Sean C. Morgan
Police are cautioning senior citizens to be careful in responding to an advertisement for extras for a movie shoot in the Sweet Home area.
A man claiming he was casting for a spoof of the 1985 film “Cocoon” recently posted fliers inviting 50 seniors above the age of 70 to participate.
Senior Center member Clara Windom said she saw the man, who identified himself as “Percy West,” putting up fliers at the center a few weeks ago. She said she talked with him a number of times.
“He was very friendly and outgoing,” she said of the man, who, she estimated, was “in his 70s.”
Around 20 seniors may have responded to the ad, giving up their Social Security numbers to the man. A number of them have contacted the Sweet Home Police Department and The New Era after becoming concerned that the casting call might be a scam.
“The Sweet Home Police Department cannot attest to the validity of this solicitation,” said Police Chief Bob Burford. “However, we should always be wary of providing personal information to any individual or business entity where there is not a previous established trust relationship.”
No information about this film or the production company was available last week on the Web, and the man, who identified himself as Percy West, hung up the phone in the middle of an interview with a reporter Friday.
The flier indicated that the film would be a “remake” of “Cocoon.” It offered the seniors $300 per day, with shooting over six days in a park area around a small spring – a total of $90,000.
“Transportation will be provided, dressing trailers and makeup people on site as well as catering trucks to provide nourishment,” said the flier. “Payment is daily in cash. No experience necessary.”
There would be no speaking parts other than casual conversations, while the main actors would carry the storyline.
The seniors would only be involved in a small segment of the film. The bulk of the two-hour film was planned at the Nine Maids Movie Productions studios in Northridge/Burbank.
Shooting on this low-budget film, with a total budget of less than $60,000 or $200,000 – the figure varied – was scheduled to begin Sunday, July 15.
During two phone calls from The New Era reporters, the man said his name was Percy West, and he said the film was a low-budget production by four amateur filmmakers. He said the budget would be less than $200,000.
He told The New Era on Friday that the film didn’t have nearly enough people yet in the Sweet Home area, so the filmmakers were considering relocating and instead doing it on the back of the Warner lot.
“Things are just in flux right now,” West said. “If you take cameras and nobody’s going to be there, you’re just throwing away producers’ money.”
“This is going to be like a giant stage play,” West said. “This is going to be our ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’”
And then he said the budget would be less than $60,000.
“We’re just trying to get started,” West said. “This is our second movie.”
He said that the production company made a movie called “Boron Kid,” but it didn’t do very well.
West said that he had 18 or 19 seniors who were interested in his project, but he needed 50.
When told that seniors in this area are concerned about giving their private information to West, he said the personal information is necessary.
“It takes about 50 people in the background,” West said. “You can’t just hire them off the street. You don’t know what you’re getting. You need a little bit of a background check.”
The producers need to make sure the seniors are American citizens and that there are no sexual predators, for example, West said. There will be children on the lot.
They don’t need to work for him, but if they do, they’re going to have to have a valid Social Security number and birth certificate, he said.
The New Era reporters explained to West that some local senior citizens were nervous about supplying information to him because they have had no way to verify even the existence of his production company or anything about the production except by calling West’s phone number.
“My name is not Ron Howard,” West said. “We’re not Warner Bros., but we’re trying. I’ve got some things to do right now. Goodbye.”
He hung up the phone.
Gina Riley, community services officer with the Sweet Home Police Department, also contacted West. When asked for a website for the production company or movie, West offered a gmail account.
Neither The New Era nor the Sweet Home Police Department were able to locate information about this production or the company online. The address, 9420 Reseda Blvd., Suite 201, Northridge, Calif., is a strip mall. The production company did not appear in Web searches for that address.
At this point, only that address and a single phone number appear on the flier as a way to contact the filmmakers.
Riley said that she has talked to 20 or 30 people who have given information to West.
The Police Department cannot tell them not to, she said, but it can tell them to protect themselves and their identification.
“I wish we had an absolute, but we just don’t,” Riley said.
Scott Smith, an independent filmmaker and owner of LB Productions in Brownsville, said he was contacted by Windom, and he called West.
“I invited him here,” Smith said. “He said he has all the help he needs.”
Smith said he told Windom not to give out her Social Security number until she sees the trailers, cameras, makeup artists and are actually shooting.
The script also should be registered, and West should be able to show a copy to interested parties, Smith said.
Windom said her daughter, who works in security in Maryland, was “very concerned” about the situation.
Windom said she has contacted “the federal agency that deals with fraud,” the Social Security Administration and her insurance company about the situation.
“They say they aren’t able to do anything until something happens,” she said.