Herbert Ragan
From El Cajon (Auditor)
In New York, it was impossible not to. I saw many movies being made from a distance. I saw the movie Nuts with Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss...that last scene where she’s running away and there are pigeons. When I was in Orlando, I saw Lethal Weapon 3 filming at the old city hall building. It was the scene where Danny Glover is on the toilet with all those explosives. We got to watch them blow it up, but none of the stars were there.
Clancy Warren
From San Diego (Writer)
I’ve seen a few. In the ’50s there was a movie called Picnic, with Bill Holden and Kim Novak, filmed in my small Midwest town. We only had 1700 people living there, and they filmed at a nice park. A lot of people I knew ended up being extras. I didn’t have a Social Security number, so I couldn’t. Novak used this one boy as her mascot and gofer. He ended up running away from home to find her in Hollywood. He got caught, though. And when I was in Moscow working for the embassy in the ’60s, I saw a Soviet film crew working on something.
Eve Daniels
From Balboa Park (Retired)
I saw some movies being made. My mom worked for MGM as a writer’s secretary. My grandfather was in a Douglas Fairbanks film. He was the bad thief in The Thief of Baghdad. He did silent films and worked in vaudeville. I was able to watch one film being made and got a part in it. I was three or four and played Spencer Tracy’s daughter in the movie Edison, the Man. It still airs sometimes. My father had died, and I was the lucky, adorable girl they picked to play that part.
Derek Shackleton
From University Heights (Language Teacher)
When I was around 18, in Houston, they were filming that Kevin Costner movie Tin Cup. Me and three friends went and ended up being extras. We got $50 a day, but that’s a long time of being there the times they tell you. And we were told to wear clothes that a golf spectator would wear. One of my friends wore punk-style stuff, and he wasn’t allowed in. We saw Cheech Marin, and I filled a bag with grass shavings. I kept yelling, “I got the stuff,” and he finally turned around. I thought he dissed us, and when we were walking away at the end of the day, he came up in a golf cart. He said it was pretty funny but that I should let it go. He said it was in his past and he wanted to concentrate on acting. That was kind of cool.
Jennifer Craig
From San Diego (Systems Engineer)
It was a made-for-TV movie; does that count? It was with Sissy Spacek and that woman from Weeds…what’s her name? Mary-Louise Parker. It was about 15 years ago, and it was filmed at Sharp Memorial. It was a story about a baby born with AIDS, and a nurse ended up adopting him. I was working there at the time, so I got to see a lot of the filming.
Bobby Brenner
From Santee (Construction Foreman)
I had a cousin living in L.A. Anytime I went to visit her, it seemed we would walk by some film-shoot. You can always tell when you approach because you see the big trucks, the boom mikes, cameras, and so many lights. It can be daylight, and you still see huge lights set up. When I was a teenager, I always knew the star. Someone would say, “It’s a Cher movie.” The last time I saw a filming, which may have been five years ago, they mentioned the star. I had no clue who it was. They said he used to be a comedian. I’ve always meant to pay attention when the film comes out, to see if I recognize anything from when I walked by.