By B&TF

In November I went to POWER UP Awards Gala and talked to Angela Robinson. In her interview she mentioned that Alex Kondracke and she were going to start filming “Girltrash” the movie in December and they might need a lot of extras for a concert scene at some point.

Angela mentioned to me that the storyline in the movie has nothing to do with the webisodes but some of the characters are the same. As far as we know, the movie involves webisodes’ characters Colby and Misty, Tyler and Daisy, and Monique (played by Rose Rollins). There are also a few new characters, and one of them is portrayed by two other The L Word alumnae, Kate French and Clementine Ford.

Here’s the announcement that POWER UP made on their facebook regarding the movie:

Based on the extremely successful Web series from Showtime, GIRLTRASH, the movie stars Gabrielle Christian (South of Nowhere), Michelle Lombardo (Quarterlife), Mandy Musgrave (South of Nowhere), Lisa Rieffel (lead singer of Killola), Rose Rollins (L word), Kate French (One Tree Hill) and Clementine Ford (L word). Directing will be Alexandra Martinez Kondracke (L-Word). Lisa Thrasher (Itty Bitty Titty Committee) and Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S., Herbie Fully Loaded, L word) will be producing. Stacy Codikow (D.E.B.S., Itty Bitty Titty Committee) founder of POWER UP is executive producing.

A friend of mine and I were already planning a trip to Los Angeles in December and I hoped that they will need some extras while we were there and as luck would have it, they were filming that big concert scene on exact same weekend. I signed up as extra, send my information and photo and waited for the instructions. They were simple: come to Old Knitting Factory at 5 pm, don’t wear any shirts with band’s names or logos, don’t wear white or stripes and be ready to rock and have fun.

After we arrived and signed some paperwork, we were told a few rules and etiquettes. One of the rules was not to talk or approach any cast members, unless they approach us. After waiting for awhile we were finally led into the filming area and positioned in front of the stage. Without spoiling anything, all I can tell you that we were part of the big concert night and we were playing fans of the rock groups performing on the stage.

When we were positioned in front of the stage for our first shot I heard someone calling my name from the balcony. I wasn’t sure if I heard right because it was a little noisy in here but then my friend who was positioned on the back of the crowd also called me and said that Rose Rollins was on the balcony. I waved and Rose asked what I was doing here. Later I told her that it became our standard greeting because she always asks me this even if she knows what I’m doing there.

Basically, the whole time I was there we were playing a crowd that listened to three different groups, Tsars, The Dollyrots and Killola (that was using a different name for the story). We had to be excited, jump and scream and generally look like we were having a lot of fun. After 13 hours of that I was exhausted but it was so much fun that I would do it again in a heartbeat.

During one break I went outside for some fresh air and saw Rose Rollins standing there and talking to some extras, very young girls. I walked around a little and then joined them for a short conversation.

Rose asked me if I was going to watch Ilene’s new reality series. I pretended to think because I’m still not sure how I feel about that new project. Rose said that she thinks it could be good. I remembered that last time I read about it, they were still having a hard time finding real lesbians who wanted to be on the show. One of the extras who stood outside with us, said that she has a friend working on the show and that they had found the needed couples.

The young girls asked Rose how long she has been in the movies. Rose replied that she was doing it for eight years and it turned out that the girls didn’t know that Rose was in The L Word. One of them asked, “Is it okay to be judged by others if I’m a lesbian and I don’t watch The L Word?” Rose replied that it it’s not a requirement for lesbians to watch the show, especially because it wasn’t exactly the most accurate portrayal of lesbian life. We did agree though, that in spite of all that, The L Word was still the only show of its kind.

The same fan also said that she asked one of the Girltrash’s actors if she was gay and Rose immediately said that it’s the most annoying question and she hates when the fans ask it. For her it’s a No-no. I said that I agree with Rose because I went to enough events to see how uncomfortable some cast members would get answering these kinds of questions. The young girl kept apologizing and they ended up with a handshake and a hug. It was so amusing to watch. I think the extra had a few drinks, though alcohol was forbidden on set.

After the break, we went inside and continue filming the same scenes but from all different angles. First, they filmed us from behind while the groups we playing on stage and some of the main cast members were talking at the back of the crowd. Then the same scenes were filmed from the stage to see the faces in the crowd. In one scene I was position right in the center where Kate French, Gabrielle Christian and Mandy Musgrave were standing, as they enjoyed the concert as part of the script.

Few times I was asked to stand in for the main cast because my hair color matched Gabrielle’s a little in term of lighting and the crew was using us to set up lights and cameras.

Finally, around six in the morning they were done and we could finally go back to the hotel. As we were leaving, one of the PA’s asked the remaining extras if we can come the following evening for a few more hours to film a few remaining scenes. My friend and I had nothing else planned and it was raining in L.A. so the sightseeing was out of the question, so we signed up for Saturday night shooting as well.

We went back to the hotel and slept almost all day. This movie/extra business could be really exhausting. On Saturday only a few of us showed up and we filmed a few scenes with Rose and a lot of them were us standing right in the middle of the action. We all wore different clothes to pretend to be an entirely different crowd at the same concert. I think this time I might definitely see my face in a few different places. I might even play a game, “Where’s Waldo?” and to search for myself in the same scene but in a few different places.

The filming of Girltrash is not over yet. The production is on a break right now and they will resume shooting on January 18-30. I will be in L.A. on another business for one of weekends of the filming, so I might sign up as extra once again. It was a lot of fun.

If you’re not familiar with “Girltrash”, you can check out their website where Angela put several webisodes (http://www.girltrashonline.com).