Sumi's Experience as Extra No. 3534

Sometimes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity falls into one’s lap.

It began with an email from the president of the Philadelphia chapter of our national organization, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). He forwarded a message from the production company of The Last Airbender, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that they were looking for Japanese families or individuals to be villagers. Extras were to be paid $130 a day plus overtime. It gave a telephone number to call if interested. I called the number and was told to email a picture of myself. I had a picture already on a CD. I took it to the computer room but was unsuccessful in sending it to their e-mail address. The casting assistant was very insistent she had to have a picture.

I called on fellow Woolman Commons alumnus Toby Riley for help. Success! The casting assistant was satisfied, and she instructed me to report for a costume fitting in Philadelphia the next day. After some difficulty I found the place, a warehouse-like building staffed by mostly young people, some from California. They put me into a peasant’s costume, took a picture, and assigned me a number. From then on I was Extra No. 3534.

Filming was set to begin on May 28, 2009, but the starting date was changed several times. Finally I received a telephone call Thursday evening around 7:30. At first the casting assistant suggested I team up with a group that was being picked up by a van the next morning at 5:30 am at the Seabrook Buddhist Temple. Seabrook! That was two hours away in the opposite direction from where we were going. Obviously the caller did not know local geography. We agreed I would spend the night at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia. The next morning I joined seven other people in a van at 6:30 am. We got lost because our driver was a city boy and did not know his way around the suburbs. We finally arrived at the Mennonite Church in Telford, PA, where all the costumes had been taken. We changed into our costumes, then went into the next room, where a hairdresser skillfully wound two fat hairpieces about two feet long around my head to create a crown-like effect. Older men had false mustaches and goatees applied. Younger men were fitted with topknots. As a final touch “clean dirt” was applied to our hands in a make-up trailer. By the time all that was done the breakfast table had been taken down. We hopped into a waiting van and were taken to the filming set, about 15 minutes away.

A Japanese village had been constructed in an old quarry. Several simple structures lined a road through the village. At its center was a ten-foot high statue of a deity, the protector of the village. A short distance away four open air tents with tables and chairs had been set up for extras to sit and wait for a call from one of several assistant directors (ADs). Bottles of water, coffee, tea, sodas, cookies, and similar snacks were available. Since I had missed breakfast at the church, my breakfast that day was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Facilities were simple—port-o-potties.

We were given very specific instructions: no cameras or cell phones. No jewelry, including wedding rings. One woman had tape on her ear lobes where she had removed earrings. We were on a closed set: no friends or relatives were allowed, only people who needed to be there. There were about 90 extras, Asian men and women of all ages, young to elderly, and about a dozen children of elementary school age; plus assistant directors, production people, two camera men, and the costume and make-up people who applied sunscreen, tucked in stray hairs and made sure we looked presentable for the camera. Besides the villagers there were about ten young men dressed as soldiers. One had a wicked looking weapon that looked like a hatchet on a long staff; another carried a sword. In spite of the ban on cell phones, most of the young people were texting away on BlackBerries. In spite of the threat they were not confiscated.

As we waited to be called we could hear, but could not see, scenes being filmed a short distance away. We heard “quiet,” “rolling,” and “cut.” Finally all villagers were called. We strolled down to the set. The first assistant director set the scene, told us to line the road on both sides and follow the hero, the Avatar, as he wound his way toward the Statue at the center of the village. We were to throw yellow flowers on him and touch him as he went past. The scene lasted only a minute or two. After two rehearsals the AD called “reset”; we went back to our original positions. We took our places for the first “take.” The AD shouted “quiet,” then “rolling.” An assistant held up a board for the camera: “Scene 34 take 1,” clack. The AD called for “action.” We waited as the Avatar came down the road, threw flowers at him and tried to touch him as he went past. We heard “cut,” and everyone stopped. The AD was beginning to lose his voice when someone handed him a megaphone. Two more “takes” of the scene were filmed. Then we were dismissed and went back to the tents.

After a while we were called again. The next scene picked up where the first one left off. We followed the Avatar to the Statue and threw flowers at him. In between each rehearsal and “take” we picked up the flowers and gave them to production assistants who replaced dirty flowers with clean ones. Before each scene assistants reminded extras to hide their eyeglasses. The action was supposed to take place before the modern era. During the scene set-up time a young girl was often a stand-in for the Avatar, the12- year old boy.

In the scene we again followed the Avatar and threw flowers at him. At the base of the Statue the hero met the village elder, who welcomed him and explained that he was the reincarnation of the man the Statue represented.

When that scene was finished, we broke for lunch, about 2:30 pm. We piled into a 45-seat Academy bus and several white vans to be transported to a nearby location where a lavish buffet was spread out with beef, chicken and fish entrees, vegetables, salads and desserts in a huge circus-size tent with enough picnic tables for everyone. The company even provided a portable hand-washing machine for sanitation.

We returned to the “village” for more filming. About 5 pm it began to rain. We were issued plastic ponchos and rubbers to protect our feet from the mud. It was Friday, so filming was wrapped up and everyone was sent home.

Five Japanese Americans from the Philadelphia area were extras. Three were related to residents of Medford Leas: Christopher Uyehara, son of Hiroshi and Grayce Uyehara; Dr. Herbert Horikawa, nephew of Mary Toda, and his wife Miiko, niece of the late George Oye. Twelve Japanese Americans from the Seabrook area were recruited and transported by a van with driver hired by the production company. The company had to spread their net wide to recruit enough Japanese and other Asian Americans to portray the close to 90 villagers. Extras from New York City and Seabrook were promised transportation and hotel accommodations. Some came from as far away as the Washington, D.C. area.

There were only two speaking parts in the scenes being filmed on the days we were there, played by actors chosen for their roles by audition. The part of Aang, the bald-headed titular Airbender, is played by 12-year-old Texas native Noah Ringer, who won the part by sending in a homemade DVD featuring his expert tae kwon do skills. He has a black belt in the sport. His head was shaved, and a design was painted from front to back on the middle of his head. At the end of the day he donned a wig and joined his parents. The village elder is played by a Japanese American actor from New York City. Aang’s arch rival is Prince Zuko, played by Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, who also has a black belt in tae kwon do.

The movie is based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series. The Paramount Pictures & Nickelodeon Movies live-action feature film, The Last Airbender, is written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. The story is set in a world where human civilization is divided into four nations: Air, Water, Earth and Fire. The village is in the Earth nation. The hero, Aang, proceeds on a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world. The movie began filming in May 2009 and is scheduled for release in July of 2010.

Shyamalan, an Indian American filmmaker who lives and works in the Philadelphia area, often sets his stories in a fantasy world. His best-known movies are The Sixth Sense, with Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment, Unbreakable (his personal favorite) and Signs. His other films have not been as successful. He has been nominated for several Academy Awards. He is a writer, director, producer and actor, casting himself in a cameo role, a la Alfred Hitchcock.

My second day of filming on The Last Airbender began with a telephone call from the casting assistant about noon on Sunday. Since it was a fine day I decided to drive to the Residence Inn by Marriott in North Wales, where the Seabrook group was being housed, as suggested by the casting assistant. It had been a few years since I had done any turnpike driving. I found the experience unnerving as cars sped by me, weaving in and out of traffic. I found the hotel, a small friendly hostelry, after stopping to ask a couple of times. I was looking for Bethlehem Pike and did not realize that the pike and Route 309 were one and the same in that area. The Seabrook group of 12 arrived a couple of hours later, and we all walked to a nearby Japanese restaurant for dinner. Later two people from casting came by to tell us to be ready to leave the next morning at 5:30 am.

On Monday we were picked up by a van, arrived at the Mennonite Church and changed into our costumes. The hairdressers completed our transformation, and this time I managed to grab a quick breakfast before climbing into the van for the short ride to the set. We did not have to wait long before filming began. At the direction of the AD we filmed two more scenes. When he shouted “background action,” children ran across the road, a villager walked across the scene carrying firewood, a couple walked by carrying pots, before the camera focused on Aang. For some later shots the cameramen were mounted on a giant crane looking down on the action taking place below. The scene was repeated several times.

Although we extras were told not to speak to the actors or director, M. Night Shyamalan was very visible. At times he took a peek from behind the camera. Sometimes he was about six feet away from us. Tall and slim in torn jeans, he joked and put his arm around young Aang, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. In earlier scenes where Aang interacted with the extras throwing flowers at him, the young boy displayed an engaging personality. Shyamalan seemed to have an easy relationship with the actors and the movie assistants. His manner was quiet and informal, but there was no doubt who was in charge.

The next scene showed the villagers after they had been rescued from the evil doers. I was not in this scene. The AD told the group to imagine a big, big celebration, like the Yankees winning the World Series. A chorus of “Phillies” went up from the local baseball fans among the extras. The AD explained himself: “I’m from New York.”

The final scene involved the villain Prince Zuko, played by Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel. He is a tall compelling young man who looked very appealing until it was time to shoot. Dressed in full-length maroon cloaks, he and his two lieutenants put up their hoods, hiding their faces, and marched resolutely onto the scene. They looked very menacing. In this scene I was assigned to sweep the dirt floor of a hut while another woman stirred a pot of gruel and two men pretended to beat drums with their hands.

By the time this scene was completed it was about 5:00 pm. The assistant director thanked all the extras, saying “You did a fantastic job. Thank you.” We climbed into the vans to be taken to the church where we changed back into our own clothes and checked out with the people responsible for the vouchers so we could be paid. We were done. The people from New York, Seabrook and other distant points were driven directly home. I had driven myself to the Residence Inn, so I was given a ride to the hotel. I was too tired to drive home so I stayed another night and charged it on my Visa card. I was surprised later when casting called to say they would pay for the extra night.

The next morning I slept late and took advantage of the hotel’s complimentary breakfast, which was very generous, offering waffles, fruit, coffee, Danish and, I learned too late, sausages and eggs. The previous evening I was surprised to find they offered a complimentary salad and pizza for a light supper, just what I wanted.

I decided since I was in no hurry I would skip the turnpike and drive back through the city, since I had lived in the northern part for 47 years and knew Route 309. I passed through my old neighborhood near Broad and Olney, Central High School, Girls High School, LaSalle University, and stopped for a moment in front of my old home at 1637 Widener Place. Surprise! The row house with a brick front now had stone facing. I continued down Broad Street at a leisurely pace, reached downtown Philadelphia, crossed the Ben Franklin bridge and reached Medford Leas without incident.

Two negative memories: Getting into and out of the white vans was an ordeal. I pride myself on being independent, but I needed help to get in and out because the first step was so high. The other was the problem I had walking on the pebbles at the film set; I could feel every pebble through the thin canvas soles of my shoes. I was afraid I would lose my balance and stumble. Mariko Ono and another lady held onto me so I would not fall.

A fantastic once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am glad I took advantage of it.

About M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan is an Indian American filmmaker who was born in India but who grew up in the Philadelphia area. His parents emigrated to the United States in the 1960s. Both his father and mother are physicians, and it was expected that he would follow in the medical profession, but he became interested in film early, and his mother encouraged him to follow his passion. He attended a Roman Catholic grammar school, followed by Episcopal Academy in Merion, PA. He went on to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan, graduating in 1992.

Shyamalan early became interested in film making when he was given a Super-8 camera at a young age. A fan of Steven Spielberg, by the time he was 17 he had made 45 home movies. He made his first film, the semi-autobiographical drama Praying with Anger, while still an NYU student. Filmed in Chennai, Madras, India, his mother’s original home, it is his only film to be shot outside of Pennsylvania.

Shyamalan has made seven movies after Praying with Anger. The most successful, commercially and critically, have been The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakble (2000), and Signs (2002). In spite of being nominated for Academy Awards, his later films have not been commercially successful and have been panned by critics. The pattern of his films has been a theme of crisis of belief, a supernatural sub-plot, and a twist ending.

The director became interested in The Last Airbender when his daughter wanted to be Katara for Halloween. Katara is a supporting character in the story. Intrigued, Shyamalan researched and watched the series with his family and became convinced it would make a great feature film. The animated TV series on the children’s cable channel Nikelodeon is influenced by Asian art, mythology and martial-arts fighting styles. The selection of a white cast for a predominantly Asian-themed show sparked protests and accusations of racism from minority groups. They complained that the only non-white character was cast as a villain, the boy-hero’s antagonist.

Shyamalan is married to Indian psychologist Bhavna Vaswani, a fellow student at NYU. They have two daughters and live in Gladwyne, PA. His production company, Blinding Edge Pictures, is located in Berwyn, PA.

Dev Patel, who plays Prince Zuko, was born April 23, 1990, in Harrow, England, to Indian parents who had migrated to Nairobi, Kenya, before moving on to London. His mother got him into martial arts as a way to channel his high energy. He caught the acting bug early after appearing in a school production of Twelfth Night. He began his acting career in 2006 as a teenager in a television series Skins. Patel made his feature film debut in the role of Jamal Malik, the central character in Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire. He became interested in the Airbender project while shooting Slumdog. He watched the cartoon series from his trailer on the set of the Oscar-winning film. Patel told USA Today, “I can see why the fan base is so big. It’s got action, but a lot of moral messages.” He auditioned for a role in The Last Airbender. He replaced another actor who had a scheduling conflict. Shyamalan stated that Patel was “already one of the guys I was interested in. Then I saw Slumdog Millionaire, and the kid just grew in my eyes.”

The Last Airbender will require four or five very large sets in the Philadelphia area. It is expected to be the first part of a trilogy.

Wikipedia
M. Night Shyamalan
Dev Patel
The Last Airbender - upcoming film
Avatar: The Last Airbender - TV series

Website for The Last Airbender Movie