Star Alert! Your Cousin Maddie Was an Extra in Jingle All The Way

APPLE VALLEY — Running high on the excitement of lukewarm eggnog and elf on the shelf innuendo your cousin, Maddie, pulled out her seasonal anecdote about being an extra in Jingle All the Way, sources say. The 1996 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was famously filmed at the Mall of America using local extras, including your cousin who you see once a year.

“I’m on the second floor, right when Arnold’s chasing the bouncy ball down the elevator,” explained Maddie, the movie star, while frantically fast forwarding through the first 44 minutes of the movie. “The director said I was so cute they just had to make sure the camera saw me.”

The film, which is known today for being a guilty pleasure which glorifies consumerism, required hundreds of Minnesota extras to make the mall seem full. “It was filmed in April, but we brought our coats to pretend like it was Christmas time. The director told me that was a good choice,” added the rising siren of the silver screen, clearly confusing a friendly production assistant for the director.

“Sinbad was great too. He had lunch with us,” she insisted, not mentioning how he had a private lunch and simply walked past her as she finished a ham and cheese sandwich, which she brought from home.

The infamous mall scene, which sees a 6’2” Austrian man try to steal a bouncy ball from a child, features close ups of numerous children, none of whom are Maddie. “They wanted me to be the kid with the bouncy ball, but I guess he won a contest,” Maddie said, unaware that the child had been cast from over 200 applicants. “I think being the only kid on the balcony was a bigger challenge, anyway.”

Maddie, a verifiable A-lister, then proceeded to show off her moment of glory. “I developed my own take on the Meisner technique and I think you can really see that in the scene.” she said after sharing her two-second cameo.

“Arnold and I don’t talk much anymore, but I still wish him happy birthday every year,” Maddie said, referring to her practice of writing ‘Happy birthday’ on Schwarzenegger’s Facebook fan page. “Maybe next year we’ll all watch this at his place!”

Mr. Schwarzenegger did not respond to requests for an interview.