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Weather Perfect for 'Captain America: Winter Soldier' Extras Casting Call

Captain America 2 extras casting in Cleveland
The middle of line for 'Captain America 2.'
We're all headed for that brick building.
Krista and Ray, huddled under umbrellas and bearing the full brunt of a cruelNortheast Ohio rain, remained in high spirits. Both would-be Captain America: The Winter Soldier extras stood half-way through a line of people waiting to apply to the film - a line at least 1,000 Ohioans deep.

I stood with them, covered in a National City raincoat - weather resistant, not water proof - crossing my fingers that Maryellen Aviano, extras casting director for the Marvel movie, would cast me for a vital extras role in the new film. You know, something like "bearded guy who runs from flung shield." Something like that.

Captain America 2 extras casting in Cleveland
Getting closer to the end of the line.
For spoiler fans out there eager for the next tidbit of news on the super-secret project, I don't have much. And I'm not necessarily willing to give anything out. Truth is, I want my 15 seconds of fame. And if not telling is something I have to adhere to, then I'll do it.

That said, what I did learn is already out there, so I'll let you know. And it's slim pickings, let me tell you. 

No. 1: The movie's production title is "Freezer|Burn". Pretty funny if you're a Captain America fan. Cap, as we all know, was frozen in ice in the past and revived by The Avengers (in the comic) and SHIELD (in the films) in the present day.

Fox 8 News reporter Annette Lawless
braves the weather.
No. 2: Cleveland stands in for Washington, D.C., this time out. Which makes speculating about area locations even more fun. More on that in a later post.

No. 3: Clevelanders are a hearty bunch. Especially Cleveland film-o-philes. 

I showed up when the vast majority of extra-hopefuls arrived - about 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes before the line was meant to form. "Line-up at 10 a.m. - no early line-ups," read the casting call. Yeah, right.

That time put me in line at No. 637, give or take. That was my number when my picture was taken at the end of the process - some three hours after I staked my spot with Krista and Ray.

Captain America 2 'The Winter Soldier' extras casting
At the door! With Guy from Sandusky and
Gal with the Blue Hair.
Krista and Ray weren't friends before the line-up. But we were a band of brothers by the end. Along with the Guy In Front of Me From Sandusky and the Gal in Front of Me with the Blue Hair Highlights. And my other friend whose name I can't remember and should've written it down. Our little group were from throughout Northeast Ohio - Oak Harbor, Sandusky, Lakewood, Lyndhurst, South Euclid.

Ray, a father and former high school track star, also applied to be an extra in Draft Day, the football comedy shooting alongside Captain America this spring. Ray mentioned that the casting call for that film was less than half the size of Friday's turnout for Cap.

He was also the most earnest about the possibility of more films coming to Northeast Ohio because of Ohio's film tax credit. In a way, he was a model for the average film fan in our region: eager to be involved, excited for the novelty of film production in our community, and hopeful that opportunities like Captain America continue to appear.

It's that kind of commitment that keeps someone like Ray - and Krista and our other friend, and Guy from Sandusky and Gal with the Blue Hair - standing in line with no coat and just an umbrella in 40 degree weather and continuous wind and rain for nearly three hours. Something you likely won't find in Los Angeles or New York or anywhere where filmmaking is an afterthought.

Beyond tax incentives, it is this dedication that should continue to attract films and filmmakers to Cleveland and Ohio. 

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