I was an extra in this film
On the end credits you can see me as one of the Marabunta (small group photo).
But I'm not listed by name here at IMDb. How do I go about fixing this oversight?
Oooh! You too???
I was one of the Marabunta, too. I was on the second leaf that crossed the stream, third from the left. But no one gave me credit, either!
OMG, I remember youuuu!!! How ya been, buddy?
I recall thinking at the time, that guy has talent. If only he had a chance to schmooze with the right people.
What are you doing now? Still in the business? Best boy electric, grips, what?
Good ones, guys/gals! Thought it would be weird to havean 80 year old on this board telling about their days as an extra in this movie.
Join the Charlton Heston forum: http://charltonhestonforums.freeforums.org/index.php
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How did you guys fit into those tiny ant suits? Amazing. Rumor has it during filming, Heston yelled at one of the ants telling him to "Take your stinking mandibles off me, you damn dirty ant!!!" Is this true?
shareHow did you guys fit into those tiny ant suits? Amazing.
I'll tell you, but you'll have to buy IMDbPro first.
Rumor has it during filming, Heston yelled at one of the ants telling him to "Take your stinking mandibles off me, you damn dirty ant!!!" Is this true
Pure malice, just made-up garbage, and frankly I'm getting a little tired of setting the record straight for the umpteenth time. Look, say what you will about Chuck - that his credibility took a nose-dive as he went from civil rights to gun rights or that he was a little too deep into that Moses alter ego of his - but deep down, he was a beautiful human being. Just a pleasure to work with on set. Remember how the cast of Star Trek (George Takei and Nichelle Nichols in particular) jumped all over William Shatner for hogging the limelight? For not giving them the chance to display their brilliant thespian talents? Well, that never happened on the set of The Naked Jungle. No anger and resentment and you know why? Because Chuck had nothing but respect for the little people. He always made sure that our containers of water were filled to the brim and that injured stunt-ants were well-compensated. Maybe he practiced Republicanism with his cold, dead hands on the outside, but on the set he was bleeding-heart all the way. And oh, how we extras loved him for it. share
I happen to be an IMDBPRO member, but I was also a unit director working on the ant segments, and I must agree with you, WONDERFUL talents all of them, I remember writing a letter recommending the ant that was climbing the branch for an Oscar that year, but received a rather rude response regarded height requirements for nominees, they have the GALL to insist that anyone shorter than three inches could not compete. Ever since then I have been a outspoken advocate for Ant rights, you guys really got screwed that year, i'm sorry.
shareWow. It's great to hear from you guys again! Maybe a reunion?
I have some good memories and some bad memories of working on this movie. It certainly was nice working in the jungle, which is our natural habitat, but I have to say that I was not well paid. There was no minimum wage back then and all I got was one solitary grain of sugar for several months work. Despite marching up to a mile a day and lifting objects fifty times my own body weight - one grain of sugar.
I don't like complaining, but, come on.
But we weren't wearing suits - we were naked. That's why they called the movie The Naked Jungle!
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It's about time that the great work the ants did in this movie was acknowledged, and it's good to hear that some of you are still with us! You probably don't get around much anymore, but you were really something in this movie and should have received top billing; after all, it was you who carried the cast and made the audience itch for more! Each and every one of you, especially the generals, should have received a tiny Oscar, and I'm sorry you were squashed out of the competition.
The posts at this thread are some of the funniest, wittiest, laugh-out-loud comments I've ever read at IMDB! You guys/gals should be professional writers, if you aren't already. Thanks for all the chuckles, and keep 'em coming!
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That same year I was one of the supporting ants in Them! (I played Grtzx, the worker who came out of the giant anthill to drop the bones of the cop we ate down the side), but after reading of your tribulations I have to say how sorry I am that we got an Oscar nomination for special effects that year instead of you. Of course, being ants ours were both group efforts, but we had the advantage of size and as you know Hollywood always favors the bigger stars. The only caveat I'd make is that you guys at least got to work on branches and leaves and clean water while we spent most of our time in a sewer, but for sheer nimbleness, dexterity and characterization, you TNJ ants took the cake...and, I hope, ate it. Bravo!
shareI actually played one of the trees that you guys climbed up in THE NAKED JUNGLE, but since that part I've since branched out into more meatier roles.
http://www.secretoftheincas.co.ukhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhSPcAyCgwE
You had "more meatier" roles? Hey, I was in Meteor too! But I guess a meatier role for a tree means you probably played a triffid.
shareFrankly we could have been a lot more militant during the making of this movie. We should have won much better pay and conditions.
Remember that day when Freeman Jr and Pal were on the set? We could have easily surrounded them and threatened them with horrible deaths if they didn't give us a better deal. We outnumbered the humans at least 5,000-1, yet we never seemed to appreciate that fact and act on it.
It's too late now of course. All we can do is lament miserably over a jar or two of honey and wonder what might have been. Ask yourselves the question: How many of us used this movie as a springboard to a triumphant career in Hollywood? I can't think of one.
Six thousand ants told me on the set that they all walked off the film THEM! in protest of the politically incorrect title.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhSPcAyCgwE
Cripes, you're right about that title. I never noticed that before. Sometimes, thanks to cultural conditioning, people (or ants) don't even notice when they are being treated as outsiders.
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