I got to be in a movie!!🤭🤭 Part One!🎬🍿

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Hiii everyone, and welcome back!! Sorry for the hiatus. I promise that I am not trying to be like that rat man who keeps coming in and out of your life. To put it briefly, there has been A LOT going on in the "Girl, Blogging Interrupted" world, and in today's post, I wanted to share what I have been up to over the past few months. 

But first things first, we have to mention how we officially have an Instagram, so watch out!! Speaking of which, hello to those who found us through our new Instagram! If you haven't already, make sure to follow us, as we will be giving regular updates there.

Additionally, feel free to check out all of our posts, as we have a little introduction and guide to the world of "Girl, Blogging Interrupted." As I'm sure those of you who have been my day-one fans are sick of me telling the origin story, and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of explaining it. Either way, for those who are new or longtime fans, please be patient with me as I am still doing some home renovations. 

On another note, I would also like to say a huge and warm thank you to those who have reached out with your kind words and support!! It means the absolute world!! And speaking of thank-yous, we would also like to give a HUGE THANK YOU for 1,000 followers!!! We are so, so, so beyond grateful that you chose to follow along our journey, and you are officially deemed "Girl, Blogging, Interrupted" royalty!

Now with that housekeeping out of the way, as the title of this post mentions, I got to be in a film! Or more specifically, I had the opportunity to be an extra in a film! But still I got to be in a film!! 

What's funny is that in all my years of school, I feel like I finally have a cool fun fact to share during those coveted get-to-know-you questions on the first day. 

Before I do begin, to give another sidenote, this post is simply to share my experience working on this film, not to give any film bro analysis or spoilers, as it is still in production. 

But here are the details that I can share: the film is called "Little Five," and it is being produced by Anne Hathaway's film company "Somewhere Pictures" in partnership with Pigasus Pictures, which is a film company that is based in Indiana. The film is set in the 1980s and is based on real-life events of how the first women's Little 500 race came to be at Indiana University. 

Also, in terms of this project as a whole, I don't want to hear any divas either now or when this film is released say, "We don't need another film about the Little 500; there's already 'Breaking Away, ' and even more so there's 'Hoosiers' and 'Rudy."

Don't get me wrong, these are excellent movies, but at the same time I feel like a film like this is something that we all need right now. Because when is the last time, we had a great uplifting sports film, and even more so one that has women at the forefront? 

Now let's begin, so when it came to first learning about this opportunity, I was checking my school email (rare), and usually when I get the daily newsletters from my school, honestly, I tend to just quickly browse and then delete them. 

But this time I heard a little voice telling me to actually go through and read the email. To which I am so beyond grateful that I listened to that little voice because I then found a link to a Google survey that needed extras to be in a movie. So always listen to that little voice, as long as it is not telling you bad things to do, like reaching out to him again. 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️

Anyway, after filling out the Google survey, which was really simple too, by the way, I was like, well, I'll just see if anything comes from this or not. So, in the meantime, I researched more about Piagsus Pictures and saw all the reels advertising the need for extras, which made me feel very excited. 

But then after a while I was starting to get a bit anxious that my Google survey didn't go through as well as just general worries of whether or not this is actually some elaborate scam. Because who would I be if I didn't have the anxiety of a horse.

Thankfully, I received an email confirming that I was in and that everything was, in fact, legit! As I mentioned earlier, this film is set around Indiana University, and the location I got to be a part of was at Assembly Hall.

When it came to filming day, I had no idea what to expect in the slightest.  I was really just trying to channel my inner movie star and look as professional as possible. Because even though I was very, very, very excited, I was also very nervous, so hopefully that doesn't make it onto screen. 

Now originally our call time was supposed to be at 8 am and then go until 9 pm, but then it was later changed to 1:30 pm. Which honestly, worked out better because I can be a morning person at times, but I really have to be pushed, and I wanted to have enough time to get ready and transform into my "character." 

Speaking of which, I thought it would be fun to give my extra a name and a backstory. Now, as I said, we are not here to give too much away, but my "character's" name is Susie; she is studying French, she is a trendsetter and kind of ahead of her time, as she wore a Zigzag headband. 😲 

Specifically, if we want to be historically accurate, Zigzag headbands were really popular, more so in the 90s, although they were still a thing in the 80s. I mention this because I was really nervous going in that details like this were going to be vetoed, but rather the main concern was to just hide your phone. 

I arrived an hour early to set, as it was advised that the earlier you got there, the higher the chances you had to be closer to the camera. When I did arrive, there were already some other extras waiting to get in as well. In a way, it kind of felt like Black Friday waiting for the doors to open. 

Also, I was very blessed that my dad came along with me for this trip and waited in line with me to drop me off. Basically, he was kind of like my agent. Or at least that's where I used my acting skills to try and sound cooler. 

After waiting for a while, we were finally allowed to enter our set for the magic to begin! To get in was the equivalent of going to an IU basketball game, as we entered through security and then were ushered to Assembly Hall, which was really cool to see in the flesh, as I had never been there before up until this point. 

By getting there an hour early really paid off, as I was in the second row and it was just a great spot. Then, as we were waiting for everyone to get in, which had to be at least 1,000 people, I tried to make friends with the people near me since I came alone, and why not try to get to know the people that would be with me the whole day? 

In the meantime, I was able to talk with a girl named Myah (if somehow you are seeing this girl, I am terribly sorry if I spelled your name wrong; I just remember there was an "h" in it somewhere 💋💋) Then there was this couple next to me but they were kind of in the own world and I didn't want to bother them. Clearly, I wasn't quite in character yet because Susie would have had no problem introducing herself. 

Anyway, as we were waiting for things to begin, we were surveying the set and also wondering when the stars of the film would come out too. Speaking of which, I forgot to mention who two of the many stars in this film are, so drumroll please ... It's Miss Rain Spencer and Miss Ariana Greenblatt!! Now everyone cheer, please! 

In case you have been living under a rock, here's a refresher on these two divas: Rain Spencer is best known for her role as Taylor in "The Summer I Turned Pretty," and Ariana Greenblatt aka Daphne from Disney's "Stuck in the Middle," Young Gamora from "Avengers: Infinity War," Sasha from "Barbie," and one of three runners up from the only season of "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors." 

Naturally, when I learned that these two were going to star in this film, I was on the floor because I love them! I especially grew up watching Ariana Greenblatt, and I loved Rain Spencer in "TSITP," so to say that I was in the same room as them was simply a dream. 

As I mentioned earlier, I was in a really good spot in the second row; however, it didn't last too long as I was then moved to the second-to-last row in the back. 🙈🙈 So that was definitely very humbling and a little heartbreaking. 

But we didn't start filming anything yet; instead, this one lady who I have to assume worked in costuming was going around giving people a dot on their wristband to those who had "the most accurate and authentic 80s look." Or at least that's what I heard other people saying, as there wasn't an official announcement, as it all just kind of happened. 

While some people were getting "dot-ifed if you will, I kind of started to feel a little self-conscious as I did not end up getting a dot. From what I gathered, those that were given a dot were specially chosen to move closer and be more courtside.

 

It kind of brought me back to middle school in a weird way, which is a place I definitely would never want to go back to. What I mean by this is not getting a dot made me kind of spiral into questioning if I was even good enough to actually be there and if my costume and hair were good enough. 

But then I realized that this is such an incredible opportunity, and I remembered all the kind things my dear friends have told me, which helped me to keep going. Also, what helped is that we were moved again to a much better spot, and I ended up making another friend who also came alone. (HI Miss Abby, if you end up seeing this, I am so thankful that you were my buddy, and I hope you are doing well!! 💋💋) 

At this point, about two hours had passed, and then we finally started filming. A common theme of the day was that the filming crew would set up for a scene, then sometimes we would just be rehearsing a scene, then actually be filming, and then they would have to undo everything and set up for another scene. For example, the first scene was simply Miss Rain Spencer's character walking out, and that probably took two hours alone.

Also, I would just like to clarify that I am not at all trying to sound like a diva in saying that things would "take a while," because hello, I literally got to watch the director's cut of a film in real life.

 Even more so, it was so cool to see little things like the marker and hearing the director say, "action," "cut," and "roll sound." It was all just so cool, and even when the crew was setting something up and then rearranging for another scene, I was on the floor in awe watching it all. 

Speaking of the crew, I would just like to take a moment to say a huge and warm thank you to all the crew members who are a part of this film. You are all such gemstones, and I hope you all get the best sleep ever! Specifically, I would like to shout out Erin from 4 Star Casting; you are truly an angel. I hope my emails weren't annoying, and I hope you don't have to deal with any rude divas. 

Now moving along, pretty much we were in the routine of rehearsing a scene, then filming a scene, and then rearranging for a different scene. Also, we were probably moved around at least ten times. But then at around 5 pm, they were setting up for another scene, and we noticed that some people had pizza, like literally whole boxes of it, which made us wonder if it was time for a dinner break or not. 

Despite this little confusion, we just stayed on set because we were in a really good spot on these bleachers. But we weren't technically filming a scene at this point; instead, we were watching the cast rehearse a stunt! Which was really cool because we got to see the stunt doubles in action!

But then we had a little break as the crew was rearranging some things, so Abby and I snuck off for just a little bit to have some pizza. Sorry if this was a rule break; we were really quick, we promise. But we know now that we probably should have just waited because we ended up losing our spot, and we were also moved again to a completely different area.

Then at 6 pm it was announced that we were all going to have an official dinner break, so it made me feel bad for breaking a rule. But there were so many exciting things still happening around us that it made me forget about that entirely, and at least we did not become hangry! 

Also, during this dinner break, they were giving out really cool prizes like Indiana Fever tickets and IU football tickets! Unfortunately, I did not win anything, but it was still just really cool to watch!

After the dinner break, we went back to the filming routine for a while. Then it reached midnight, and we were still going strong, but it did make me a little nervous as I knew my dad was waiting for me. As I mentioned, my dad came along with me for this journey; however, while I was filming, he stayed back at the hotel. 

Throughout the day, I was texting him periodically, giving him updates, but the thing you have to know about my dad is that he is not very tech-savvy. Although I feel like that is also a very Midwestern dad trait. Anyway, the problem was that he has been having phone troubles for a while. Specifically, he hasn't been able to make phone calls or barely receive them, and unfortunately, we didn't have time to get this issue fixed before we left.

As I was texting him throughout the day, I didn't get any responses from him. So I let my mom know about this, and she informed me that he can see my texts, but he doesn't know how to respond to them. 🙈🙈 You really can't make stuff like this up. 

Anyway, it's about 12:30 am, and I let him know that it will still be a little bit longer, as the crew was setting up for another scene. I figured that maybe he could've gone back to the hotel for a little bit, as it was five minutes away from where we were filming. So, as I said, the crew is setting up for a new scene, and all of a sudden, I see him walking to me, which made me panic even more in fear that he was going to be all mad. 

First of all, can I just say his spidey senses, in terms of being able to find me pretty quickly, are really good, as well as mine in being able to sense him. Anyway, he finds me and asks how much longer things will be, to which I had no idea. I told him hopefully just another hour, but I knew that was not what he wanted to hear. 

Then what didn't help is this one guy near us told him how filming the other night started at like 1 pm and then went until seven in the morning. Which made me freak out even more than I already was because WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM THAT? IT'S GOING TO MAKE HIM MORE WORRIED AND MAD! But see how I didn't freak out, though. 

Now I understood my dad's apprehensions, but I didn't want to just leave. Separetely, in a lot of ways my dad and I are very similar but also very different. For instance, I like to start one thing and finish it, whereas he can start multiple different things at once and be okay if they aren't finished. Even though it was almost one in the morning, I still wanted to be there until the end. Plus, I told him that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Anyway, I didn't want to be like "shut up mom" or, well, in this case, dad because I am so so so beyond grateful that he came along with me for this whole trip. But then he was like, "Well, I would rather sleep at the hotel than in the car," and then he was like, "Don't be out until too much longer," and then left. 

At this point, I was already freaking out that he was upset with me, and this interaction only elevated that. Meanwhile, during all of this, the crew was still setting things up, so I was about to be like, "Can I help?" In fact, give me the camera and let's get things moving. Then a few minutes later we were all set up to go for a little bit, and then it was back to things being rearranged. 

It then was one in the morning, and I was just really hoping that things wouldn't be too much longer. But then it became 1:15 am, and my friend Abby was planning on leaving because she had a bit of a drive and it was a long day, so I figured I would leave then too, even though I didn't want to. 

We then made it outside and parted ways, and I began my hunt to find my dad. After about five minutes, I couldn't find him at all, so I was starting to panic, but I was like, well, maybe I am just missing him because it was very much nighttime and dark out. Then a few more minutes passed, and I still couldn't find him at all. 

Now, in a normal setting, the response in this situation would be to just call my dad. However, this was not a normal situation, as I mentioned earlier; he can't receive or make calls on his phone. I guess you could say I was really living in the 80s. 

But still, I was highly freaking out because I was in an unfamiliar land, it was dark outside, and I was just really scared. So I called my mom whilst praying to Saint Anthony that I could find my dad, and luckily my mom was very helpful in calming me down as well as helping me retrace my steps and asking if where I was looked familiar at all to where I started. Then it clicked that I was at the opposite end of where my dad most likely was. 

From there, I had to get back into Assembly Hall, which was a bit of a challenge as the doors were locked. But luckily, there was another girl trying to get back in, except she very much looked like she was a member of the crew. Thankfully, someone who was leaving held the door open for us and we were back in! 

Just for safekeeping, I asked a staff member for some directions to get back to the other side, and he was very helpful. But as I was making my way to the other side, more and more people were leaving. 

Then I overheard someone say something along the lines of being done for the night, and I was like, "You're joking," because you mean that the time it took me hunting for my father I could've stayed inside and finished filming?? And I still didn't find him at this point. Then I made it outside, and I saw him immediately, but I was very much drained after that ordeal. 

All in all, despite not having the best ending, I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world. Plus, I told myself that all the chaos that occurred will be the highlight of my documentary one day.

Although my story about this experience isn't quite over yet, as I had a second chance to be an extra for this film as well. But I figured I would make a second post for that, as I have practically written a movie in writing about being a part of a movie. So I hope you enjoyed part one of my story so far, now let's head over to part two! 👉