For Aug. 22 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 690 words

Day at the movies

A teacher never knows where his graduates will go, or when he'll bump into them again. I just had an entertaining encounter with Mary "Merv" Ladd, who graduated in 1991. After finishing her communications degree from Berkeley she landed a job with Hayes & Van Horn Casting Company. She presently works with the motion picture industry locating extras for movies.

She emailed me a month ago and asked if my wife and I wanted to be in a new Robin Williams and Billy Crystal movie called Les Comperes, about two uncertain fathers who chase their runaway son around the country. I said we'd love to, but we'll be in Yosemite on that day. Adam and Kristi (our kids) are home. Can you use them?

Merv said sure. She sent Adam and Kristi email directions to the Zuni Café and put them on the payroll for July 29. The scene involved Robin Williams talking to Nastassja Kinski inside the Zuni. Adam and Kristi spent the day outside as sidewalk pedestrians, strolling back and forth in front of the restaurant for nine hours. They got to meet Robin and were served gourmet meals. When they got home, after a 12-hour shift, they boasted mostly about the food - made-to-order omelets and Mahi-Mahi.

Then Merv emailed again after Yosemite. She needed "upscale adults" for a day at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Susan and I were given another chance, and we took it. Merv advised us to bring several wardrobe changes and books, plan to be on the set for 12 hours, and make space for the excellent food. We did.

After a catered breakfast in the park, the 48-person background crew went to work - sitting in a side lounge waiting to be called. Bob Mooney, the background directory, explained how the day would work, then grouped us as either "upscale hotel guests," "upscale women," "businessmen," or "pedestrians." Susan and I were chosen as pedestrians. Mooney left and we sat around until after lunch.

Finally, the call came for pedestrians. Boy actor, Charlie Hofheimer, who plays Scott in the film, was to run out of the hotel and down the street. A dozen of us were told to walk on cue as the kid ran by. Susan and I got paired with Al, and older gentleman, who also happened to be Bob Mooney's neighbor. Mooney put us up close to the camera, in front of the hotel. We didn't have to walk. Al was pretending to take our picture.

On the first take Charlie dashed past us, ran down steep Taylor Street a few yards, cut between parked cars to cross the street, and fell flat on his ass on the greasy road. He slid halfway under a Volvo. This was not in the script. Charlie took awhile getting up. They brought out his stand-in, but Charlie insisted he was all right. Director Ivan Reitman had the crew line Charlie's turn with sandbags, and the show went on.

After that scene we returned to the holding tank. We never saw Kinski or Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but we did see Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams said "Hi!" to Susan. We sat until dinner - steak, salmon, trout, calamari pasta, shrimp gumbo, steamed veggies, and a salad bar. After dinner we sat until 8 p.m., but weren't needed again.

The extras are a gregarious bunch. We met Ramona Scott, Believable Actress, Queen of the Extras, who has been doing this for 40 years. She said, "I've worked with them all, big and small. I've seen them rise and seen them fall." We met Mark, the guy who walked by in Phenomenon where the FBI agent was talking to the professor on campus. He hopes to be discovered someday.

What will be cool is if our whole family makes the final cut. We'll all be in the same movie. That will be neat.

Merv told me to mention that if any Benician would like to be on her call list, send her a photograph at work: Merv Ladd, Background Casting, 1515 Vallejo St., S.F., 94109. Include name, address, day + evening phone #s, height, weight, clothing sizes and hobbies/special talents.