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Jun
30
Jun
29
On the Set of Indiana Jones: Day 3
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I managed to sneak out for about 30 minutes during my dinner break tonight. My friend and I walked across the green to the corner of Chapel and College Streets. A crowd was gathering there, so we knew something was about to happen. They were filming the same part of the chase scene again. As I’m sure you know, they’ll do multiple takes of each scene from different angles. They just set up the scene, the cars and the actors do their thing, they reset and shoot it again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Again we were pushed back down the street and onto the sidewalk by the P.A.’s. Way up College Street I could see the old cars lined up and a big camera rig on wheels with a huge light. Next thing we know, they’re headed toward us. The old cars drove right by us, but the motorcycle with the stunt men on it was completely obstructed by the bus and the plumbing truck. At the corner of College and Chapel, they turned around and got ready to do it again.
While they were resetting, we walked to the other side of the green, closer to where the starting point was. This time I managed to get great video of the guys on the motorcycle as they drove back up College after the shot was over. I’ll try and post that as soon as I can.
I did, however, miss a great photo op this afternoon. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart were eating lunch together under the tent on the green. A few friends who work the day shift saw them. My hope is that I will at least catch a glimps of either Harrison Ford or Steven Spielberg before they wrap up shooting next week. Security, however, is tight and they’re confiscating digital cameras and deleteing pictures!
Jun
29
Here’s the same scene shot from a different angle with much better lighting…
*footage from WTNH
Jun
29
Indiana Jones: Filming a Chase Scene Part 1
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*footage from WTNH.
Jun
29
Unofficial Indiana Jones Movie Blog
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Someone else in town is blogging about the Indiana Jones filming. Check ‘em out.
Jun
28
On the Set of Indiana Jones: Day 2
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Today was the first day of shooting on the Indiana Jones set. I say set…, what I really mean is location. The movie crew has practially taken over all of downtown New Haven. I thought they were doing all of their shooting on one street, but they’re going to be using a bunch of different streets and buildings.
The whole family took a trip downtown. My wife wanted to go to a store and I wanted to see the production. A friend tipped me off as to where they were set up, so I took the girls for a walk across the green while Patty did her shopping. We strolled past a huge tent where all the extras were eating lunch. Men and women in period dress – mostly brown wool pants, shirts and ties; the women in short sleeve sweaters and skirts. A lot of the crew was there too. As we walked along the green, it was cool to see a whole bunch of old cars lining the road. They were all over the place, ready to drive to whatever location they needed to be in to make it look like 1950. Certainly not something you see every day.
We found the spot where they were shooting. From where we were allowed to stand, I couldn’t see much. A few lights had been set up, but I couldn’t see any lead actors or the director. Shortly after we arrived, a bunch of PA’s told us to move back and to shut our cameras off – they were about to film a shot. I managed to sneak in a few shots before another, much more threatening looking PA repeated the request to put the cameras away. The girls and I had gotten backed into a corner, literally standing between some bushes with our backs against a building. We must have stood there for 10-15 minutes and the only thing we got to see were extras walking across the street and they were backing the cars up the street, probably back into their starting positions. It was hot and the girls were not behaving, so unfortunately I had to leave. Things got ugly, and lets just say that my older daughter ended up in tears and owes me a big apology.
A friend from work went back to the set during his dinner break and told me that he got to watch them film part of chase scene that involved a motorcycle and a bus. I’m pretty sure one of the station’s photographers was able to record some of that. I’ll see if I can’t get my hands on that video for you. Stay tuned…
Jun
28
Indiana Jones: Confirmed!
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It has been confirmed! Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg are in New Haven shooting scenes for the movie. I’ll have another update from the set soon!
Jun
28
I took a stroll down Chapel Street, circa 1950 this afternoon. Shooting doesn’t begin until Thursday, so today I did a little window shopping. All of the stores along the street had been dressed for the movie. The store names had been changed slightly in some cases (Claire’s Cornercopia had become Claire’s Bakery); others had been completely transformed (Allegra Printing had become Woolworth’s and Starbuck’s had become McCurry’s Tavern). The coolest thing was the attention to detail…, everything visible through the windows was vintage to the time period…, and they were all the real deal – not props.
I created a quick, flash gallery of the pictures I took. You can check those out here (you’ll need the Flash plug-in for the gallery to work). The glare on the windows was terrible, so I did what I could. I also shot some video, but I’ll need some time before I’m ready to edit and post that. Actually…, now that my kids are out of school, I may never get that time. 
Jun
27
Artificial Sperm
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I guess we won’t be needed for much longer, guys. Although I suppose they’ll need someone to stay home and raise these children.
Jun
26
Indiana Jones 4
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You’ll have to forgive me…, I’m going to geek-out for a few days here. Some very exciting Hollywood-type news is taking place in my backyard and I would love to share it with all of you movie buffs out there.
In addition to the original Star Wars trillogy, the Indiana Jones movies have a special place in my heart. I’ve been a fan since childhood when I first saw them. I thought I was going to be the next Steven Spielberg or George Lucas. I even have Harrison Ford listed as my favorite actor in my 6th grade yearbook. I guess local news is as close to that dream as I’ll ever come…, or is it?
Turns out, working in local news has given me the head’s up on an exciting development. In case you don’t follow these things, the latest installment in the Indiana Jones chronicles began filming last week – on my anniversary as a matter of fact. As luck would have it, part of the filming will take place in downtown New Haven, just two short blocks from where I work. I’ve known this for a few weeks – my station did a story on it and announced open casting calls for extras. Someone I work with actually got a part! I, however, having two children with me most of the time wasn’t able to try out. Oh…, what I would give to be in an Indiana Jones movie! Today the crews were putting the finishing touches on the store fronts, turning them into 1950′s facades for a chase scene they’ll be filming over the next week. We did a story on that too.
Tomorrow, I plan to take a couple of cameras with me and take a walk during my dinner break. Uma Thurman recently shot a scene for a movie on the same street and we were able to walk almost right up to where they were filming. Hopefully I’ll be able to get close enough to see something interesting, shoot some photos and/or video and share it with you. I have no idea who’s going to be there. My guess is that this is a 2nd unit, so Steven and Harrison won’t be around. If, however, they ARE there, I might just end up on our local news as I throw myself in front of the camera. If we do a story on that, I’ll share it with you as well. 
