| Movie extras needed for Northern
agency A PAIR of entrepreneurial Irish women have taken inspiration
from Ricky Gervais’ comedy smash Extras to set-up the North of Ireland’s
first dedicated extras agency.
Through Extras NI Siobhan Holmes and Carla Mercer aim to get every imaginable
type of person work in the North’s burgeoning film industry.
They have already supplied extras for Johnny Was, starring footballer-
turned-actor Vinnie Jones, and Lord Attenbrough’s Closing The Ring.
But they now see a larger-scale business opportunity as Belfast and
the North as a whole welcomes more and more film crews.
Siobhan believes she and her business partner are tapping into an area
that has previously been largely ignored.
She said: “As far as we are aware there’s no other company
like this in Northern Ireland, although there is one in Dublin.
“Things have really picked up here in the last 18 months or so as
far as film production is concerned and looks set to continue over the
next while and hopefully beyond.
“And of course these films need extras.”
So what kind of extras are Siobhan and Carla looking for?
Do you need to have screen God or Goddess potential or a bit of Brad or
Angelina about you?
Siobhan said: “Well one thing’s for sure, you don’t
have to be a trained actor. If you can walk past a car or do something
as simple as that then you’re in with a shout of getting some work
through us.
“We’re looking for every type of person from babies to people
in their ’80s and it doesn’t matter if you’re fat, thin,
tall, small or whatever. Extras come in all shapes and sizes.
“Reasons why people want to be an extra range from those all-important
15 minutes of fame to earning a bit of money on the side. And the socialising
end of things can be quite appealing to.
“We’ve already some people working with us who’ve made
firm friends through their work as extras.”
Most recently Siobhan and Carla gave a sizeable group of nine-to-fivers
the chance to rub shoulders with Hollywood starlet and Austin Powers sidekick
Heather Graham, who was filming Buy, Borrow Or Steal in Belfast. |
