Filming "Secretariat" Belmont Ball scene

My new movie set friend, Stacye, said it best: If one had any aspirations for becoming an actor, yesterday's 12 hour filming of the Belmont Ball scene for "Secretariat" nipped it in the bud.
The call was for 8 a.m. and I was supposed to be a waitress but all the waitress extras got the ax and we ended up donning gowns for the gala scene. It was totally disorganized! Not at all what I expected. First go to hair, no, sit here for makeup, now go to wardrobe ... back to hair. Stand in line. Your part has changed so you need additional makeup. Sit here for hair, no, additional hair and makeup people are coming in and they'll do your hair. Listen, I had easy hair compared to everyone else! Mostly I stood by the dessert table and pantomined talking to everyone. If you watch the scene closely and see blueberries disappearing as a garnish off the desserts, that was all me.
I think the most fun was meeting new people: Harriet from Connecticut who used to live in Charleston, SC, and is now in Louisville. She had to cancel her date for the evening because filming took so long. I think she's 70. Stacye, a Louisville homebuilder, whose stepdad is best friends with Lawrence, whom we met on set, and dragged his race fan crazy brother Bill. (Bill broke into the bourbon about 10 hours on set, which made all the standing around and being shushed bearable for him. I had a two hour drive home so I couldn't partake, although Stacye could've easily cajoled me into staying with her at that point when we were all so tired.) Diane Lane plays Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery. I was astounded at how many times one scene is shot from so many different angles. I had a walk through during one scene and Diane chastised me to step back out of her light before I started. Whups.
John Malkovich plays Secretariat's trainer and we stood together in the back during some scene filming. By that time I had given up on my one-size-too-small shoes and was squatting down in my ball gown against the wall. I grabbed his arm to get his attention for his assistant. Ooooo.
I thought this woman had the best hair and outfit of all. She just looked fun! Lots of date swapping going on during the scene. I, for one, had three different partners. One man told me I was his eighth "sweet young thing" for the week. This is Lawrence, who wasn't my movie date at all, but Stacye's. A once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, for sure. Glad I did it. Can't see me doing it again!