Duplicity, Partially Shot in my Front Yard

Alright, I don't exactly have a front yard. But my street is fairly quintessential West Village, from the rows of old brick apartment houses (including the exterior of the famous 'Friends' building around the corner) to our resident bum 'Jimmy' who has resided on our stoop since the late nineties (but that's another story.)

Last spring, I had the funny experience of watching a movie being shot right outside our living room windows. Per the line producer's instructions, we had to keep our blinds open and our lights on all night. I have to say, watching a movie being filmed is like watching paint dry, and gives you an entirely new appreciation for the craft.

I watched Julia Roberts and Clive Owen practice their framing for the scene, then have to stand there for about a half hour at a time, until the director would come over and move one of them a half an inch, then leave them stranded again to stand some more. (BTW - she looked shorter in real life and he much taller... Hollywood!)

If you watch the trailer, you can see our street, and a snippet of our building, twice. First when she says the line 'You're unbelievable' and again when he says 'We don't have time for this." It's the only scenes where they're on a dark street late at night. They're brief, but there just the same.

And to think I was just a few yards away, crouching behind my windows like a blubbering idiot...until I got bored and went to bed.

http://www.duplicitymovie.net/