Call For 'Transformers' Extras Draws Thousands To Skokie
'Transformers' Casting Call Draws Hundreds
(CBS) – The "Transformers" film franchise returns to Chicago this summer to do more filming, and they're looking for plenty of locals to serve as extras.
WBBM Newsradio's Lisa Fielding reports.
Outside the Holiday Inn in Skokie Friday, hundreds lined up around the hotel and into the back parking lot for a chance to be an extra in "Transformers 4."
"I've been a Transformers fan since 1984," extra hopeful Rob Springer of Joliet said.
Before lunch, more than 1,000 people had already braved the heat to fill out an application and have their photo taken.
"This is very similar to a day on the set," explained Maryellen Aviano, Paramount Pictures Casting Coordinator. "It is a long, drawn out process, making feature films."
Monica Giraldo of Barlett waited three hours for her chance to be seen.
"I'm hoping they will call me back. I worked on 'Transformers 3' and it was a great experience so I want to do it again," she says. "I screamed and I ran and I loved it."
Jim Nisecki is a firefighter for Prosect Heights. He's also coming back for another experience as an extra.
"I worked on 'Dark of The Moon' and I had a great time. I met Michael Bay and worked on set and I loved it and I got the acting bug and have been pursuing it ever since," he says.
There is another casting call from 9 to 12 on Saturday. Casting directors will choose up to 1,000 people to serve as extras when shooting begins at the end of August.
"Transformers 4" opens in theaters next June.
