Want to Be an Extra in 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn?'

With Summit Entertainments' film "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" set to begin filming in Vancouver on February 24th, hoards of aspiring extras are ready to take the city by storm. They will come from far and near with hopes and dreams of getting to work on the set with the likes of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner. The lure of meeting and talking with their favorite Twilight stars is almost too much for most of these fans to fully come to grips with. Literally.

Well, not to pop the Twilight Fan balloon entirely, but there are some very important - and likely very disappointing - facts about working on a film in Canada that should be known to all Twi-Hards expecting a ticket to the film set. These facts are reality and set in stone, so listen up before booking that flight to Vancouver.

First of all, there is the issue of legal rights to work in Canada. To work as an extra, you must meet the requirements for entering the country and for staying there, in addition to the requirements for obtaining a work permit. This means you will likely need a temporary resident visa. Also, you must be 17 years of age or older to apply, if you are 16 or younger a legal parent must apply on your behalf.

You must have a social insurance number (SIN) or work permit to work as an extra in Canada. The SIN is issued to Canadian residents and is for tax reporting purposes. SIN's are issued by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. As for non-Canadian resident work permits, there are many film industry trades and where a work permit is not required; however extra work is not one of those work permit exempt jobs.

To work in Canada as a non-resident extra, you must meet the requirements for entering the country and for staying there temporarily, in addition to the requirements for obtaining a work permit. You will likely need a temporary resident visa. Residency documentation is required in for you to be paid. More information about non-resident work permits for can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

Finally, there is the issue of the actual extras casting process in Canada. I contacted Vancouver extras casting director Andrea Brown, who has cast all of the "Twilight Saga" movies except for the first film in the series. Andrea was kind enough to give me the scoop on the extras casting process for Vancouver.

The vast majority of extras in Canada are represented by "Extras Agents," which differ from Extras Casting Directors. Extras Agents charge a 15% commission and yearly photo fee of $25. Casting Directors are contracted production companies, and then hire the vast majority of extras through extras agencies. Therefore it is not very effective to send pictures and contact information directly to the extras casting directors, but rather focus on signing up with one the the agencies that represent extras. A list of the top extras agents in Vancouver can be downloaded here.

Working as an extra is a professional job and extras are expected to conduct themselves appropriately on set. The hours are long, the pay is very low, generally little respect for extras by the cast and crew. Extras can't walk up to the actors and ask for autographs or photos. It's not a fan-friendly environment, but rather a professional working environment. So if you have hopes of meeting your favorite Twilight star by working as an extra, you should probably hold off for a meet and greet instead!