Will Smith’s Seven Pounds was doing some extended shooting in a residential area, and this seemed to upset his new neighbour a fair bit.
Now you might just think that it’s an old woman getting crotchety. But imagine this: for two weeks, a film production moves into your neighborhood taking up the parking places (some people in the area have had to take shuttles to get to their apartments because there is no parking), using “bright lights, rain machines, and Great Danes” until 3 AM, and the kicker: parking the portable toilets right in front of your house. No wonder she’s ticked. I wouldn’t be happy to be bathed in sewer smells for two weeks so that a movie could shoot in a neighbor’s house.
Back in my younger days I used to work as a courier in Toronto Ontario. Film crews were my worst nightmare. Their production trailers line the sides of the road blocking the parking areas that I used to count on to deliver my goods. But in the long run I did get to see a lot of stuff being made and I can identify specific buildings by address when I see them in films.
But when this happens in residential areas, I have complete pity for those around it. Least of all for two weeks. And the porta-potties were on her lawn? Dammit.
It is good to hear that the production team ended up paying her some money for the inconvenience, but I bet that lady doesn’t want to ever see them in town again!
