Hungry for your 15 minutes of fame? Actually, it's probably like two seconds of fame - and there may be no fame at all. Being a movie extra usually doesn't lead to riches and notoriety. The gig does, however, provide an opportunity to watch how filmmakers make a movie - in this case a major motion picture rumored to become the most expensive film ever made.

Jeanne Boisineau Casting will have an open call for [Roanoke] locals wanting to work as extras on Steven Spielberg's /www.dreamworksfansite.com/waroftheworlds/"">War of the Worlds, which stars Tom Cruise and Tim Robbins.

Spielberg's contemporary adaptation of the 1898 sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells about a martian invasion is slated to be released next summer. According to Variety, Spielberg plans for a 75-day shoot in New Jersey and upstate New York as well as Rockbridge County. Filmmaking is expected to begin in the Lexington area on Dec. 13, Boisineau wrote.

Marsha Wulf, owner of Talent Link, a casting agency in Norfolk (who said that she has no connections with the movie's production company) stressed the importance of not expecting to be discovered while working as an extra. That's not going to happen to an extra, bless their hearts, she said.

Instead, extras can expect to be paid minimum wage for working incredibly difficult hours. And they probably won't get to rub elbows with celebrities either. Don't even think in that direction, she said.

When Wulf worked on Spielberg's Minority Report, which was also partially filmed in Virginia, she said many scenes involving extras were directed by an assistant, not the Academy Award-winning director.

With all the pitfalls, though, plenty of folks are likely to show up for Saturday's audition. The Web site of the Virginia Film Office offered this bit of advice for folks hoping to become extras: Auditions such as these are not called 'cattle calls' for nothing! Bring something to read while you wait.

Source: /www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke%5C14623.html""> The Roanoke Times