The Usual Susspects

  Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby   came out on Friday.   As I’ve mentioned before , I had a non-speaking role as Tony the convenience store clerk in a 1976 backstory scene. You can see me in   the official movie trailer . In any case, I finally saw the film today. My scene is in the first few minutes of the film as young Ricky Bobby steals his momma’s car when she comes in to buy a quart of milk from my store. Compared to the trailer, the movie shows an extra 5 seconds – an extra 5 seconds to stare at the bald spot on the back of my head being shown on a 40 foot tall movie screen. I was actually distracted during my scene because Patty turned to absolute strangers in the theater telling them “that’s my husband!” (They didn’t care.) I knew my scene wouldn’t be cut from the movie but the next question everybody always asks me is about the credits. I can now tell everybody that my name is  not  in the credits. The movie was pretty good but nothing...

Yesterday, Patty, Maegan, and I went to the world premier of Pixar’s newest animated film, Cars. We got the tickets from my employer. Nearly 40,000 people attended the world premier held at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – the largest movie premier in history – but we also got exclusive access to see the stars walk the red-carpet. My summary for the event is as follows: Event: Absolutely horrible. Movie: Excellent. I’m very grateful that we got tickets from my employer but the event was a planning disaster. Our VIP passes stated very clearly how we absolutely had to be there before 5:00pm. (Keep this in mind when you find out what time the movie began.) While on a slow line to get through security some bad storms moved in, which of couse is not the event planners’ fault. It began to downpour heavily with thunder and lightning all around, and the winds really kicked up big time. They decided to move everybody who had already passed through security to safety inside Lowe’s Motor Speedway but they...

The trailer is out for the movie I was an extra in – and I’m in the trailer! The movie was named “High, Wide, and Handsome” but has been renamed “Talladega Nights”. The lead character played by Will Ferrell is named Ricky Bobby and hence the name of the official movie website is RickyBobby.com.  Check out the movie trailer  and you’ll see me in the opening sequence, playing Tony the 1976 convenience store clerk.

A major motion picture is being shot here in the Charlotte area. The film is a comedy starring Will Ferrell as a Nascar driver. The production company held open auditions for extras and I went expecting that I may get to be in a large crowd in the stands for a race sequence. To my surprise I was chosen by the Director as an extra for an individual role. This Thursday I took a vacation day to shoot my scenes. I played Tony the Convenience Store Clerk. My scene takes place in 1976 and was with actress Jane Lynch who comes in to my store to buy a quart of milk. I wasn’t sworn to secrecy but I don’t want to spoil what happens next so you’ll need to see the movie to find out what exciting thing happens next. The role is small and I had no lines. My scene may end up being cut or I may not be in the camera shot. At best I’d only be in the film for a few seconds, but it was lots of fun no matter what. Remember to look for me. The movie is scheduled to be released on August 4th, 2006.