The Story of an Extra
Friday, September 12, 2003

This morning I have to get up early, very early, because Antonello has summoned me to be in his office at 7:30 a.m..
I absolutely refuse to get up before 7 a.m., even if I know I do take some time to get ready, because I'm definitely not a morning-person, in the sense that I like to sleep mornings.
Even without putting my nose out the window I know for certain that this early, in Gubbio, it is ice cold. Of course later with the sun shinning, it will be very hot, and I'll be all day long in Piazza Grande where the sun shines continually. For this reason it is difficult to choose what to wear, especially because I have to also bring a change of clothes, for later. I decide on jeans, boots (I know already that I'll regret that decision), a light top, a heavier top, and a black fake-leather jacket. I leave the hotel with all of this on, and I'm encouraged that, on an empty stomach, so early in the morning, it's not too difficult to make the climb up to the Piazza Grande.
As I was asked to check in when I got there, I go to the office which is right in the square, and there's no one there, and of course it's freezing, so I escape to the café 'Ducale' to get some breakfast.
Slowly, very slowly, the other extras begin to arrive, and then Antonello, and the cast and crew, and the sun. Terence arrives early too, and I point out to him that they've made him get up very early this morning too, but he answers full of energy, and as usual, he tells me he likes my jacket. Who knows why each time we see each other, he compliments me on something I'm wearing...?
I go to sign in with the other extras, and today we are a big group. First up is a campaign scene with the unfortunate candidate Daniele Fano who will have a very brief life, as he will soon be murdered. I know this as a fact, because a week later I was on the set with a Daniele Fano flyer that I found in my pocket, and someone from the crew saw it and told me "we buried him yesterday". If you're an extra, it's impossible to enjoy the series without already knowing, in bits and pieces, what is going to happen!

Terence prepares to film in his priest's outfit, on his bicycle with a bag of apples hanging from the handlebars. When I see this, I can't resist, because since I was a child I've seen apples with him in his films and I've always wondered why. So I go to him and ask:
- "Terence, I've noticed that in almost all your films you eat an apple, why is that? Is it because it's a kind of good luck charm?"
- "No, I'm not superstitious. Actually I don't know; I think it must be just coincidence."
- "So it wasn't your choice... but you do like apples; I always see you eating them on the set."
- "Yes, it's true, and it could be that sometimes I was eating one during the break and I ended up eating it in the scene!"
- "But in many of your films, there are scenes where the apple was written in, like the famous saying - se mangi le mele, ti va a gonfie vele (literally: if you eat apples, you'll go with full sails)."
- "Really, when did I say that?"
That's when I describe the whole scene from Pari e dispari (Odds and Evens) and he laughs. I think he must have had a lot of fun filming those scenes, and making those films. "But which type of apple do you prefer, Terence?" He says: "For a while I liked a lot the limoncella variety, those were my favorites, but now I can't find them anymore..." , and he continues with a long list of varieties of apples, but I don't recognize a single one. It's clear that Terence is an expert on the subject. "And that way you have of cutting an apple with your hands? Did you invent that?" He thinks a moment, "Oh, no! I must have seen someone who knew how to do that and I learned it by copying him, and it's very handy when you don't have a knife, and then you can eat them better that way, easier, don't you think?".
I'd like to stay and talk some more with him, but we have to get back to work!
The next scene requires an elderly man from among the extras, and the director asks who that person is, and he's presented with two possibilities, while I wait quietly to one side, but then I hear Andrea (the director), say something like: "why don't we use a young woman instead?". I'm not exactly a young woman, but people often take me for one, so I see him come up to me and he asks me point-blank, if I feel like saying a line. Andrea doesn't know how happy he's made me!
They put a bouquet of flowers in my hands that I have to give to the candidate, Laura Respighi, while I say, "Thank you for agreeing to return; I hope you win!" The line is easy, so we rehearse the scene and when I offer the flowers, her protector, Linetti, takes them from me forcibly. At the same time, Captain Anceschi arrives asking what's going on. Francesca, from the crew, suggests a line: "Flowers never killed anyone." I knew I had to say one line so at first I don't understand, but I'm to say that line too, so I say it to Linetti, who has just yanked the flowers away from me. But then they explain that I should instead turn to the Captain and say the line to him and then exit the scene. After that, Don Matteo arrives, but I'm already out of the shot... darn-it-all, I just missed being in a scene with him!
Then we shoot the scene, but it's not so easy. The sound-person asks me to be careful not to move the paper around the flowers, and Linetti asks me to hold them lower, otherwise he's not able to grab them. The costumer comes over and has me close my jacket because the scene is supposed to be in winter and otherwise you can see my belly. Andrea, the director, asks me to shake my head in disgust when Linetti takes the flowers for security reasons; instead I had raised my arms and hit them against my sides, but I suspect that didn't show up in the frame. Giovanni, the camera operator, asks me to delay the line by three seconds compared to when I delivered it in the previous take, because I was still out of the frame. Then they show me the exact places I'm to stand, the first place is marked on the ground, and then after I have to move to a precise position when the Captain enters the frame. Finally, the director asks me to say the line to the Captain with an angrier tone. I'm cautious because he is, of course, a Captain of the Carabinieri and I'm only a "young woman", so I show a certain respectful fear ...which I however do not let lesson the impact of my line. Okay, so I create some tension and then exit the shot, but I have to be quiet because now Don Matteo arrives and they are still filming, so I look over at Andrea who is watching the monitor, and he sees me and gives me an "OK" with a thumbs-up, so I was a success!
I was okay, but how exactly did I do? I run to the see in the monitor and to be honest, I think I'm pretty bad. Terence arrives later and asks me if I saw myself and if I want to see it again, but I try to avoid making a fool of myself and I tell him I've already seen it, then he smiles at me with those eyes that shine and tells me I was great! Terence is too good! He's like this and I admire him for it; he takes joy in creating joy for others. Once, someone on the set told me: Terence is an angel who fell from the heavens! ...And I believe it is at least a bit the truth!

Federica