My One Second Of Fame

Today while I was walking down 2nd Ave. after having dinner at an overpriced and not-too-tasty Italian restaurant, I saw some camera guy, probably from a television station, taping an interview. It reminded me of a little adventure I had a couple of weeks ago. At the time I had just finished moving all of my stuff into the new apartment and was walking toward it after getting some cash from an ATM to pay the movers. I was merrily strolling along 49th St. and before I knew it, I had somehow stumbled onto a filming location. There were 3 huge 18-wheelers parked on the sides of the street. Miles and miles of A/V cables snaked along the ground. Men and women wearing baseball caps and union badges scurried around. When I got to the 49th/Madison intersection, I noticed that there were a few underling/intern-looking individuals stationed at each of the 4 corners. Their sole responsibility was to beg people to stay away from the filming area. For some reason, I was able to slip onto the set unintentionally.

When I realized what had just occurred, I decided to stick around and see what happens, since I've never been in a movie before, or even witnessed a shooting. To avoid being caught, I leaned against a pole and pretended to stare at my watch impatiently whenever I felt the gaze from the "sentry" across the street. I even pulled out the cell and started talking to Dad in order to pass some time. Twenty minutes passed. I still haven't seen anyone famous. There wasn't even a camera. There was a lot of yelling but less action than I usually get on a Friday night.

After another 10 minutes of feigning impatience, I decided to walk toward the other end of the street and go around the corner, which is where I suspected the action was. I drifted nonchalantly toward the other corner. After I had walked about a third of the way there, my eyes met with those of a woman who appeared to be hiding outside of a recessed store entrance. Before I could turn my head away and pretend I hadn't noticed her, she asked me with some hesitation, "Are you with us?" Since I have long known that I can't lie to save my life, I knew it was futile to bullshit her: "No," I replied, "Why?"

The next thing I heard from her was a loud and clear "Cut!!"

I looked around left and right and still couldn't find any cameras anywhere. "Are you making a movie?" I asked. "Yes, and I don't think this scene called for someone wearing a Stanford shirt, " she smiled. I was somewhat surprised by her friendly reaction. "Why?" I asked. She responded, "Hey, I'm not saying it's the right decision, but that's the way it is."

Unfortunately, I never found out what movie they were filming. If someone reading this happens to catch a movie with a shot of a clueless Asian guy wearing an idrive.com Stanford Basketball "Dominate Your Space" T-shirt and shorts in a crowd of sharply dressed extras, please let me know what movie it is so I can savior my one second of fame.