, you can slip right onto a movie set with no one the wiser.
For anyone wishing to crash the set of a movie, I offer the following suggestions.
1) The quickest way to participate is to be an extra. They have to hire union extras up to a point, then they can hire non-union. Most non-unions register with Central Casting, which is supposed to help you get jobs. In reality, however, they are mostly useful for giving you a veneer of movieland respectability. Therefore, register with them, but do your own research. When you find the set you want to crash, be ready to say “Non-union, but registered with Central Casting.”
Say it fast: “Nonunionbutregisteredwithcentralcasting”. Practice that.
2) The place to find on set is basecamp. Yes, very pretentious. Nevertheless, two things you want to be able to ask someone who has a walkie-talkie are “Where do the extras wait?” and “Where’s basecamp?” The portable bathrooms are at basecamp, so you’ll want to know, see.
3) Finally, remember that Hollywood takes itself quite seriously. One must not wander into the tent where the extras are corralled and confess “I thought it would be fun to see if I could be in a movie.” They’ll call security on you. But if you say brightly, “I’m a spec”, suddenly, it’s okay! You are speculating on work. They look at their list of possible extra positions and ask if you are union. Remember your answer? Good.
They always say that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. But Hollywood is really more like a sulky lover: It’s not what you said. It’s how you said it.
