I have a role in the next two episodes of the super-scary Fox hit, “The Following.”
A small role. Don’t blink.
It’s a show about a sadistic cult of serial killers and the cops who try to catch them.
For me, it turns out crime does pay.
They did my hair. They gave me (one sixth of) my own trailer. And they fed me — a catered, sit-down lunch that included prime rib and tiramisu!
For a local TV crime reporter, those are serious perks.
Usually you struggle to tame your own mane in the reflection of the camera lens right before you go on the air, wolf down a slice of pizza when you can and huddle in the news van for warmth while praying for a chance and a place to answer nature’s call.
All in 4-inch heels.
Especially in a complex crime drama, a TV-reporter character doing a live shot is a handy way for the writers to make sure viewers are all caught up on plot twists.
Think CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in “Skyfall” or Pat Kiernan in “Night at the Museum.”
My day working on “The Following” included a scene with star Kevin Bacon.
Waiting to start, we were squinting in the bright sun.
“It’s a bad day to have blue eyes,” he said.
I felt nervous and a little giggly.
I wasn’t sure if he meant his own shockingly blue eyes . . . or my eyes.
Could things have taken a flirtatious turn?
Nah. He was just being friendly. Or simply stating a fact.
I smiled nerdily. Suddenly I was back in sixth grade.
Fortunately, the director soon said, “Action!”
I didn’t exactly feel like a pampered Hollywood starlet, but I got my “ONE degree of separation.”
The 15-hour work day involved memorizing long chunks of dialogue. And the lines often change at the last minute as the writers tweak the script.
But this is where live reporting experience comes in handy.
When that “red light goes on” you gotta be ready.
Why do we see so many real journalists in TV and movies?
Ross Meyerson, the casting director who chose me for “The Following” says, “There is a rhythm to news reporting that only a real reporter can capture. The idea that ‘I am not a reporter but I play one on TV’ doesn’t work. You can’t beat the sound of the real deal.”
Years ago, I was actually turned down for a role as a news anchor in a TV comedy. The producer told me I was “not fake enough.”
Er . . . thanks?