As a feisty city councilor, Beverly's John Burke has had his share of battles. But nothing quite like yesterday's encounter with movie star Sandra Bullock's purse.

Burke served as one of the extras yesterday as Disney descended on Beverly Airport to shoot a scene for the upcoming romantic comedy "The Proposal."

The scene involves Bullock and co-star Ryan Reynolds getting off an airplane in Alaska. Burke, as he was instructed to do, cut in front of Bullock. The actress bumped into him, then hit him with what Burke called "her $18,000 orange Hermes handbag."

"I told her later I didn't mean to bump into her, but she said she did it on purpose to make the scene more realistic," said Burke, reached by cell phone as he sat on the plane between takes.

Disney has been shooting scenes for "The Proposal" around the North Shore for the last few months, including in Rockport, Gloucester and Manchester-by-the-Sea. Last month, Bullock and her husband, Jesse James, were in a car that was hit by an allegedly drunken driver in Gloucester, sparking national media attention.

There was no such firestorm yesterday. Bullock, Reynolds and the other stars — including Betty White and Mary Steenburgen — spent most of the day on one of the runways of the small city-owned airport, behind a fence and away from the occasional visitor who had heard about the movie shoot.

Beverly Airport was made to look like an airport in Sitka, Alaska, where part of the movie takes place. One sign advertised helicopter rides with "glacier landings." A green screen was set up behind the airplane so that snow-capped mountains can be digitally added to the scene, said Scott Levine, a publicist for the movie.

Bullock plays a demanding boss who agrees to stage a fake marriage to her young assistant, Reynolds, in order to avoid being deported to Canada.

Burke, the Ward 3 city councilor in Beverly, has acted as an extra before, including in "The Perfect Storm" in Gloucester. He said he even helped location managers scout out possible other sites for "The Proposal" in Beverly, including Briscoe Middle School, although it was not chosen.

Burke was among a couple dozen extras working at the airport yesterday. There were also about 150 crew members.

Other than his encounter with her purse, Burke said it was a pleasure to work with Bullock.

"She was joking with us," he said. "She was personable with us."

Bullock and the crew will be shooting at Beverly Airport "for a couple of days," according to Levine. Burke said he has been invited back to shoot a scene inside the plane on May 23.

The movie is due out in September 2009.