The movie I'm working on has a fairly large number of effects shots, almost all of which involve digitally removing a blemish from one actor's face. Today I was down at the FX house we're using, and had quite the learning experience.

All the work they do is confidential (hey did you see me not blasting that name all over the internet? That's right you didn't!) and they aren't allowed to name clients or show their work (because that would be tantamount to naming clients). So this weekend they will be shooting a bunch of random nobody actors in order to digitally "fix" their flaws and blemishes and create a reel. Delightful!

So the guy I'm talking to tells me about all this, then says that they'll do all the ugly people first, and then the hot girls, to show that sometimes (oftentimes) hot girls need fixing too. Fair enough, it's a client base. I'm just sitting on a couch when he calls my name, and I head into the other room. "Hey Asa, can you help us out and tell us who we should save for last?" Well, the girl who wears lingerie in her headshot is a good pick.

One of the first things I notice is that none of these people are, by any stretch of the imagination, ugly. Some are a bit plain, and some are (heaven forbid) old, but even the woman who was clearly 60 was a pretty dishy 60-year old. Then someone points to the headshot of the girl who looks just like Julia Roberts and says "She's great. She looks just like Julia Roberts." I agree. "Plus she's got some obvious work that needs done." And he swirls his finger around the general vicinity of her face, presumably the location of her massive deformities.

I stare at the headshot.

Then it comes to me. There's nothing at all wrong with her face. She has no blemishes. Her radiant beauty and sexuality would drive the girls in any real world high school into murderous fits of jealous rage.

And they want to fix her.

It was a mistake to watch 10 minutes of The Swan last night.