Winter’s Tale Film Shoot Spreads Fake Snow in Brooklyn Heights

By on December 5, 2012 8:37 pm in Movie shoots

As previously reported, Winter’s Tale has been shooting in Brooklyn Heights. Today, the crew was spotted spraying artificial snow on Hicks Street by a few eagle-eyed residents.

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  • BKSurfer

    They also used lots if white plastic near Grace Church and the old cars were back

  • Greg

    It’s pretty unless you live anywhere near Hicks Street. It’s 11:00 and they still have their spot lights shining in everyone’s windows. Brings new meaning to “the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow”.

  • Robert

    Not to mention that besides taking 6 blocks of parking, they blocked access to the only garage in the neighborhood. The cops on duty said they’re going to be filming until 4am. I support location filming in the city, but things are getting out of control.

    Next up – 4 days of filming for Ralph Maccio’s new film – at least that’s what the no parking signs say. The production company letter says they’re only shooting tomorrow and Friday. Odd.

  • Wiley E.

    Let’s bring the helicopters back! That will fix the film-idiots.

  • Bornhere

    (I posted this on the “Smash” thread before I noticed this thread):

    Tonight’s players were (what appear to be) two wholly passive Traffic Enforcement Agents (they’re wearing some sort of trafficky uniforms and have been there for hours), one enraged resident-driver, 4 NYPD MOS, a very officious film crew member, and a small audience. Enraged resident begs to be allowed to drive down Joralemon at Henry to his garage on State Street; officious crew member refuses; lots of ugly dialog ensues. Two police cars arrive, one having driven up Joralemon (the wrong way); more dialog; it seems the resolution was for the Henry Street RMP to escort the enraged resident down Henry to State so he could approach his garage from east to west on State. RMP on Joralemon proceeds to back down Joralemon and is quickly followed down Joralemon by Engine 224, approaching from Clinton (officious crew member does not interfere with FD). So not only can you not park ON the street, you also cannot approach your safe-haven garage FROM said street, without enlisting oodles of help.

  • davoyager

    This shoot was just around the corner from me. I love all these shoots we are getting this fall. It’s like a Hollywood back lot around here these days. A Winter’s Tale is a great early NY history novel.
    I took my 10 year old daughter to see the snow on Hicks street and the Ford Model A, and a white horse running down the street in front of the old carriage houses and fire house on that block.

    I love these shoots also because they piss off car owners. There should be vastly fewer cars on these streets and anything that makes them rethink their reliance on cars is good,

    And I have known through out the years so many of the people involved in this industry here in the city and I know just how valuable these jobs are to your friends, neighbors, family, and all those who worked tonight and will work for the months to come to produce this motion picture.

    And it was fun for my 10 year old.

  • lori

    I remember some years ago when they were filming Age of Innocence on Remsen Street near Montague Terrace during Easter Week. They had fake snow on the ground and several horses (and their carriages) were parked at the circle. My 7 year old daughter and I spent many afternoons and evenings there during her school break watching the action. Fortunately, this film didn’t disturb that much of the neighborhood, since the trucks were parked on Grace Court. Many of the adult(men) enjoyed seeing Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder in the neighborhood. There is a limit to our patience, however, when you can’t get into your own home or garage.

  • WillPill

    And, since they did a terrible job of cleaning up the fake snow, there were slippery conditions at the corner of Joralemon and Hicks that caused at least once person to take a tumble! Not very neighborly.

  • Nicholas Spangler

    davoyager: I’m one of those car-owners. I need the car for work and it doesn’t take a film shoot for me to rethink my reliance on it — I do that every time I gas up or get stuck in traffic or can’t find a parking spot at the end of the day.

    The film shoots instead make me rethink why we allow so many film shoots.

    They command parking that would otherwise be used by people who live here, work here or shop here, sometimes well in advance of their permit. They inconvenience pedestrians and drivers alike. The crews and the advance parking guys are rude. (Sometimes, in my experience, rude and severely stoned.)

    What good the shoots do for this neighborhood is unclear to me. What good they do for the industry or the city overall should be balanced against the harm they cause this neighborhood’s residents.

  • Weegee

    Does ANYONE remember, nearly 20 years ago, what looked like a quick turn-of-the-century exterior establishing shot on Montague St.? They had turned the storefronts into a period street scene; I remember a large, 3-D revolver (a la John Jovino) hanging from the front of the old hardware store at #134…never ended up seeing the finished product.

    The Muppet Christmas shoot on Joralemon St. of a couple years ago was fantastic — crew let locals drive through the block, and even indulged this local’s request to “meet” some of the characters that were off duty that day.

  • DrewB

    Snow making machines grinding ice for ours on end. Light brighter than the sun shining in our windows until 2AM. Noise, traffic disruption, dangerous ice on the roads this morning (heard a couple cars skid out.) And now four days of another shoot. This is totally unacceptable. But the white horse was pretty, I’ll give them that.

  • harumph

    I was meeting a friend on the corner of Hick and Joralemon and they almost did not let me go through…when they finally did they had guys watching me all the way down the street speaking into their headsets like “yeah, I see her, she is walking straight down this way” “Yeah, I see her crossing my point here too”. While I’m sure Obama is use to this treatment, I am not. Invasive and nasty. I don’t care what the film project was, don’t care what stars were in it…didn’t look up just walked down, met my friend and off we went for a drink. But I seriously felt harassed. In my own nabe. And it wasn’t like this was the first time or the first set. I think it is important for them to be nice to the neighbors or pay us. That would work too.

  • fmerguson

    Many, many cars ended up spinning their wheels last night/early this morning on the fake snow that was not adequately cleaned up – which in turn led to much honking of horns in the small hours. It’s nice to see our neighborhood on film, and good for the NYC economy as a whole, but it’s seriously a drag when local residents have to stand in the dark on a cold night waiting for the film crew to give them permission to go home and then be interrogated as to why they need to pass the site. Also heard that parents/caregivers were blocked going in and out of the local preschool at pickup time – no fair to kiddos wanting to go home or to beleaguered teachers who want to get out!

  • Gerry

    @ harump – I bet the men observed your rear end as well “she has a nice *ss”, etc.

  • michele

    So I filed a complaint with the Mayor’s Office of Fame Theater & Broadcasting. I recommend anyone else is is unhappy should do the same 212-489-6710. I also have another call in with with John Batista who is the Deputy Comm of Film Braodcasting becasue my complaint is not only against the film crews but moreso with the Mayors office for issuing these permits without any restrictions or parameters.

    The number and frequency of these film crews to the neighborhood has become a real inconvenience for residents. Last night they were filming until 2am and then it got even louder when they were packing up and rollong equipment genrators and deisle engines and trailer lifts up and down loading ban ging equipment. It was not a delight or a treat at 3am. But they are not entirely to blame, after all they were issuedan all nite permit. Why are we allowing the Mayors office to issue all night permits on residential blocks and on weeknites. I’m seriously over it.
    I also called Couselman Steve Levin’s office. They are trying to bring improvements but need this type of feedback from residents. Call the office please and give them your feedback at 718-875-5200.

  • Wiley E.

    Not all of the fake snow was really fake. Some of it was real manufactured snow like you get a ski resorts. There was piles of it 1 to 2′ high along Hicks Street near Grace Church this morning at 11 AM. It was left behind to melt, or for someone to fall on.

  • DIBS

    They are all union members too so if you think you’re going to get them to do the most intelligent thing, or at all raise an elbow to be more efficient, forget it.

  • Park Lover

    I couldn’t believe they didn’t have to clean up the snow– people and cars were slipping. But no wonder these crews have such a sense of arrogant entitlement — they’re just taking their cue from the Mayor, who believes that if a quality of life issue doesn’t bother him, it isn’t an issue. (Hundreds of daily tourist chopper flights over NY Harbor come to mind, too….)

  • weegee

    We’ll know we’ve reached a critical juncture when a movie is supposed to take place in Brooklyn Heights and, to make it true-to-life, they bring in MORE vehicles to represent a movie being filmed in the scene!

  • DrewB

    Thanks for the info Michelle. I called and lodged a complaint, though I was sent to someone’s voicemail, so I don’t know if it did any good. I also emailed Steven Levin and Daniel Squadron.

  • stuart

    Lori, Grace Court is part of your community too you know. And a lot of people live there.
    For this movie, no one could park on Grace court for days, it wasn’t because they needed to shoot scenes it was because that is where the crew parked their cars.
    In Bloomberg’s NY, the residents are hapless peasants who need to make way for the VIPs who work on film shoots.
    Some aspiring smart politician could really make a splash organizing a citizen’s demonstration against these disrespectful film shoots. I would join in, and I am not the sort of person who would usually take part in demonstrations.

  • lori

    Very disturbing that they left REAL snow on the streets. You can’t get into your car on Hicks Street without climbing over a pile of snow and the corners are very slippery.

  • Teddy

    Did anyone get injured because of the snow?

  • Jorale-man

    I’m with @davoyager on the issue of driving. There’s very little reason someone should own a car in NYC. We have the most extensive public transit system in the U.S. If a few film shoots prompt someone to realize that they’re fighting a losing battle, all the better.

  • Mr. Crusty

    I have a car but I pay $250 per month to garage it. I have zero sympathy for those that wish to own a car in NYC and be guaranteed free parking.

  • ClintonStRez

    If you choose not to have a car in the city, that is your decision. As noted above, many folks need their cars for their work or other essential reasons. The cars are not the issue. It is not just car owners who are being hugely impacted by these film shoots. I was recently told I could not exit MY OWN HOUSE because they were filmiing on my street. I was obviously walking.The number of permits is excessive and burdening this one area constantly. Plus there is no one making sure the crews treat people with consideration. If their jobs/business are so important, they should learn to operate in a more polite manner.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Michele, great work, my complaints have been logged, hopefully it will lead to some meaningful change.

    Jorale-man,
    “There’s very little reason someone should own a car in NYC” That’s a thoroughly presumptuous statement. How can you possibly know everyones reasons for owning a car and judge they don’t have a legitimate reason?

  • FKAHenry

    The film crews have no legal authority whatsoever – they cannot legally stop you from walking down any street, they cannot block your way, they may not touch you. (that would be assault) But they BEHAVE as if they have authority, and most people obey them. There’s no (legal) way they can prevent anyone from entering or leaving their home, and you do not have to show them proof of your address. They are private citizens with no more authority than you or I over other people.
    That said, they often hire off-duty cops as enforcers, and they can and will stop you. It’s not legal either, but try telling a cop that and see how far you get.

  • Wiley E.

    There is a “shoot” stakeout on Joralemon Street near Hicks Street again (12-9). I wonder if is a sham. A table with 99-cent treats is on the sidewalk for the non-existant “crew”. It seems bogus. How can we tell if these “shoots” have actually paid the City a film fee, and they are legit? I smell a film rat.

  • Bkgrl929

    So many complaints from everyone in this feed. Did one of you even think for one minute about how many jobs all of this production in NYC is creating? How many more New Yorkers have jobs? We are all local and we all have families to feed and roofs to put over our heads. And our work is not glamorous by any means. We work very long hours and deal with complaints every single day. What is two minutes to wait before you park your car or meet a friend for coffee? Can’t we be all be a little more patient? Don’t you realize you could be ruining a shot? And if we let you walk by when you feel like it the whole day will take much longer and we will inconvenience your neighborhood even more? Locations people have to serve the script. Unfortunately (and fortunately) Brooklyn Heights is a gorgeous neoghborhood that many writers use as a backdrop for their narratives. The snow is a whole other story, it should have been cleaned up properly and I agree many production assistants can be rude. But please just think for one minute about someone else’s livelihood other than your own. If NYC wasn’t as busy as it is many of us would either be unemployed or have to leave NYC. And we don’t want to. It is our home. I don’t judge the job you have chosen, let us try and work together and let me work mine.