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The Extra Hunter
August 31, 2008 - 7:17am — Cassie Pappas
(To enhance your experience, read this blog with an Australian accent, preferably just above a whisper. Feel free to picture me in all khaki with a tan hat and maybe a net.)
On set of The L Word outback, there is a species, much like the kangaroo, that is commonly found on the dance floors of a nightclub or sometimes seen sipping on a latte at The Planet. This fascinating creature is The L Word Extra, also more formally referred to as the indigenous Background Performer.
This amazing creature is known for its strong ability to pantomime, not unlike the miming techniques commonly associated with Japanese Kabuki theater. The Background Performer is known to herd in groups of 30 to 40 and on the open plains of a dance floor they can reach numbers upward of 150. BGs, as the natives call them, are typically carnivores and gather to graze around the catering truck in the late afternoons.
On rare occasions, a large herd of Extras has been seen performing a special ritual. A ritual we believe to be a possible precursor to mating, that or a social networking skill, like texting, iChat and other forms of mute communication. It is called Silent Extra Dancing; and I am the only woman in all khaki north of the equator to capture this rare delicate dance of courtship on film.
(I step out from behind a bush with net in hand.)
Let’s see if we can get a closer look.
On set of The L Word outback, there is a species, much like the kangaroo, that is commonly found on the dance floors of a nightclub or sometimes seen sipping on a latte at The Planet. This fascinating creature is The L Word Extra, also more formally referred to as the indigenous Background Performer.
This amazing creature is known for its strong ability to pantomime, not unlike the miming techniques commonly associated with Japanese Kabuki theater. The Background Performer is known to herd in groups of 30 to 40 and on the open plains of a dance floor they can reach numbers upward of 150. BGs, as the natives call them, are typically carnivores and gather to graze around the catering truck in the late afternoons.
On rare occasions, a large herd of Extras has been seen performing a special ritual. A ritual we believe to be a possible precursor to mating, that or a social networking skill, like texting, iChat and other forms of mute communication. It is called Silent Extra Dancing; and I am the only woman in all khaki north of the equator to capture this rare delicate dance of courtship on film.
(I step out from behind a bush with net in hand.)
Let’s see if we can get a closer look.
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31 Comments
L Word Updates
No updates since August ????? Why????
Tootsie Roll
To the left...to the left
To the right...to the right
Now dip baby...
What? People seriously do this? I think I need to rethink my profession. I think I need to be the leader of this pack. I'd be a perfect fit. I can tootsie with the best of them.
Just sayin.
;)
I heart extras
This is AWESOME!!! Having done extra work for about four years when I moved to LA, this vid made me pee my pants. It takes serious patience and discipline to do that "silent dancing!"
KANGAROOS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i often peed my pants posting posts and reading posts on OC
I HEART KANGAROOS!!!!
I HEART YOU CASSIE PAPPAS!!!
Hey...
Wasn't that one extra Leisha's girlfriend, you know when they tell you to look to the left? It sure looks like her...
*Living is easy with eyes closed...*
Hey!!!
I can do that too! Damn, wish I was there...
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Missing Carmen!!!!
Uuuhhh
How is this even remotely Australian??...
ummmm
How do you not even get the full Australian nature of this blog? It's as close to Fosters beer, boomerangs, and digeridoos as you can get :-) I can't say how grateful I am for this blog. After all, If it wasn't for this in depth look into the secret world of silent dancing, how else would we have even known the L Word actually has hidden stuffed Kangaroo animals in each scene? cheers :-)
LOL
this made me want to go to Australia...and Vancouver :)
where did you learn your hunting skills?
thanks, it was awesome
TLW Wildlife...umm Nightlife!
Thanks for the walkabout in the "bush" spying on the gay sheilas in their habitat. A club, naturally!
G'day Cassie! I bet you look cute in all khaki! 8)
I always
read in an Australian accent... doesn't everyone?
∞ Reach out and touch somebody ∞
Did Someone Say...... Dancers ???????
Oh yes.......the, not rare enough, "bagel pigagolopolus™ ". On set, if there's a bagel to be eaten, there's an extra to snarf it down !!
Here,in the steamy jungles of Hollywood, we have learned a very hard lesson of survival. The "extra wranglers" keep the, continually hungry extras, safely isolated from the....not so, survivalist driven homosapiens ...... that would be, those of us with a normal appetite !!
The "craft services thieviosious™ " species has been identified as threatened with extinction. Ohhhhh...... If only that was true.
Now, back to the "dancing" ?¿?................
Hummm..... unfortunately, a severe lack of rhythm appears to be a requirement for most extras and Presidents.............
Very funny ! i have a quite
Very funny !
i have a quite similar memorie in a french film where we were (30 walk role girls) supposed to dance in a early 80'S lesbo discotek : the second assistant wanted we jump but in silence !!! The light sound of the feet on the floor was very strange.
thank you for this behind the scene !!
YAY!
Us Aussies got a mention! *reads out loud in own voice*
But seriously, that movie was hilarious!!
I think a David Attenborough voice over would be more fitting than an Aussie accent though...
You're so funny Cassie...
Too bad there isn't a visual beat box, to the side, that keeps to the rhythm for everyone. Now I know why so many girls are off beat on film. Then again, it's like some regular dance clubs. Some times I have to keep looking up to the ceiling, or down - cuz some girls totally f up my rhythm.
It's neat hearing the different accents. Mine's ummmm, sorta Jersey.
rovermom :)
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lol - what different
lol - what different accents? BC accents?
that was easy
i read everything in an australian accent... but i believe a south african accent would be better, still wear the khaki but add a pith hat/helmet.
or even just imagine you are david attenborough.
Whaaaaaaaaaaat???!!!!! :)
Cassie, U gave us a Sunday blog? That's a first for OC, ain't it?
Thanks for that :)
hmmmmm....silent dancin.....out of sync.....what a rare and
treasured ritual.....makes past episodes so much clearer now....lol! Great work Cassie, love the Aussie inspired narration in text....you have great humor and timing gal. My hat is off to you. (Did Ilene catch ya?)
Peace
Tesser
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!!! Next!!!!!
EL OH EL
this was hilarious.. thank you for your undercover work in the jungles of the subaudible background of filmmaking! you rock!
THAT"S WEIRD........
Although I wish I could have been one of those extras. Maybe if they played the song longer than 5 seconds the extras wouldn't look so out of tune. MMMM? Just a thought.
that's so ...
gay!
lol thank you cassie
lol thank you cassie
Thank you so much --- that explains everything.....
In THE DANCE scene with Bette and Tina everyone around them looked like they were dancing to a completely different song - they were - the tunes that were going through their minds in the silence......you know, that's a hard gig for those already rhythmically challenged! Wait a minute, if they're not hearing music, then they don't have to try and feel the rhythm, they're feeling only the rhythm of their mind song. Okay, forget about what I said about it being a hard gig, rhythmically speaking!
Nothing but love
Tex
LMAO!
Clearly NO ONE is safe from Cassie the roaming blogger!! Heads up people, you never know where she'll pop next...
*** ***
"The most important quality essential to success is perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."--unknown
Excellent work!
For a moment I thought this was a fund raiser for Sarah Palin.
Perfect!
This would be a perfect gig for those who have no rhythm to begin with. Where do I sign up?
LOL
Taem?
xD
**************************************
Missing Carmen!!!!
Too true!
Taem?
It looked like a lot of
the dancers in the final of season 5 weren't dancing to the same beat. I guess this is how that might happen? Fortunately Bette and Tina were really tuned in to each other.
lol I remember thinking that
lol I remember thinking that too! I just thought they couldn't dance :S