The Actor Takes His Stage......

Quick reminder folks,


Tonight at 10PM (EST) is the premier of the 17th season of Law & Order (the original, of course). It is the longest running crime series, and the second longest-running drama series in the history of television.

I was lucky enough to get a gig as an extra on this particular episode, entitled "Fame" about a couple of months ago.

The show may look different now, due to the absence of one Dennis Farina. More strikingly though, it's another year without Elisabeth Rohm. In industry terms, that means the shows headed towards the shitter and may not make it much longer. On the set, a crew member told me that about half the regular staff has been fired, and when production wants a new direction, that usually means the countdown has started.

This episode is classically "ripped from the headlines". The two story lines at play are the botched robbery / cop killing committed by the kid from "A Bronx Tale" (read my groundbreaking journalistic review here), but this time the perpetrator is the no-good husband of a huge pop star who's had doubts cast upon her regarding her abilities as a responsible parent due to recent paparazzi photos. In other words, a Kevin Federline look-alike. Coincidentally, the character's name in the show is "J-Train Smolka". This is funny because the train I live near (the J/Z), is the inspiration for the infamous rapper Jay-Z's name. Better than that, the cop murdered in the opening scene's name is Nick.

I don't know how far into the episode- (most likely in the "Order" half), look for the words "Part 46" on the screen, after that infamous "Law and Order sound". During this very quick scene, the judge will take the defendant's plea,("Absolutely Not Guilty!") - I remember clearly because the guy playing him looked like he needed a slap in the face. I'm standing in the back of the courtroom, behind the last row of seats, portraying a member of the press and scribbling in a notepad (after so many takes, I ended up writing very dirty things in said pad). Right after that, a flash bulb will go off, and the judge will angrily order everyone in the courtroom to leave except the defendant and council. Depending on what take they used, or if the shot even made it in the goddamn show in the first place, I may or may not be the first guy to open the door and leave ( I don't handle confrontation well, so I thought it best to leave immediately, as to not piss the judge off further).

Anyway, it was fun, I was pretty excited, and I'll go into it further in a later post.







Remember, Tonight at 10 PM on NBC!!!















Today's musical selection: "My Love" - Justin Timberlake feat. T.I.



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