tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post4225787168154535170..comments2023-04-11T09:34:03.031-04:00Comments on Polybloggimous: NYC's Latest Innovation: Providing Employment for Sherpas.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-75987526059777805402008-08-04T18:17:00.000-04:002008-08-04T18:17:00.000-04:00Eric,It's a PSA so he should donate his services s...Eric,<BR/><BR/>It's a PSA so he should donate his services so that he'll be my first call the next time I'm in town. (Full Disclosure: If he's in Wilmington, I don't think I've ever even driven through the place, so it could be a while.)Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-10500889267283856472008-08-04T17:27:00.000-04:002008-08-04T17:27:00.000-04:00I'll pass that along, but he'll probably want to k...I'll pass that along, but he'll probably want to know what you're paying.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-54488149027348214662008-08-04T14:17:00.000-04:002008-08-04T14:17:00.000-04:00To Eric's Dad,I need a 2K pigeon on a quarter appl...To Eric's Dad,<BR/><BR/>I need a 2K pigeon on a quarter apple and rig a 20X double net over the skylight.<BR/><BR/>Then we'll use the Apollo for the last shot, booming most of the way and then crabbing left for the end of the set-up.<BR/><BR/>We also need a buttload of cribbing around that 24' staging...can't have it rocking. And we'll use the Weaver-Steadman on the baby legs.<BR/><BR/>Thanks.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-4422828255431091642008-08-04T14:07:00.000-04:002008-08-04T14:07:00.000-04:00Should I delete my serious reply in the other thre...Should I delete my serious reply in the other thread, then?<BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>(Anyway, it's nothing personal: just trying to drum up a little work for my Dad, 's'all....)Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-51063950252695138512008-08-04T13:42:00.000-04:002008-08-04T13:42:00.000-04:00I'm going to agree with John 100%. In fact, I thi...I'm going to agree with John 100%. In fact, I think New York City itself shouldn't put up with the congestion, traffic and other assorted difficulties created by film crews attempting to hold the city streets hostage. New York gets nothing from moviemakers at all, except heartache and woe!<BR/><BR/>Now, Wilmington, North Carolina, on the other hand, is an <I>extremely</I> suitable place for filming. And while Wilmington doesn't have a Chinatown, there <I>are</I> a number of soundstages down there where the extremely professional local crews would be more than happy to build a replica Chinatown to the director's and art director's specifications and without causing all the trouble those New York unions make (NC is a right-to-work state). And I know the residents of Wilmington will suffer in silence if they have to adjust their parking to accomodate the needs of film crews. Unlike those horrible New Yorkers, who do nothing but cause trouble.<BR/><BR/>What?Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-58146949622812547342008-08-03T12:33:00.000-04:002008-08-03T12:33:00.000-04:00Hey - if you want my support in Chinatown - when y...Hey - if you want my support in Chinatown - when you're filming there, buy out a couple of parking garages for the day and let people park in there for a nominal fee who would have otherwise parked on the streets - and bonus points for giving a deeper discount to out-of-state plates! :DJohn the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-20347664905634713302008-08-03T12:28:00.000-04:002008-08-03T12:28:00.000-04:00The advertising bump is real. Movies and TV keep t...<I>The advertising bump is real. Movies and TV keep the city in people's minds. For years, people made treks to a crappy little store in the East Village because Madonna bought a jacket there in Desperately Seeking Susan. I still get asked where the coffee shop from Seinfeld is located.</I><BR/><BR/>As a marketing professional, this is what I don't buy. Individual businesses featured get a bump. The city? Not so much. The rest of the inconvenienced neighborhood gets bupkis. Tourists don't come to NY just to see the coffee shop in Seinfeld. They ask for the shop because they are already in NY to see the Statue of Liberty. That's why the only guy opposed to stopping the Richard Gere pic in Chinatown was the guy whose place they were going to film at. People would still come to NYC and spend their money elsewhere, rather than in some store Madonna shopped at (seriously, there are people that stupid?!?).<BR/><BR/>How many films need just the <I>right</I> grittiness of Chinatown? That's the art director's ego talking, isn't it? Like I said, no one outside of NYC natives or people like me who frequent the neighborhood from out of town will likely notice.<BR/><BR/>NYC has such huge turnover in secondments and people living there (my company owns a couple of floors of an apartment complex for just that reason) that I doubt that the few movie people who live there would not be replaced by someone else. If you were talking about Newark, I'd buy that line. Smaller cities, sure. NYC, no way.<BR/><BR/>And given your attitude towards extras, do you <I> really</I> want to use supporting their lifestyle as an argument? :D<BR/><BR/><I>And to be honest, the folks in Flushing are going to bitch just as much starting the very first time I show up there.</I><BR/><BR/>There we agree. Which is why I'd like you to be able to negotiate for Chinatown. just, as I said, I'd like the answer to be "no" if <I>anything</I> else is going on in the area. And I think they'll bitch a lot less in Flushing since there is cheap municipal parking there.<BR/><BR/>An awful lot of people drive from Flushing or other neighborhoods to Chinatown, otherwise, no one would have started the petition in the first place. <BR/><BR/><I>They've demonstrated over and over again that there is a positive impact.</I><BR/><BR/>That's why I didn't come off more strongly. I'd like to see the economic analyses. Because, if I know NYC, and I do, the City or some fat cat is getting all the benefit, and the small store owners are paying the costs. Maybe if the city gave out tax breaks prorated for days films <I>on top of</I> what you pay, it would help a bit? If the city really is accruing a benefit, they should put their money where their mouth is.John the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-57300939975578108892008-08-03T12:17:00.000-04:002008-08-03T12:17:00.000-04:00"Why should Chinatown get a pass while the Upper W..."Why should Chinatown get a pass while the Upper West Side still needs to cope with filming on their streets?"<BR/><BR/>Ooh! I know! I know! 'Cause then <I>Law & Order</I> wouldn't have any more murder suspects?<BR/><BR/>Also: when you go to Cleveland to scout, look along the Carnegie Rd. corridor between E. 55th and the Cleveland Clinic. It's been a while since I was in Chinatown, but I'm sure there's something there you could dress up convincingly. (Mayfield Rd. and Murray Hill Rd. would be a great substitute for any number of funky NY neighborhoods, were it not for, you know, the hill.) <BR/><BR/>You're welcome.Jeff Hentoszhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060570930866182531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-9712849832582020272008-08-03T11:46:00.000-04:002008-08-03T11:46:00.000-04:00John,I had no way of knowing how long it would tak...John,<BR/><BR/>I had no way of knowing how long it would take you to visit, but I sure as hell knew what side you'd take.<BR/><BR/>:D<BR/><BR/>OK, first, you've got to separate economic impact from the filming site itself and the city as a whole. I've been on shoots where I was spending site fees for cooperation from just about everyone on the block, and shoots where only the one store I was using made any money. It varies depending on what the scenes involve and the budget of the production. Sorry, reality.<BR/><BR/>The advertising bump is real. Movies and TV keep the city in people's minds. For years, people made treks to a crappy little store in the East Village because Madonna bought a jacket there in <EM>Desperately Seeking Susan</EM>. I still get asked where the coffee shop from <EM>Seinfeld</EM> is located.<BR/><BR/>Economic impact on the city as a whole? A number of people who don't live here (cast, producers, etc.) are living here for 6-7 months. They're paying for housing, food, laundry, shopping and transportation. Lots of people who would not be working have a full time job for the season. Hundreds of extras will get day work and more.<BR/><BR/>Not to be dismissive, but to a filmmaker (my bosses), Chinatown in Manhattan and Flushing are completely different things. They don't look remotely alike. The signs and the people on the streets (who don't want to be in our movie anyway) aren't all that go into the look. There's the width of the streets, age and size of the buildings and a bunch of other stuff that go into the look.<BR/><BR/>C'mon, how many of Chinatown's patrons drive there. A lot of these people live right there in the area and they're walking.<BR/><BR/>I've got no problem with Flushing for certain types of scenes that don't call for the older grittier look downtown, but it's not always going to work. And to be honest, the folks in Flushing are going to bitch just as much starting the <EM>very first time</EM> I show up there.<BR/><BR/>What it comes down to for me is that NYC has made a concerted effort since 1966 (founding the Film Office) to attract motion pictures to the city. They've demonstrated over and over again that there is a positive impact. So, maybe the answer is that the city should look at who bears the brunt every year and then kick it back in the form of added city services for those communities.<BR/><BR/>I don't know. I just know that the city works really hard to attract films, but they're just going to counteract the attractiveness if they keep putting up barriers.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-745748859173296736.post-27247740542934615372008-08-03T11:22:00.000-04:002008-08-03T11:22:00.000-04:00Ok, Nathan, what's the economic impact to NY of fi...Ok, Nathan, what's the economic impact to NY of filming a movie?<BR/><BR/>I'm pretty sure your crew does not buy as much stuff as the stores (especially non-food stores)would have otherwise sold if the crew hadn't blocked their parking. And no one is going to come to NY as a tourist because of some movie they saw - they're going to come to NYC because it's friggin' <I>NYC</I>, so I don't buy any advertising bump either. <BR/><BR/>I just don't see what's in it for the Chinatown merchants in the area who aren't getting a check from you as a location reimbursement. And as a frequent visitor to Chinatown I sure as <I>hell</I> know there's no advantage to the customers and residents of the area.<BR/><BR/>So why don't you guys film in Flushing? You saw the area when we were there - no English signs except for the chain stores, and as you noted, even the smell is authentic to China.<BR/><BR/>I'm actually all for this - Flushing has much more plentiful parking, and only a native of NYC would notice that it's not Chinatown.<BR/><BR/>I've got to be missing something here - what do you guys bring to the party? Because at my level of knowledge right now, this ordnance makes me very, very happy. I can see your reservations about having it spread, and not having any negotiating powers, but if any other part of the streets of Chinatown are blocked off for official reasons (which they seem to be for one reason or another every week), I'd vote no for a film crew adding to that burden. Only in the absence of other street closings would I let a film crew in there, if I ran the parking authority.<BR/><BR/>Tell the truth - you're just afraid of filming next to the stinky tofu! :pJohn the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.com