If you knew me before I moved to Glasgow this story will come as no surprise to you. If you don't know me I'm not quite sure how to explain it but sometimes things just happen. I don't set out to do something but find myself in a situation and just go for it if that makes sense. That's what happened to me today on George Square.
George Square is smack dab in the centre of Glasgow and has been taken over and turned into Philadelphia for filming of Brad Pitt's new zombie flick "World War Z." It's all any and everyone in Glasgow can talk about and I decided to take a look after I had a meeting in town today. Street lights were replaced with American traffic lights, familiar green interstate signs were put up and there were even American buses, taxes and hot dog carts. It was cool seeing a little bit of home in my new home and listening to little old ladies chat about what was going on as they took photos on their old school film cameras.
I heard lots of load bangs and saw extras running and well if I'm honest that was all you could see. I'd had my fill and since filming was diverting the buses around the Square I decided to try and get a train home. I walked down along one side and was told I had to wait to cross the street. Now I could have walked back and down another street, but I waited a few minutes and this is how I accidentally (on purpose) snuck onto the World War Z set.
I say accidentally because I honestly was just walking where security told me to go to get to my destination. I say on purpose because once I realized I'd made it behind the barriers I didn't turn around and walk away. I ended up in a crowd of extras and told the two guys next to me I wasn't an extra but maybe I'd stick around. They gave me a once over for any "labels" and then pushed me ahead of them to get in the shot.
I ran down George Street with maybe another fifty extras several times. We'd run and go back, run and go back. These extras were REALLY taking it seriously; I got pushed and shoved and fake American cops guided us away from what I can only guess were zombies that will be added in later. IT WAS AWESOME.
I'm not going to lie here; I submitted an application to the casting company to be an extra. I even got an email back asking me to come down for the casting, but we were in France. I was gutted. I'd only had the opportunity to audition to be an extra once before for Milk Money when I was 13; I also was out of town for those auditions. So that I randomly found myself as an extra for thirty minutes was pretty freaking cool.
When we were running I noticed there was a car off to the side with what I thought was Brad Pitt's stunt double in it. As the wranglers yelled for everyone to move onto George Square I hung back to try and make my escape and then it happened. The car door opened and real life, honest to goodness, sexiest man alive himself BRAD PITT stepped out of the car. He looked smaller than I imagined and his nose looked really delicate. Don't ask me why I noticed his nose but it was definitely more refined than rugged. He looked hot, but also a bit old. I hate saying that but he definitely had crinkled eyes. Brad Pitt was close enough for me to lunge over and hug him before being dragged off to jail. I knew what I had to do.
I needed to head home anyway so I had nothing to lose and I took out my iPhone and snapped a picture. Quicker than you can say "3G iPhone cameras suck" a producer-type said to me "When you're an extra you're not supposed to do that." I mumbled back "well it's good I'm not an extra then" and wandered away up the street where I asked if they'd let me walk up to get my bus. My thirty minutes of fame were over.
So you see I didn't try to crash a movie set but I did. There is every chance you might see a blonde girl with a grey sweater dress, black leggings, black boots and a purple bag running to escape zombies as Brad Pitt does who knows what in a car. You could scoff at me and say I messed up shooting, but really all I did was have a fucking awesome thirty minutes where I wasn't a Mom. I got to be the risk-taking, fun loving girl I was back in the day and it was AWESOME. I doubt I messed up their shots and there will be at least one more person going to see the film now that wasn't before to try and see if I spy my fat ass running away from invisible zombies.
