I Hate Valentine's Day 2

Some of these pics are mine, most are from filming in brooklyn as is the following commentary

I Hate Valentine’s Day is still shooting in Brooklyn, and this time they’ve outfitted an empty storefront on Prospect Park West to look like a tapas restaurant. They were doing some exterior scenes on Monday.
These two nice cops were assigned to the set. I don’t know how these assignments are divvied up, but movie and TV shoots always seem to get the nicest, funniest cops.
Earlier in the day there was a little kerfuffle when one of the businesses on the block complained because other businesses had been compensated by the production. Problem was, those other businesses had actually been used for the film. Eventually things were smoothed over.
Location manager Tim Stacker explained that his goal is for all of the businesses and residents impacted by a shoot to be happy. To say “Yes, they were here for a week, but it wasn’t that bad.” He told us that for a small production such as this one, a business used in a scene might get $500-$1,000 total for the whole shoot, even if the same locations are used for more than a week. Larger productions are able to compensate much more.
Here’s director (as well as writer and star) Nia Vardalos setting up a shot.
Filming In Brooklyn doesn’t get flustered too easily around actors, but the first time John Corbett walked by, well, we forgot why we had been standing around on a hot sidewalk and just stared, camera in pocket. But eventually we got our act together, and managed to take some great pictures.
Here’s John Corbet, getting lit.
Here he is, peeking outside, just before shooting starts.
Here’s Ms. Vardalos with actor Gary Wilmes. Is it just us, or is Mr. Wilmes looking a little McDreamy-ish from that angle?

I Hate Valentine's Day 1

They are filming this movie in my neighborhood. Someone got fooled for a while

...old store front around the corner from my apartment, which had been shuttered up for months, and was delighted to see that a new place would be opening up - a restaurant! It's called Get On Tapas. Amazing. Of course, I immediately thought of Michelle's 50 Best Pun Stores. There was even a menu and review hanging in the window, and I was excited to try this new exotic cuisine called "tapas." Still, the sign looked like it had been printed using Print Shop with a dot matrix printer, so I was a tiny bit suspicious about it. Thus, imagine my despair when, yesterday morning, I discovered that this restaurant is NOT REAL. Here's how it went down. Upon leaving for work, I stepped out of my apartment onto the sidewalk, only to be immediately greeted by a 19-year-old with a headset and clipboard. He says to me that I am not allowed to walk any further, because I'm wearing short sleeves. It's 87 degrees; of course I'm wearing short sleeves. He says there's a movie filming and I need to wait a few minutes. My super-old-school neighbor, sitting on his stoop, yells "these jokers want you to go put on your winter coat!" As annoyed as I was to be accosted by a teenager about my attire, I couldn't help but feel aflutter about the possibility of some incredibly famous, gorgeous actor only steps from my apartment. Who could it be? Jeffrey Dean Morgan? Patrick Dempsey? Within seconds I've already imagined "accidentally" bumping into Jude Law, spilling his coffee on him and having to invite him inside my apartment to wash up. Regardless, I wasn't in the mood to wait, so I cut around the block another way, and ran into the filming from the back side. Who do I see? Find out, after the jump! nia-vardalos-2004-vanity-fair-oscar-party-1zbenA.jpg Nia F*cking Vardalos!!! I find out that she's written, will direct, and star in a film that should be entitled My Big Fat Greek Wedding Part 2, since it's co-starring the same dude (John Corbett) who played her love interest in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The actual name is I Hate Valentine's Day, and IMDB tells me it's about "A florist who tries to convince a restaurant owner to date her without the fear of it becoming a full-fledged relationship." SOUNDS DELIGHTFUL! At the end of the day, I'm more disappointed in myself for not realizing Get On Tapas was fake. I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I live on a pretty famous block in Brooklyn...and it's not just because I live there. It's where Helen Hunt lived in As Good As It Gets (and also where she and Jack Nicholson have the final scene of the film). It's where Alanis Morissette had one hand in her pocket and the other one giving a high five. It's where scenes were filmed for Dog Day Afternoon, Pollack, Pi, Smoke, Blue in The Face, and Angie. In any case, I'm going to monitor this situation closely and start wearing a winter coat around the 'hood so I can blend in easily and perhaps "accidentally" sprain Nia Vardalos' ankle so that I can (reluctantly, of course) volunteer to take her place in the film.