Extra!

Extra! is a monthly magazine of media criticism published by the media watch group FAIR. First published in 1987, its first full-time editor was Martin A. Lee. Since 1990, it has been edited by Jim Naureckas. The magazine covers a wide variety of media issues in the form of analytical essays, features publications on media commentators, and book reviews.

Extra! was published six times a year until January 2009, when it switched to monthly. Contributors include Peter Hart, Janine Jackson, Julie Hollar, Laura Flanders, Howard Friel, Noam Chomsky, Stephen Maher, Michael Corcoran, Seth Ackerman, Beau Hodai, and Edward Herman.

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Extra (acting)

A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street scene). War films and epic films often employ background actors in large numbers: some films have featured hundreds or even thousands of paid background actors as cast members (hence the term 'cast of thousands'). Likewise, grand opera can involve many background actors appearing in spectacular productions.

On a film or TV set, background actors are usually referred to as "background talent", "background performers", "background artists", "background cast members" or simply "background" while the term "extra" is rarely used. In a stage production, background actors are commonly referred to as "supernumeraries". In opera and ballet, they are called either "extras" or "supers".

Casting

Casting criteria for background actors depend on the production. It has been said that background cast members often require little or no acting experience. This is not entirely true, as any type of unrealistic portrayal must include some form of imagination and acting. Punctuality, reliability and the ability to take direction also figure prominently for these cast members. Background actors are often selected on short notice, after all other preparations for the shoot have been finalized.

Extra (TV program)

Extra (originally titled Extra: The Entertainment Magazine from 1994 to 1996) is an American syndicated television newsmagazine that is distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution and premiered on September 5, 1994. The program serves as a straight rundown of news headlines and gossip throughout the entertainment industry, providing coverage of events and celebrities; however, since 2013, it has also placed an even greater emphasis on interviews and insider previews of upcoming film and television projects.

As of 2014, the program's weekday broadcasts are currently anchored by Mario Lopez, Tracey Edmonds and Charissa Thompson; its weekend editions are co-anchored by Lopez and Renee Bargh, who also serves as a correspondent for the weekday editions.

History

The series was developed in the fall of 1993, for a planned launch during the 1994–95 television season. The program was developed under the working title Entertainment News Television; however due to claims that it too closely mirrored its own name, cable channel E!: Entertainment Television filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television and Telepictures Productions to bar them from using the title; although E! lost the lawsuit in a summary judgment hearing allowing Warner Bros. to continue to use the ENT title for the series, Warner Bros. decided to change the name of the program to Extra: The Entertainment Magazine in May 1994, four months before the series made its debut, with Warner Bros. executives citing that the abbreviated ENT title was too similar to that used by Entertainment Tonight (which is commonly known simply as ET), possibly leading to viewer confusion and hurting ratings in the process.