By Alexis Victor, ’11, Writer
This summer, I did not have much going on: just a college trip with a friend, a family reunion, soccer practices, and driving school. I went on the college trip with junior Jamie Huelskamp and her mom in early June. We headed south and explored the campuses of UNC, Clemson, Wake Forest, and the College of Charleston. Before returning home, we also fit in a stop in Savannah, Georgia, to visit some of Jamie’s family.
While in Savannah, we decided to go to Tybee Beach. We were so excited about the prospect of spending time relaxing on the beach, just soaking up some sun in peace and quiet after the hard work of school. However, we never were able to achieve that goal, as the manager of our hotel told us shortly before we headed out to the beach that Miley Cyrus was filming a new movie at that exact same location. Great, we thought, there’s going to be five times as many people and a bunch of screaming little girls. We couldn’t wait.
When we arrived at the beach, Jamie’s cousin Kaley, who joined us for the rest of the trip, was very excited to be able to see the movie set and the actors. From our spot on the beach, we saw a huge carnival just a few miles away and were told that this was a fake carnival, strictly set up for Miley’s movie, called The Last Song. Although Jamie had no interest in the matter, my interest was piqued enough to go investigate the scene myself. Much to Jamie’s dismay, we did head to the set after lunch to check it out.
Kaley and I were intrigued by all of the cameras, the trailers, and the crowds of people. One woman in the crowd told us that her daughter was an extra in the movie and that the production team was looking for more extras. Upon hearing this, Kaley’s eyes lit up, she grabbed my hand, and we ran to the production office. To our surprise, they were pleased to sign all three of us up!
Although we arrived on the set at 5:00 p.m., we were not filmed until around midnight. We did not get to see Miley, because apparently under the terms of her film contract, she had to be in her trailer by 11:00 p.m. We did, however, get to see the male leads and the double for Miley. Some of the extras who were on the set for an earlier shoot said they met Miley, and one girl even spoke as if she had known her for years, saying, “Oh yeah, Miley’s just like any other person. She’s super down-to-earth and really funny.” I guess that is what being in a movie does to you.
Speaking of the set, it was amazing. There were people walking around everywhere, huge special lights and cameras, and all sorts of fake props. We got to see the director, the director’s assistant, makeup artists, costume directors, and even the person who clicks the “action” board. Our role as extras was to cheer on fire-throwing performers at the carnival and then watch them run away from some local cops called in to break up the activity.
Everyone was so excited to be filmed, especially a few stage moms and their kids. In fact, one mom kept pushing us with her beach bag prop out of the way of her daughter, until she was front and center, right by the male lead. Apparently, these people, who actually audition to be extras, go from movie set to movie set during the summer to become paid extras in hopes of having their child discovered by people in the film industry.
By the time filming ended three hours later, I was exhausted and ready to head back to our hotel. We had to do so many takes over and over that my voice became hoarse from yelling and cheering for so long. We did not get back to our hotel until about 4:00 a.m. Although we were tired, it was one of the most unexpected experiences of my life, and it definitely provided enough excitement to last the rest of the summer.
Photo by Alexis Victor