Famous (and Elusive) Cameron Goes to Work

Cameron and I are going to be elusive this summer. Due to recent events in western China, Facebook has been added to the list of sites that are now not available. We're being strangled! So family news and pics are going to be even more awkward to send out.

Famous Cameron reported to work today -- to join the exhilarating exciting extravagant world of film stars. So what did he do? Well, he showed up promptly at 11:00 and was told that they would be working with Jaden and Will Smith and the directors to make sure that they all had the right look and fit with each other. Six hours later, he signed his contract and went home. And ... that was it. A full day of sitting. And waiting. And then waiting some more. Pretty exciting, huh?

The script changed and only one of the "featured extras" has actual lines-- unfortunately, that role didn't go to Cameron. So he'll be on screen, but at this point not speaking. There is an Australian boy, another American, and a Chinese-American boy who lives in the US but spends summers in China. There are also a good number of Chinese kids in the same age range, many of whom don't speak English around.

The big question -- yes, we saw Will Smith and his family. Yes, he met the boys and shook their hands. Yes, we saw Jackie Chan. But everyone is very busy (and there are so many people) so it was more a case of them passing by, back and forth. We decided it was like seeing our first elephants on the Serengeti, or the pyramids. It's a bit surreal to see someone or something that you have seen so many times on TV or in pictures, right in front of you. If we had passed him on the street, I don't know that we would recognize him. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, he looked just like any other guy at a gym. His wife was much more recognizable, I thought (am I the only one who remembers that she was on "A Different World"?) The interesting thing was watching how many people are around them. All. The. Time. Everywhere they were, there was a photographer and what I assume to be either film workers, or their own assistants. I guess I'm too introverted to not be completely over-stimmed by that! As I write this, I'm watching "TMZ" and watching all of the paparazzi guys filming celebs and asking the lamest questions. How annoying that would be, everywhere you turn.

Cameron was disappointed to lose out on the speaking part, but even with the waiting he was very keen to keep on. He starts Saturday and then filming starts Monday. We're hoping that he'll have lots of time to be in school when classes start, and minimize missing too much of his first quarter of high school. His contract is very strict about pictures or disclosing any information about the plot, so for now we'll keep it general, but check back for more information as it comes!