In the recent cultural boom of Hollywood invading southern Louisiana, students are finding opportunities to live out their dreams on the silver screen by being film extras.
It’s the type of dream every kid has at one point or another: to share space with their cinematic heroes. Unfortunately, not everyone can be Jonah Hill or Anna Kendrick, but as extras, some are allowed the rare opportunity to take a peek behind the filmmaking curtain of mystery and find out what it really takes to create the movies we love and make some money in the process.
For marketing junior Kayla Deguetyer, the prospect of catching a glimpse of Hollywood royalty was what urged her to audition.
“My friend and I, we heard that ‘22 Jump Street’ was filming in New Orleans, and naturally we wanted to see Channing Tatum,” Deguetyer said.
Not knowing exactly where to begin, Deguetyer went to the Internet to find out how to be a part of the production.
“We Googled how to do it and found this website called mycastingfile.com, and we signed up, made a profile, and they would give you announcements for extras,” Deguetyer said.
According to a study produced by FilmL.A., the regional film office of Los Angeles, Louisiana has overtaken Hollywood as the go-to location for major studio film productions. In the past year, of 108 films produced, 18 were shot right here in Louisiana, outpacing Hollywood and Canada, which tied for second place with 15 apiece. This is good news for Louisiana residents, especially for students looking for some part-time work for full-time pay.
On a film set, extras have to be wary of the significant time that it takes for production to get underway.
“It was a very long day,” Deguetyer said. “They told us to get there around 2 p.m., and we didn’t start filming until about 10 o’clock at night.”
But once the lights are set and the camera starts rolling, the extra’s job kicks into high gear, which in essence means being present while also being invisible.
“We were in a hallway, and it was supposed to be the first day of school,” Deguetyer said. “It was a lot of standing there and not talking. Acting like you’re talking.”
As more film productions flock to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, students like general business junior Leah Jarreau are given the chance to be a part of some of the biggest blockbusters in Hollywood. Jarreau. a veteran of a number of productions, has been an extra in both “21 Jump Street” and “Pitch Perfect.” She knows show business isn’t always easy.
“Whenever we filmed, it was cold, and it was supposed to be spring time for the scene,” Jarreau said. “That was a little challenging because you had to put your coats by a tree.”
Even though it is the purpose of an extra to be visibly absent, sometimes an extra can be put out front and center to become what is known as a “featured extra,” as mass communication senior Anna Lee found out on the set of “American Horror Story: Coven.”
“I was part of a group of young witches in 1919 who had to murder an axe murderer played by Danny Huston, who is also very nice,” Lee said. “So I got to stab Danny Huston with an ice pick!”
The allure of Hollywood lights is something that attracts most people at one time or another, as well as the opportunity to be a part of the process. Many students are taking advantage. To them, it’s more than a job, it’s a life experience that lasts long after the film wraps shooting.
“It’s an incredible thing to be a part of,” Lee said. “It’s so fun. It’s fun to see all the work they put into all the cameras and stuff and feel famous for a day.”
Hollywood was once called “The Dream Factory,” where America went to be transported from their own lives to somewhere extraordinary. And as Louisiana is quickly becoming known as “Hollywood South,” that dream is becoming increasingly possible to grasp for anyone, no matter their talent level or camera appeal. There’s even a chance to live out dreams of a slightly morbid nature.
“I got splattered with fake blood,” Lee said. “It was so great.”
For more information regarding potential casting calls, visit mycastingfile.com and bathersoncasting.com.

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Angela Major

Anna Lee has worked as a film extra.