By Sean Langevin, 16, Downey High School
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“How would you like to be in a movie with Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker? I had the chance when I was hired to be an extra in the Walt Disney movie, “Hocus Pocus” in 1993.
My grandmother’s house in Whittier is an old Victorian manor. She is registered in the movie production location guide. Disney was looking for an East-Coast style house to film one scene in. My grand-mother was approached by Disney to use her house; she agreed on the condition that her three grandsons could be in a scene. Disney agreed and I was hired.
The following Friday my family and I drove to Grandma’s house in Whittier. When we arrived we found out that the entire square block was closed to traffic. We parked in a lot close to the neighborhood in which the movie was being filmed. Trailers, motor-homes, two trucks and a couple of catering trucks were parked along the street. The porch and two blocks of homes were being used in the movie.

I didn’t even recognize Grandma’s house
All the homes had been transformed into an East Coast neighborhood, thanks to the magic of Disney. I did not even recognize my grandma’s house. Her usually spotless front yard had two gigantic holes dug out with two huge fans in them. The front of her windows were covered with orange sheets of paper. Later I found out that when the fans were turned on, the paper vibrated, causing the house to appear to be on fire.
Leaves covered her yard. A couple of extremely long cords led into the house. The cords wound all around the interior of the old house. Expensive-looking equipment and lights that were almost as big as the house were everywhere. Men and women with walkie-talkies and clipboards were frantically running here and there. Everybody seemed to be in an incredible hurry. Producing a movie took a lot of work, I found out. This was the first time that I had been behind the scenes of a movie and it brought into reality the amount of work it takes to put together a million dollar production.

I became Davy Crockett for the film
After our tour of the set, my brothers and I were led to wardrobe. People of all ages were busy trying to get into costume. I became Davy Crockett for the film. My younger brother was a ninja and my youngest brother’s costume really stunk—he was a skunk.
We were not able to shoot our scene until it was dark, which was not until nine at night. The next two to three hours were spent at a church down the street with the other extras from the movie. I had the chance to talk with a few of the extras and find out what life was like.
They usually never know what their schedules are going to be for the next day. One day would be normal with school and homework. The next day could be totally different if they got a phone call saying they were hired for the day. One of the extras came all the way from the San Fernando Valley for two days. Shooting a particular scene may take all day or it may take a couple of minutes. Schooling takes place off the set. There are, of course, benefits to being an extra, like being able to meet stars, being paid and eating good food.
Nine o’clock finally rolled around and about 20 of us were led to the park where we were told to pretend to be pushing and shoving each other to get to the candy the tree witches were handing out to the children of the neighborhood. The scene went very well with one exception. I got caught looking into the camera. This is the cardinal sin of being a movie extra. You are not supposed to look into the camera, ever. The director told me not to do it again. I did not. The scene was eventually cut. I did not care. It was still exciting to be in a movie.
Following my 15 seconds of fame, the actors, actresses, extras, sound people and everyone sat down to an incredible dinner at the church. This marked the end of a day that I will never forget. I had the opportunity to meet, eat and see behind the scenes of Hollywood.”