[Paul]

So, I found out a little while ago that a scene in American Gangster is going to be filmed at my house!

It is directed by Ridley Scott (Apple's 1984 Macintosh commercial, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and stars Russell Crowe (Virtuosity, Gladiator, vomit...) with Denzel Washington (who won't be in the scene sadly).

Unfortunately, I probably won't be home because I have class (incidentally a Documentary Film class) up here in Boston on the only day they will be filming at the house. But I'm going to ask my professor if I can take off for it.

Is anyone familiar with a situation like this? They are coming to set up the scene for like a week and it is going to be the first day of shooting for the film. It is going to be interesting to see how Russell Crowe behaves...

[Wrao]

That's pretty neat. But, if it's anything like that scene in the simpsons, it will actually just be a big nuisance. I take it you live in an interesting house? is it really old or something? old architecture/design maybe? or is your family somehow connected to the production crew?

[MBHockey]

That's ridiculously cool. Where do you live? A mansion?

[Maciej]

I am eager to hear your story, it sounds pretty fun. I crossed paths with Denzel Washington in an elevator once, it was nice.

[Windowsrookie]

Can you still live there with all that going on?

[Brad]

Remove anything from the house that you don't want to lose or have destroyed. I've heard that film crews can wreck property pretty badly.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by Paul So, I found out a little while ago that a scene in American Gangster is going to be filmed at my house! It is directed by Ridley Scott (Apple's 1984 Macintosh commercial, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and stars Russell Crowe (Virtuosity, Gladiator, vomit...) with Denzel Washington (who won't be in the scene sadly). Unfortunately, I probably won't be home because I have class (incidentally a Documentary Film class) up here in Boston on the only day they will be filming at the house. But I'm going to ask my professor if I can take off for it. Is anyone familiar with a situation like this? They are coming to set up the scene for like a week and it is going to be the first day of shooting for the film. It is going to be interesting to see how Russell Crowe behaves...

Wow, Paul, that is so incredibly cool. There must be something 'just right' about your house, because I am sure they scoured the area looking for the most perfect location.

I used to know someone whose parents owned and lived in the house where Steven Spielberg filmed the movie 'Poltergeist'. I'm sure they had to move out during the filming.

Their swimming pool and backyard were pretty much completely trashed during filming, so Spielberg had everything all redone and a new pool put in, iirc. I'm sure he re-did all the carpeting and paint and so forth, so that he left everything better than the way he found it.

I'm sure your professor will be blown away to find out that they'll be filming with such stars at your house. He'll probably want to ditch class too and hang out on location with you. I mean, geez, Russell Crowe and Denzel both? Definitely cool. What an adventure you're in for!

So when is this all happening?

[drewprops]

I have a *lot* to say about it....

Are they going to dress your house or have they asked you to leave all the furniture and decor in situ? "Real" movies generally take your stuff and put it into storage for you because the Set Decorator and the Production Designer will have picked out the stuff they want to use to set the look for the place. If they've asked your parents to leave their stuff in place then be careful. While 99.9% of the film crew that will be in your house will be good, upstanding decent people, there may be a few bad apples who cannot make a moral separation between private property (namely YOURS) and a stage set. I'm not suggesting that they would take anything valuable, but better safe than sorry.

When the shooting crew rolls up to a set for the first time they walk gingerly around the place for the first 30 minutes. By the end of the day they're lounging around like it's their house... it's a total pirate mentality, in that a film crew takes over a place like no invading army ever could, it's something we joke about often.... it's called "cinematic immunity" and it is VERY FREAKING REAL.

I've had FBI agents hand me their IDs to compare with my off-the-shelf stuff from Earl Hays Press, we've taken over a marina, a corrections facility, countless restaurants and stores and private golf clubs. Airports terminals, hotels, streets, highways, mountains, etc.

One house is nothing.

Consider requesting that the restroom be made off-limits or else put a lot of toilet paper in there. I'd do the former, maybe even tape off the lid to the toilet. A lot of DPs and Directors won't respect a homeowner's bans, nor will the 1st AD, but everyone else should. If you have anything remotely antique that could be accidentally damaged MOVE IT AWAY.

I remember leaving a house one time where one of the grips had managed to get a footprint on the ceiling of somebody's foyer. It was 20' up in the air.

Anyway, if it's a Ridley Scott show the crew may be all pros. I love film crews dearly, just be aware that you can't expressly rely on the Locations Manager to be there to be the caretaker of your house the entire time the crew is there, regardless what they tell you. At some point it's bound to be left in the hands of a PA who has no idea what's happening around them.

That's when stupid stuff happens.

[Majost]

My Aunt had that happen to her for some no-name indie flick. At first, she was honored, but after the crews left, they found a script that they left behind. Apparently, the screenwriter called for the scene to be in "the most run-down, rickety house on a steep (as in geography, not money) street in the 'burbs of LA."

[Axl]

anyone familiar with a situation like this? They are coming to set up the scene for like a week and it is going to be the first day of shooting for the film. It is going to be interesting to see how Russell Crowe behaves...

A few commercials and Boss of Boss were shot at my place. Do you know if they're gonna move a lot shit around or redecorate your house? For Boss of Bosses the walls were painted, chandeliers put in place… they completely transformed the look of a few rooms.
It's all fun as long as your house is kept intact once they leave.

[T-Man]

Mind me now, it is neat, but does one not have a say whether a film crew can use someone's house? I don't know the movie business, so...

@Majost: I had to laugh at that...

@Axl: Don't they have sets for that kind of stuff? Unless you let them remodel your place; I don't see how they could otherwise...

@Paul: Hope you get to have something of a (good) experience with it.


I used Confused-smiley too many times now,
Cheers

[drewprops]

Film crews can't just come into your house, they have to set up a contract for that. They can steal images of your home from off your property though, I don't think you can tell people not to photograph your place... though I remember one show where a business owner who didn't want the film crew around their business stood outside his shop waving his arms... they had to change the shot to prevent him from being in the shot.

[psmith2.0]

Well that's kinda neat. Watch out for flying telephones...

When I first read this thread title, I have to admit: the first thought that crossed my mind was "amateur porn...and why is he blabbing it to all of us?". Whacka-chacka-chacka...

[Satchmo]

I work at an agency where we rent houses for photo shoots all the time. While it's not exactly the same as say, a film shoot, most crews are pretty good. In fact the last shoot, we left the place cleaner and tidier than it was originally.

Then again, we didn't have any high profile actors or hot heads like Crowe.

[sunrain]

Originally Posted by drewprops Consider requesting that the restroom be made off-limits or else put a lot of toilet paper in there. I'd do the former, maybe even tape off the lid to the toilet.

I dunno. It'd be kinda fun to have a "Russell Crowe s(h)at here" sign above the commode.

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by sunrain I dunno. It'd be kinda fun to have a "Russell Crowe s(h)at here" sign above the commode.

Just to freak the Crowe-ster out, why not get a big photo of him in the toilet, on the wall right above the toilet? Even better, photoshop him into a family portrait and see if he notices.

[Axl]

Originally Posted by T-Man Unless you let them remodel your place

That's right. Not only did they restore everything afterwards, but they also left some stuff behind for free. Good times

[drewprops]

Sometimes the company will build elements for shots that the owners like so much that they ask them if they'll leave them in place... unfortunately, they're usually built of cheap wood and painted to look expensive. Inevitably they fall apart...

[T-Man]

Originally Posted by Axl That's right. Not only did they restore everything afterwards, but they also left some stuff behind for free. Good times

Nothing to lose then, eh? Would love it if a crew shot my house as if it were some high security high-teched place and left some things behind.

[Windowsrookie]

Maybe they''ll use a MacBook as a prop.

[curiousuburb]

Leave out a copy of Blade Runner or Alien and a Sharpie. Ditto Gladiator.

Perhaps the set decorator will leave them in for Easter Egg fun.

And check the fine print on the contract... I've known some film crews to fry the electrics in a house with their lighting. Not all leave it better than they found it.

That said, they shot a horror pilot/MoTW (Touching Evil) in my Dad's old place.
He used to show the DVD to guests and they asked not to sleep in 'that murder room' anymore.

[BarracksSi]

Originally Posted by Majost My Aunt had that happen to her for some no-name indie flick. At first, she was honored, but after the crews left, they found a script that they left behind. Apparently, the screenwriter called for the scene to be in "the most run-down, rickety house on a steep (as in geography, not money) street in the 'burbs of LA."

Hehe...

This thread made me think of About Schmidt, in which Jack Nicholson played a bored, run-down retiree. The houses they used in Omaha (one story location was Denver, but they just used a house in another part of Omaha for filming) looked "very Omahan" inside; I wonder if they did any redecorating at all. Even much of the dialogue was straight out of the Great Plains (the short conversation about which interstate route was best had me cracking up, because I've said the same damn words myself!).

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 When I first read this thread title, I have to admit: the first thought that crossed my mind was "amateur porn...and why is he blabbing it to all of us?". Whacka-chacka-chacka...

That was my first thought, too. But, I just now thought that it would be funny to launch a film canister at the side of the house.

[Engine Joe]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 When I first read this thread title, I have to admit: the first thought that crossed my mind was "amateur porn...and why is he blabbing it to all of us?". Whacka-chacka-chacka...

My first thought was of a huge slingshot, a big reel in a film can, and a crew pulling back and taking aim...

EDIT: ARGH! BarracksSi beat me to it!

[Paul]

Okay, to answer some questions...

Where do I live?/Where are they shooting?
No, I don't live in a mansion; I live in Queens. They are mostly going to be shooting outside on the deck and around the pool but I think they have access to the living room as well. It is going to be interesting to see what they do there because we have a piano and a nice dining room table that will probably need to be moved. I haven't been home at all since this deal was inked so I don't know if my mom is on top of moving stuff out, but I'll bet the room will be empty by the time the crew gets there. She is a bit nuts, but she isn't a fool. I don't know what she is going to do with the piano tho.

Why did they choose the house?
Well, this is actually a bit of a long story. A year or so ago, my father was renting out some warehouse space we have in Brooklyn. Due to the nature of what we were using the garage for a long-term tenant was undesirable, so we were put in touch with a set building crew for the movie Rent who needed a place to rent out for three months. This worked out great and my dad made friends with the head designer and let him leave his office set up until their next movie. Turns out they were doing Little Children, which was being filmed mostly in my neighborhood-actually like right down the block from my house. When my father found this out he told the designer (I really need to ask my dad for his/her name again) and they said it would be a good idea to take a look at the house to see if there were any opportunities for a scene. When they looked at the house they didn't have anything they could use for that movie, but they really liked the backyard and pool area. (Which has an "S" in tile on the bottom, this probably sealed the deal.) Fast forward a year and now they are coming to the house to film. They are forcing us to get the pool's surface redone tho and making us pay for half of it! $4000!

When are they shooting?/Who will be there?
In two weeks. I don't know who is going to be at the house except for Crowe and I am assuming Scott will be there also. I'm pretty sure that Denzel will NOT be there. I will be there on the other hand! I spoke with my professor today and he told me not to worry about it. This is going to be very interesting.

I have another question for everyone tho. How much would you expect to be compensated for the use of the house? The film crew is going to be at the house for five days setting up and there is only one day of shooting. They are mostly going to be using outside and maybe some shots inside in the living and dining rooms. (Which is about 3000 sq ft off the top of my head.) What would be fair?

To preempt: I will do my best to take pictures and post them. (Which will probably have to be done covertly, damn Hollywood.)

[T-Man]

I was born in Queens.

I can't answer and questions you had , but just make sure to get those pics now.

[Windowsrookie]

What's your address?

[drewprops]

A friend of mine who does stills now used to be an Assistant Locations Manager in the Atlanta area, here's his thoughts:

Where is he located would be another question? that would help determine the premium. Is it a big budget picture? Low budget may not be able to pay the same. I would start at 2K per day for prep and 4~5K for shoot. Have them pay for someone to be there that knows the house and neighbors. About $300~$500 for that person. They might not want to stick around at all. Its great to get out before it starts and to come back to a cleaner and possible newly painted home. Could also negotiate for furniture too. Lets say they can't pay above 3K... It's ok, then I keep what I like and work with the production designer, they can become a great decorator for you to redecorate the house with a fresh look! A nice hotel room either near or far from there to get away (mini vacation, go somewhere and let a best friend have all the fun) with a per diem for each person living in the house. Hope this helps.

I'm betting the rates are more in your area up there...

[Banana]

Am I only one who thinks of someone taking up a rifle and blowing out a reel of film when I read the thread title?

[Windowsrookie]

No, scroll up.

[BarracksSi]

Originally Posted by Paul Fast forward a year and now they are coming to the house to film. They are forcing us to get the pool's surface redone tho and making us pay for half of it! $4000!

Well, that's fuckin' weak, forcing a location to pay for alterations that the movie people want. However -- were you guys planning to redo the pool anyway? I guess I wouldn't be upset if I got to have the pool redone at half price.