My First Movie: 'Getting Hal'

In January 2001, I moved out to Los Angeles to follow my dreams of becoming an actress. Soon after arriving, I was cast as a "Blind Skater" in a low-budget film called "Getting Hal." I had originally moved out to Los Angeles with a job on the crew for a film called "The Sweetest Thing," but production was delayed the day I got there. I had no income and was living in a hostel, so I went to Central Casting and registered to be a movie extra, also known as a background artist. T

he day after I registered, I called the casting hotline and they were looking for people who knew how to ice skate. Since it was Los Angeles, I guess there weren't a lot of people who knew how. Fortunately, I did. I called and let them know I was able to skate, and they sent my photo over to the casting director. Less than half an hour later, I got a call back and was told that I was cast and to report to the set at an ice skating rink in Pasadena.

The next morning, I arrived at the set. It was a big ice skating rink where I was to play a blind ice skater. I was given a walker and told to skate with one of the villains, a hired henchman who was to attack the heroine Dixie (Delicia Lanza) a la Nancy Kerrigan / Tonya Harding. The filming on the ice lasted about eight hours. It was so uncomfortable, but I was excited to have my first Los Angeles movie experience under my belt. I skated on the ice with a pair of sunglasses and a walker. I'm usually a terrific ice skater, but the walker hindered my abilities. It was tough! I fell quite a bit (Fortunately right after I cleared camera) The ice didn't have a zamboni to go across, so it was chipped and pocked, which made it really dangerous to skate.

As we were leaving, a production assistant came over to me and told me that the director, Tony Markes, wanted to speak with me. I walked over to Tony and he asked me if I would play the nurse for when Dixie was in the hospital. A featured part!! I was so excited!! Of course, I agreed. I received extra pay for the hours that I worked, but I didn't have any lines. It was a non-union job.

Unfortunately, I never got to see the movie. It went to the Santa Monica Film Festival, but never hit screens nationwide. I've tried to find it online, but to no avail. I even became FaceBook friends with the director, but I never heard back from him. All I have from "Getting Hal" are the memories.