On Location: Life, Camera, Action!

"Mr. Big, you are one good looking man."
"Mr. Schuester, why yes. Yes I am."

Two weeks ago I had some pretty good celebrity sightings on my walks after work. The first one was Chris Noth, Mr. Big himself, on the corner of 47th and 8th Avenue. He was with his fiance and son. I am looking forward to watching him in The Championship Season. The play ends this month. The second one was Matthew Morrison, a.k.a. Mr. Shuester, filming Glee outside the Belasco Theater on 44th and Avenue of Americas. I did not have my camera on me both times. 

The Amazing Spider-Man or "Fiona's Tale" is filming in Woodside, Queens. Since Woodside is about a 10 minute walk over from where I live, I decided to check it out and see if I could catch a glimpse of Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, or Sally Field. The movie has a whole new cast along with a new director. I'm not familiar with the other actors and was quite disappointed there would be no Toby sighting.

If you have ever watched the filming of a movie on location, you would know that it is actually quite boring. There are a lot of lights, people waiting around, and a whole lot of nothing going on. Filming can last for hours and they will do the same scene over and over again. I once watched Uma Thurman and Minnie Driver walk back and forth across a street repeatedly pushing a stroller for 45 minutes while filming Motherhood. I could not hear anything either. Sidewalks get blocked off and long-neckers are forced to watch from afar.

The filming of Spider-Man 4 was no different. A crowd stood across the street from the Woodside post office on 61st and Roosevelt watching and waiting patiently for anything to happen. Two production assistants did their best to control and contain the crowd. They asked that everyone follow these few simple rules:

1. No flash photography.
2. No video taking.
3. When the director yells, "Action!" please be quiet. 

    When he yells, "Cut!" talking may resume.
4. Please be respectful.

We waited while the cast filmed in the alley between the buildings. They had actually blocked the area off with two dark cloths for privacy. 

Production Assistant telling us not to be alarmed by the simulated gun shots.
 I gather a fight scene was being filmed behind the curtains.

The crew was so bored. Filming was scheduled until 3 AM.

Hair! Costumes! Makeup!

I left to carry on with my evening. On my way I walked by the trailers where they do hair and makeup. I also passed by the director's trailer and a few others which looked like storage for props and what not. It felt a little surreal that I had walked on to a movie set in my own backyard. In reality, it was just another day in New York.

The Amazing Spider-Man