I am a cheapskate. So I didn’t see the first feature film in which I. er. featured at the cinema. Nor did I buy the DVD or pay for streaming. But once Amazon was showing it as part of Prime Video (my one indulgence) I had a look. And fell asleep while watching.
You can take that as a pointer to my opinion of the story, reading the comments on IMDb I was not alone in finding the film tedious. However, I WAS IN IT! So I wanted to see myself on a screen. The elaborate banquet scene that was my introduction to filming simply wasn’t in the film. It can’t have been my performance I was way down at the foot of the 70 person long table, as far away from the camera as possible. Never mind, there was the scene in the debating chamber where we members of the Royal Institution mocked an ambitious young scientist. That scene at least made the cut.
I appear, out of focus in a couple of frames. I’m not expecting the phone to ring with casting directors eager to employ me. But on the bright side, I’m not suffering the fate of a friend who was reluctantly let go from a month’s shoot after a couple of days for being too distinctive on camera, even in the background. I’m anonymous and employable and made the same amount of money as those who are prominent and recognisable. Fame may be fun but money is always a necessity.
Can you spot me in the crowd?
