The superheroes on a superhero film

From the archives: 

Today I worked as an extra on a superhero film.  The film has to shoot under a code name to avoid getting too much attention, and even so, there were a ton of paparazzi by the end of the day hovering and taking pictures (including one who I learned from a crew-member purposely doesn't shower for three days so that he's the only one with shots from his angle... I guess that's one strategy....)  But here's the thing: There's an AD on the film I've run into before who I'm beginning to suspect is an actual superhero....  How else do you corral, keep hydrated, and keep happy-and-uncomplaining over 100 extras, some union, some not, who are outside all day on a 12+ hr extremely hot day (dressed by wardrobe for an unseasonably cool day) in the heart of Times Square -- while also dealing with all the tourists, papparazzi, and just-plain-weirdo-guys harassing us... all the while never breaking a sweat or even seeming remotely stressed, and having plenty of time left over to make jokes to keep our morale up?  No matter how awesome PAs or ADs are, I've found that some extras inevitably gripe and complain... because when you're being paid a good union wage to do nothing but follow directions, I guess sometimes you just get bored and think you're entitled to a day of luxury.  But this AD somehow managed to turn this set into the unlikely exception -- no complaints, despite the uncomfortable heat and stressful location...  Just lots of "thank you"s and smiles.

The suspected superhero AD said when he was checking me in at 6AM that their job is to make sure we're happy and safe and get paid.  I think there are a lot of similarities between ADs and stage managers, and just as some ADs I've been on set with don't act like they would list taking care of extras that way as a top priority, many SMs wouldn't list taking care of their actors like that as a top priority either.  Too many times I've run into stage managers who love their position for the power of it.  If you asked those stage managers what their job is, "making sure the actors are happy and safe" would never come from their mouths.  But the stage managers who do care -- the ones who have a reputation as being a "Mom" to the cast -- those are the stage managers who tend to also be great at facilitating communication between designers, dealing with curveballs, and calling a nuanced show.  For both professions, taking care of extras/actors is just one fraction of their overall duties.  But I've found so far that the ones who genuinely care about keeping everyone safe and happy first tend to be the ones who do all the other stuff well too.  So while all those paparazzi are angling for the best shot of the movie stars, sometimes the real superheros on set are the people right in front of them with the walkie-talkies, an armful of water bottles, and a wonderful attitude.