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Well peeps, I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to do this, but I finally got around to typing up what happened when I was an extra on the show earlier in the season. Due Keep in mind that the episode my friend, Shane, and myself were in was the Season 6, 2 hour Season Premiere (Ep 601 & 602).
I thought the fun I had being an extra the first time was great,...okay it was because I got to meet and get a picture taken with my favorite actress, Katie Holmes, plus I got a peck on the cheek from her..., but being on the show a second time was...okay, just as great. I thought about saying greater, but it is hard to beat getting kissed by Katie Holmes, the lovely Josephine Potter.
Being an extra on the DC set was fun, crazy, entertaining, long, hot, and very long hours. Would I do it again? Hell, YEAH! Too bad I want get that chance again due to this being the show's last season. Well, I got to see James van der Beek, Joshua Jackson, Kerr Smith, Michelle Williams, Busy Philips, and above all Katie Holmes, yet again. Oh yeah, I also got a chance to see the new girl Meagan Gray. She was the female that played Pacey and Jack's roommate and Audrey's bandmate, Emma, earlier in the season.
Hate to say it, but I wasn't able to get close enough to Katie for any pics or an autograph. There was a stumbling block in my way and everyone else's way...called a body guard. Every since she had a stalker she's had a body guard. He stays within 10 to 20 feet of her at all times. I wasn't about to get near that. No one went up to her unless they spoke to her when they walked past her before she got in the studio's van(s).
And can you believe it, but every pic I took of her with my digital camera didn't come out. Should never have bought a cheap 1.3 Mega Pixels camera. The money was right, but yeah, I got what I paid for. At least it did work some of the time. Thank goodness for my friend, Shane, because he was able to snap some pics, just none of Katie. I did take a couple pics of Michelle Williams. She stayed away from the extras and fans. I did however get to take pictures with Kerr Smith and Busy Philips. Busy was pretty nice and taller than I thought she was. She is way prettier in person than on tv or even in the picture I took. When I first stood beside her I didn't know how I should stand, but she took care of that. She said, "Okay, that is just creepy. Here, why don't you place your arm around my waist. Now sweetie, isn't that much better?" Who was I to complain. Only thing that would have made the memory better would have been a kiss from the lovely girl...or...if I wasn't so fat, my belly wouldn't have protruded out as much as it did. Oh well, she was very nice and smelled good to. More on that below.
Of all the cast and crew that I ran into or took a chance to speak to, Kerr Smith was the nicest of them all. I did get a picture with him around the same time I got the one with Busy. plus he was nice enough to let me sit next to him and talk to him for about 10 or so minutes. I did tell him that I was a huge fan of the show, but since he was on his break I didn't won't to impose on his time, so I started to walk back across the stree to where we (the extras) were stationed when we weren't supposed to be on set. To say I was shocked when he asked if I wanted to join him for a few minutes..yeah, understatement, most definitely. So I walked back over and sat down on a sidewalk bench with him and we talked for about 10 or so minutes. Afterwards he had to report back to the set for another bar/hangout scene with the rest of the cast.
We mainly talked about his summer and how most of his time he was dealing with making wedding preparations. We chatted about his character, Jack, and what he thought about the whole issue of playing a gay guy. He did say that he was glad that the writers and producers didn't see him having another boyfriend or relationship problems during the season. His character was just going to be hit and miss one night stands or quick romps he and there. Yep, well that sure didn't last. I wonder if he was upset about how his character was written this season. I'm sure he was fine with it. Oh yeah, that conversation was also the first time that I heard that Joshua Jackson and Rosario Dawson were contemplating getting married. That shocked me, because I didn't know Josh was with anyone, but then Kerr turned and pointed down the sidewalk and there standing by Josh was the lovely Rosario Dawson. And yes, I did get to see them kiss...quite a few times throughout the two days worth of filming. I had a lot of fun talking with Kerr and even got brave enough to tell him that I had almost met him the first time I was an extra, but after hearing him swear at all the extras that were acting up I had changed my mind. I had to relay when, where, and what scene they had been shooting at the time. He remembered the scene, but not the swearing. He apologized and said that he wouldn't have put it past him to raise his voice or to swear at some one for getting on his nerves. Then I mentioned the paper streamers and immediately he remembered pretty much word for word what he had told all the extras (jocks) in that shot. He said he did loose his cool that day and again he apologized.
He also told me that he wished football season could have lasted throughout the rest of the series because playing a football player and catching footballs were a lot of fun. I did find out that he wasn't one of those people that just talk to you just to be talking to you. Actually, through the 2 days of shooting, anytime he saw me, whether inside or out, he came over and chatted with me or asked how I was doing. He was very polite and nice. So if I've ever said anything negative about the guy in the past...I take it all back. He is pretty cool to hang out with. Quite a few of the extras weren't too happy that I became so buddy-buddy with the guy. I told them to just go talk with him, but they were too shy. Oh well, their loss.
On the other hand, Joshua Jackson was the craziest. On every take he goofed off and played around right up to the point of shooting the scene and just like that he switched over to his character and delivered his lines perfectly. He was a hoot to be around, except the times when I had my back to him. When I didn't expect it, he would sneak up behind me and few other extras and scream cuss words in our ears. I asked Kerr to ask him to stop or the next time I was going to take the pool stick that I was holding and nail him in the head with it. Guess Kerr must have mentioned it to him or he saw a few of the looks I sent in his direction, because he stopped. Plus everytime he passed by me he had a silly grin on his face. They guy is a serious nut job, but hilarious to be around and such an entertainer. Anytime he was flirting with the make up lady or Busy Phillips or messing with the director he would use this loud accent. It sounded a lot like the accent Pacey used in the beauty pagenant he was in at the end of season one. He was a mess, but he also knew what he was doing. I think all the kidding around and goofing off kept his mind sharp and off the lines he was supposed to deliver in the next scene. Not once did I see him rehearsing dialogue or reading over the script like I saw James, Katie, Michelle, and Busy doing. He knew what he had to do and did it wonderfully...or he did a wondeful job of ad-libbing. I heard one of the crew members tell one of the other extras (a beautiful girl, of course) that Josh was notorious for ad-libbing/faking lines.
I must also say that it was awesome to be within 3 inches to 30 feet from the actors/actresses. I mention the 3 inches because there was a moment on the 2nd night that Busy Philips' neck was that close to my face. She was standing right there in front of me and boy did she smell great. Told you I would mention her smelling good again. Did I also mention..okay I didn't, but should have, that her purplish/bluish top she was wearing was part webbing/mesh and from the side you could see her breasts...or at least the sides of them. You could only see them from her left side. The bright lights in the bar hit her one particular time and I just happened to have been looking in her direction when it did. For that brief moment a good bit of her top was transparent looking. And yes, they were quite nice to look at.
Oh, the reason she was standing only 3 or so inches from my face was because of the outside camera angle. Busy and Josh didn't need to be seen by the camera until they were called to walk out. So they had to stand very close to the Hell's Kitchen door. It just happened that I had been placed in the very same corner with them as they waited to make their exit. The corner was crammed full of camera equipment and unused lights so we were pretty crammed in there. I know she could feel me breathing on her neck because she turned and looked over her shoulder at me. I know she remembered me from the picture earlier...she just had to have. So you have an idea of what scene I'm talking about, it was the one where Pacey walked out the bar and a second or two later Audrey came walking out and called out "Witter." It was the scene on the sidewalk where she eventually gave him a cardkey to a hotel room that she had gotten for the night...the night before he started his new job.
I'm sure I've left out some small, minute parts and possibly some bigger moments, but for now it will have to do. Lets just say I had a ton of fun and got to meet a bunch of people. Met cast, crew, and extras. There were 40ish extras and half of them were very nice looking girls. Okay, very nice and sexy looking girls. I talked to a few a them while I was there, but as usual my nervousness kicked in. There were two very nice girls that I got to meet, along with their equally nice mothers, that spent most of my free time talking to. One had just moved from Oklahoma to Wilminton to film a new show that was starting up and still looking from a network. Her name was Audria I believe. And the other girl was a sweet, girl next door type from Tennessee. I found out that she wanted to be get into modeling and/or tv, but didn't know there was anyone near her hometown that could help her achieve that goal. Well that is when this women (she was another extra) came into the picture. She was a district or regional manager for the Wal-Mart stores. After we were all talking to her for a bit, we found out that she was close friends with the country singer, Tim McGraw. She wrote down Tim's manager's name and contact info along with a few others that she knew through her connections and told her to get in touch with them. I wonder how that ever turned out. I got the girl's email address and home address, but I never got any responses from my emails. So I really don't know what happened with her. At the moment, I can't think of the girl's or her mother's name, but I'm sure it will come to me later and I'll insert it in then.
I will say this, the extras weren't there for what I initially thought they were there for. See the first time I was on the show in 1999, mostly everyone I talked to were DC fanatics (with memorbilia and pictures, books, etc), but this time there were only like 4 other people, besides myself and the two girls I previously mentioned, that even watched the show. Mostly everyone was there because they were pampering their resume or their wallets. So of course I didn't like it when they were called or asked to be in the close proximity of the main cast members, plus it didn't hurt them that most of the guys and girls looked like model material. I would have thought that true fans of the show should have been given those opportunities, but it wasn't meant to happen. That was really the only downfall that I experience on my trip. But hey, who am I to complain about something as silly as that when there were time that I was only 10 feet or less from Katie. I must say, that I didn't feel a bit of guilt as I longingly stared at her butt while she was bending over her director's chair (had her name on it to. Hers, Michelle's, and Busy's chairs were side by side) and/or was leaning against the table that she and the others occupied during the scenes. Yes, My Experience was Great.
So if you want to try and find me on the episode look for a 5'8" tall, young man, kinda chubby, wearing glasses, and wearing khaki pants with a burgandy and white plaid shirt. Throughout the two days, my scenes were, shooting pool, waiting to shoot pool with my back to the camera (this they used. I wonder why...couldn't have been my cute butt. that was a joke folks.), drinking beer while talking it up with friends and flirting with one or two of the female extras, and walking on the sidewalk outside of Hell's Kitchen. The only scene I really saw myself in was the scene where Pacey is shooting and is trying to get Audrey to tell Emma how great a roommate he would make being that Audrey was his girlfriend and Jack was gay, so there would be no sexual tension or anything like that. Of course Audrey didn't go along with the idea. "She hot!" I believe we two of the words she used. Well in that scene, that is my back that is resting against the brick wall (waiting for my turn to shoot pool, talking to a young girl wearing a pink shirt, and telling the waitress that I didn't care for a drink) right behind Pacey and Audrey. It's hard to miss my big body. I had thought about ignoring my directions and turning and walking further into the bar so that I could get on camera, but I figured if I wanted to be able to stay an extra or do it again I best stay where I was and do as I was told. So I did. I know there were at least four or five scenes where I was within the aim of the camera (therefor on film), but unfortunately those scenes didn't make it on the show. Guess I mostly occupied the cutting room floor.
My friend Shane got into a couple of the shots that aired, but I'll let him tell you about them. Being that he has an eye for detail(even more so than me), I asked him if he would be willing to type up his overall experience...and so he did. You can read what he wrote, about our time on the Dawson's Creek set, below. He's long winded like me so enjoy the read. Pictures will be posted soon from the set, extras, and ScreenGems studio.
Okay. I have said enough!
Take care everyone.
Bryan Collins aka. DCForever
Hello Dawson Fans,
My name is Shane McKevlin and I was an extra with my friend Bryan Collins (this
is his web page) on Dawson's Creek. I had just graduated from Francis Marion
University, and Bryan, I, and some friends had planned to go on a road trip to Texas.
When plans fell through at the last minute on that trip, Bryan said to me "I have
the week off anyway, I may go up to Wilmington to be an extra for Dawson's Creek
AGAIN!" Yes, Bryan had done this before, so he was my connection.
I had just earned a degree in Mass Communication (which includes broadcasting),
and was interested in the field of entertainment. I want to some day work in the
production of TV shows, and movies. So, going to Wilmington and being on the set
of Dawson's Creek would be a great place for me to try to make connections in the
world of Hollywood.
If your wondering how to be an extra, I'd have to tell you to ask Bryan. He
gave my name to the people there, and we were told to show up August 12-13, 2002
to be extras in the 2 hour season premiere of the show.
We were in all of the "Hell's Kitchen" bar scenes. Of the two 13 hour days of
work, the final cut came to maybe 15 minutes of footage in the show. Of course,
neither Bryan or I were there to become famous, or "discovered" as some were. We
were there for the fun of it.
Even though those hours seem long, it was all worth it. The first day, we got
there in the morning. We were told where to meet, and to bring certain types of
clothes. There was a little breakfast (bagels, cereal, fruit) and then we were
bused in the same vans as the cast used, to the filming location, which was probably
only 3 or 4 blocks away, in downtown Wilmington.
The first day seemed to be the longest. We first had to fill out paper work
(so we would get paid...$6 an hour plus overtime). Then, a lady in wardrobe came
by every person in the group to see what they were wearing and what they had
brought. We were told not to wear bright colors, red, white, or flip-flop sandals. I
was told to wear my dark blue long-sleeved dress shirt with my tie, of about the
same color which had a gold color grid on it, with my kaki pants. I was told to
roll up my sleeves and loosen my tie. This was to have the "after work" look, she
told me. What we wore, dirty or not, had to be what we wore the next day too.
There were maybe 40 or so extras. We were stationed in a vacant store across
the street from the "bar" that was being shot in. A black curtain was raised over
the windows of the bar except when the sun was down. Extras filled the bar when
called upon. Prop bottles with water were given to some, and near-beer filled the
glasses.
Inside it was hot. No air. There was a tubing that blew out cold hair, but made
too much noise when shooting. The cast were there, and all were pretty nice, and
down-to earth.
We were told to move our mouths...with no voice…and to be quiet before, after,
and during shooting. The first day was the hardest to do this. After the day wore
on you,…the extras truly became professionals.
We were also told not to bother the actors. If they talked to you, talk back.
Don't take pictures or ask for autographs while on the set. They did some of this
after, but not during the shooting.
The cast were all so nice. They talked to us like we were regular people, and I
treated them the same. I had heard about some of them being snobbish, but if this
was to the press, I would be too. The press can sometimes go to far.
Now for the big stars, Katie Holmes and James Van Der Beek. Katie was so shy.
She had a right to be. Bryan told me that a stalker had bothered her in the past.
She always had someone with her. I did sneak in a line to her. She was headed
back to her chair after shooting a scene. Her stand-in was on her way over, and the
cameras and lights were being rotated to a new angel. She walked right by me, and
I softly said to her as she passed me sitting at the bar "you're doing a good
job." She smiled and softly said "thanks." She is so tall in person, and so sweet. I
really felt bad for her, not being able to be as free as the rest of the cast,
because of a bad incident in the past, and because of her popularity which Dawson's
Creek built, but movies increased, she had lost this right.
Now there's Dawson. James Van Der Beek wasn't at the shooting on Monday at all.
On Tuesday he got there at 4:55pm. I know, because I looked at my watch then.
I'll tell you why in a moment. Bryan and I had just got done with a scene inside the
bar. We were walking out, and the sun blinded us. Actually it must have blinded
him more than me, because it was me who spotted James first. He was on the
sidewalk, the same sidewalk we were. A grip had doubled as a security guard as he tried
to get the fans away from James. Cameras flashing, pens and pads being handed to
him. The big grip told the crowd "James has got to go to work now, he's got to
get inside." I told Bryan behind me "There's James" and as we passed him I said
something to him like "So you decided to come to work today". He replied with a
smile "I come when the call me." It was then I looked at my watch…which said 4:55pm
"And five minutes before your free meal" and he laughed and commented.
Of course James was very nice, and ate with the extras, cast, and crew at the
dinner. The extras had one line where we were served chicken on paper plates,
while the rest had silver silverware, and steak. That's okay, we were in the same
room with them. James, being a big star, wasn't snobbish then either. He even got
up to get his own refill of sweet tea.
Later in a shot that did not end up on the floor of the editing room, I was 3
feet away from James. It was night, and Joey is to walk by and then the cab rolls
up, and out pops Dawson. I was 3 feet away from him,...with my toes lined up on a
crack in the sidewalk waiting to hear "Background" the extras cue to move, and
then "Action," for the actors. If you have this episode on tape, look behind
Dawson’s head when they show a close-up of him after he got out of the cab, I’m the guy
walking left to right behind him (the back of my head is all you see).
Tuesday night must be a big clubbing night in Wilmington. Lots of people out
watching the night shooting. Flashes going off, people driving by and screaming
"WE LOVE YOU DAWSON!!" The director was getting angry. James' one word line was
"Joey!" As the director sent someone to see about the club's bass down the street,
James told him "I can lip it, its one word, we can put it in during editing, I can
lip it" then…he looked at me and said "I can lip it?" as if to convince me that
he could do it. I just nodded back at him. I guess I had earned some kind of
respect from him by not being one of his fainting fans...to nervous to even talk to
him. I treated him as a real person by telling him he was late. I guess that did
earn some kind of respect. I was someone he could talk to who wouldn't bow down to
him. Sure he was a good actor, and I'm a fan of his, but I'm not going goo-goo,
ga-ga over the guy, maybe over Katie, but its all about acting. Don't ACT excited.
Act like Katie Holmes and James Van Der Beek are just regular people, co-workers,
and they may treat you as a co-worker, rather than someone to stick security on.
Their just normal people you know.
So, the Dawson's Creek experience, I recommend it. It was fun. I got to see
what was up behind the scenes, and after the shooting on Monday and Tuesday, we took
a tour of the studios on Wednesday. Maybe that experience will add up to my
getting a job for Screen Gems, or maybe just a tale James may tell David Letterman
about the extra who told him he showed up in time just for free food. If it amounts
to any of that or not, it did make a great memory of fun. I recommend the trip,
and the experience.
If you’d like to e-mail me, please go to my web page which pleads for a job.
It’s at
http://www.geocities.com/stmckevlin
AND SCENE! CUT…..That’s a wrap. That's it Bryan…copy and paste.
"Day as an Extra on DC-Summer 1999"
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My Experience as an Extra on Dawson's Creek will be something that I will always cherish. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the show and the going ons behind the scenes. I shared this experience with about 275 other extras one day during the end of Summer of 1999. We had to report to UNC-Wilmington's College Campus between 6 and 7 am. We had to wear the colors of Capeside High School, Blue and Gold. We were instructed to bring 3 sets of clothes in case they didn't agree with what you wore. I wore a blue shirt and a pair of Khaki shorts. Courtney, my friend I met on the Internet, also decided to be an extra on the same day. She brought her friend Dae with her. They were both very nice.
We were in the gym part of Episode #2 for the 3rd Season. I was instructed to sit in the middle of the bleachers with about 9 or 10 other guys. We were given the pleasure of being the isolated group that was to yell, "Go Dawson Go, Go Dawson Go!" during the PepRally scene. Everybody else in the gym were supposed to yell, scream, and cheer on Dawson once the movie screen had gone up. Oh yeah, the reason we were all supposed to yell was because Dawson and the new girl, Eve, were caught making out behind the movie scene.
The day was long and I was extremely tired and sweating, but it was an awesome experience. I would love to do it again. I was lucky enough to get Courtney to take some pictures of me and a few stars. Here is the low-down.
"Courtney, where are you and Dae going?" She responded, "We heard that Joshua Jackson (Pacey Witter) and Meredith Monroe were doing an interview and we are going to check it out. Want to come?" "Definitely." We watched the interview from about 100 feet away). I could see Josh and Meredith with ease. When the interview was over Josh started walking our way and stopped for a few autographs and pictures. Courtney was too scared or stunned to get a picture with Josh, but I wasn't. He was a very nice guy and had no problem with me taking a picture with him. Courtney wouldn't get in the picture, but she did take it for me. THANKS COURT!! I also took a picture of Josh and one of the other fans/extras. After the pictures were taken I started to put my camera back up when Courtney told me to look who was now being interviewed. At first I couldn't see who it was, but then I saw her beautiful face. I couldn't believe my eyes, there stood my favorite actress Katie Holmes (Joey Potter). My heart literally stopped. I started turning all different colors. Court realized I was in shock or in love one. We decided to try to make our way closer to the interview, but it wasn't meant to be. When her interview was over, a few girls got her to stop for a few autographs and pictures. When I saw this I saw a Golden Opportunity. I quickly grabbed my drawing out of my bookbag and ran to her. I even had to hurdle some of the camera equipment. Nothing was going to get in my way of meeting Katie. She was about to leave when I got enough courage to ask her for an autograph. She said, "Sure, I can do that." Then arose the problem. Since I had left my bookbag at the back of the crowd I didn't have my tablet for her to write in. Instictively I pulled a McDonalds coupon out of my wallet and gave it and a pen to her. So now I am in possession of a Signed/Autographed Katie Holmes McDonalds' Coupon. And it is blue. hehe... Of course I couldn't let her go without getting a picture with her, so I asked, "Katie, would you mind if I got my friend to take a picture of me and you?" She replied, "I guess not." Before we took the picture I handed her a picture that I had drawn of her for her. At first she said, "Thanks, that was nice of you." I couldn't believe what she had said so I said, "So you really like it?" She then looked at the picture, for the first time, and said, "You drew this? Wow! I can't believe it. That was so sweet of YOU. I love it." She then hugged me.
(PAUSE) THAT HUG WAS THE BEST EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE. I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN SHE WAS GOING TO DO THAT BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN COURTNEY TO TAKE A PICTURE OF "THE HUG". (UNPAUSE)
It was a quick hug, but I will remember it for an eternity. I then put my arm around her and Courtney took the picture. I then took a picture of Courtney and Katie. Katie left after that. My last picture was taken with Brittany Daniel, EVE (the new girl). She once played on Sweet Valley High. She is a very stunning young lady. I was lucky enough to catch her as she was throwing away her plate after lunch. It surprised me when I saw how short she and her sister were. They had just finished talking when I approached her. I got some guy to take the picture and I also got her autograph. This time the autograph was put in my tablet. Later on I got to see Kerr Smith (Jack McPhee), Michelle Williams (Jennifer Lindley), James Van Der Beek (Dawson Leery), Meredith Monroe (Andie McPhee), John Wesley Shipp (Mr. Leery), and Michael Pitt (Henry--the new guy). I saw them, but I didn't get to meet them. They were all pretty busy on the set that day. I wished I could have met James because he looked the most laid back of any of the people on the set. On the side of the set, he was laughing a good bit and having a good time. I would have loved to have known what he and Brittany were talking and joking about. IT TRULY WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE!!! Hopefully this didn't BORE YOU too much. So EVERYBODY, here are the pictures of ME with KATIE HOLMES, BRITTANY DANIEL, and JOSHUA JACKSON. Hope YOU ALL in ENJOY!! :)
Want to See Pics of Me with Katie, Joshua, & Brittany? What About Screen Caps Where I Appear in the Show? If so, Then click here for those and more.
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This site is © 1998 by Bryan K.
Collins.
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DISCLAIMER: This web site and its content are in no way associated
with Kevin Williamson,
Dawson's Creek, TriStar,
Columbia, or Warner Bros. If someone is offended by this site's
Content please send an e-mail in my direction. Proper action will be
taken.
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