Spooks and Extras

Movie extra opportunities in Canberra? There aren’t any, silly. Please try somewhere that makes movies and television shows. Like any city that is not in Australia.  Cities with more cultural type thingys, and fewer public servants. 

London has the awesome but extremely clichéd Spooks.  L.A. has everything, including the now defunct 24 and the brilliant Criminal Minds.  Canberra has Catalyst and Parliamentary Question Time. As far as I'm concerned, this lack of production of visual entertainment in Canberra is a ridiculous oversight, and indicates that our taxpayer dollars are being whittled away on programs that no-one cares about.

ABC: “We cater for minority groups and the millions of Catalyst fans spread all across the globe, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

Well guess what minority groups are watching, ABC?  Probably not the crap you serve up every night. (Disclaimer: this inference could be true; but it could also not be true). Well, okay, Spooks is on the ABC, but they only show that because it has intermittent subtitles, due to its recurring storyline that involves many actors who ramble on in broken Russian.  No-one really cares what subtitled quasi-Russians are saying – as long as they are tough and mean and look like they eat nails and human thumbs for breakfast.

I can't believe how much spooking they do on that show out in the open on the mean streets of Westminster.  The mean, mean, mean streets of Westminster.  It's anyone's guess how these spooks stay in one piece - what with all those bankers and politicians lurking about.  And why are the streets always deserted anyway? That NEVER happens in London. And there is no chance in hell of being able to fly through the traffic like they do without getting stuck behind a red double decker bus or two on Piccadilly. Get real. 

A friendly spook



Any why is there always some stupid woman hanging around an agent, making his day job very difficult with her incessant whining about their relationship and future together? Same goes for 24.  In his heyday, Jack Bauer had to suffer, along with the rest of us, as one severely stupid woman after the other threatened to derail his mission and completely jeopardise national security.

Anyway; extras.  I think if you want to be an extra in Canberra, it will have to be on Parliamentary Question Time. You could sit next to Julia, and read the newspaper or smoke a Cuban cigar.  Depends on what the script calls for really. 

I guess the key skills to bring to the role would be an ability to sit, stand, walk, laugh hysterically when nothing’s funny, sleep like no-one’s watching, glare with vigour, throw Molotov cocktails; you name it, you'd better be able to handle it.  I imagine it would also be fairly useful to practice some stunt work in your backyard too.  Perhaps some light commando rolling and diving across chairs and desks.  That sort of thing.  Then give the ABC a call.

There are some TV shows that you can participate in, however.  If you hold up an IGA and/or intimately involve yourself in a hostage situation, you will likely end up on WIN evening news; especially when it is time to shoot the court scenes. And then you'll be, like, totally famous.