3 O’Clock High, 1986
Ogden High was selected as the filming location for the 1986 film, 3 o’Clock High, and students were able to work as extras throughout the filming. Originally titled “After School,” the film told the story of a meek high school student who has a date with the school bully at 3 o’clock. Actors in the film included Casey Siemaszko, Jeffrey Tambor and John Ryan. It was the first major film for directory Phil Joanou.
The location scout knew that Ogden High was the right location because of its distinctive and unique architecture; it was unlike any other school. Ogden High was paid $2,000 a week during filming and received $80,000 worth of improvements. The local economy also made about $1 million during filming.
Crews began filming at Ogden High on October 16, and the production lasted several weeks. The school’s marquee was changed to reflect the fictional school’s name, Weaver High School. Over 1,000 students were used as extras and made $40 per day. Even though filming occurred during the school year, the community and school decided to make it work.
The large fight scene was filmed in November. 1,800 student extras gathered in the parking lot. These extras were not paid but did get lunch and a free movie t-shirt. A former student later recalled: “I was a senior the year the movie was filmed, and it was quite a disruption during the course of filming. We all embraced it though, and we thought it was really cool to have the movie showcasing our beautiful school. I was an extra in quite a number of scenes, which was actually much more boring than you would think—but it is great to have video footage of how we all looked in high school, as well as how the school looked then.”
Filming wrapped on December 1, and the movie premiered in 1987.
Director Phill Joanou
Richard Ryson and Casey Siemaszko
Baarry Sonnenfeld, Phol Joanou, Mitch Pilleggi, and Casey Siemaszko
Stacey Glick and Anne Ryan