Making movies in my old neighborhood
M
by Mary Ann Pietanza
y husband’s big During its demise and after gentrification, Red Hook and its surrounding arclaim to fame eas have been a magnet for movie scenes - as far as film on location. Back in my era, the Chelsea making is con- Movie Studios was a catalyst for movie making in New York when most films cerned in the suburbs - has were being made in Hollywood. Evenalways been that Sonny Cor- tually, with the Silver Cup Studios (the bread factory in Long Island City) leone of “The Godfather” old and the newer Steiner Studios located at was brutally shot down at the the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the neighbortoll booths near Jones Beach hood has become even more of a mecca for movie making. back in 1971. He didn’t actuPersonally, I can recall as far back to “The ally see it himself, but it was Patty Duke Show” in the early sixties the buzz of his hometown that when Brooklyn Heights was the setting for the popular Brooklyn sitcom. All the year. When we were dating, kids in the neighborhood were so proud he really impressed me with of the footage of the Heights Promenade that nugget of information. I in the opening scenes of the show each week. In our baby-boomer generation, it mean, after all, The Godfather was the start of recognition of our turf. was the mega-blockbuster hit Though in our parents’ generation, it was movie of the early seventies. probably On the Waterfront. Patty Duke waits for the F train Who wouldn’t be impressed? In 1969, I remember we were all psyched I’m not implying here that a film was never shot in my hometown of Red Hook, but the outside world to me back then seemed to be the greener side of the fence of my ghetto little neighborhood. All those parkways and trees, front lawns and beaches - it was inviting for sure. Not to mention that it was safer, cleaner and less complicated than the city with parking, space and bureaucracy. As kids, we played on concrete streets; they frolicked in the woods. We maneuvered our way on sweaty public transportation; they were sported in cars and hitch hiked with their parents’ blessings. What’s not to like?
Well, for starters, I thought that suburbia lacked an abundance of cultural and varied historical importance - the boroughs stole the show on those matters with their battles and forts, bridges and industries, and immigrants - along with their ensuing monumental and prestigious museums and theaters. And suburbia, to me, lacked a significant social infrastructure. Destinations were wide and far with few walking towns and places to congregate left gaps of social needs. It seemed the best part of living in the suburbs was its exceptional, pristine playground for kids to grow up on. Once out of college, though, with no spouse to speak of, what was there to do? I could answer that. They had a tendency to drink. They drank at clubs, at the beaches, on their boats. You name it, they were most likely drinking for their entertainment. This was my experience. Eventually, in time, they would make their way into the city where they could be among other young people and choose from a menu of places and events to keep busy. Enter Brooklyn. And the lifelong debate my husband and I hold over who had the better outcome of our childhood experiences of the two places. This revelation came to us most glaringly post children, when we spent more time on ball fields and in cars, than we did in museums or walking. But the issue of film making was an argument he could never win. One lousy film was all he could credit to his childhood oasis? Well, not so for me.
Red Hook Star-Revue
because Patty Duke was making a movie called, Me, Natalie. It was about a young girl who decides to leave her cultural Brooklyn home and venture into the beatnik streets of Greenwich Village. A scene was shot, of all places, on the platform of the Smith & 9th Street station - a dungeon of a subway stairwell that scared even the rats away, I think. We were shocked to say the least, but excited as hell when we were in the movie theater. There was Patty Duke sitting atop her solid suitcase as the F train approached with the Smith & 9th Street station sign in full view behind her! In the early or mid ‘70s we were gathered on the sidewalks at Hicks and Summit Streets where Kojak, a detective series starring bald and mighty Telly Savalas was being filmed in and around St. Stephen’s Church.
Burt Reynolds comes to town Around that same time the neighborhood went crazy because Burt Reynolds graced the streets of Red Hook when he was filming, we swear, The Fuzz, a movie starring voluptuous Raquel Welch. (Some will say he was actually filming Shamus, co-starring sexy and hair-heavy Dyan Cannon since The Fuzz was purportedly shot in Boston). Whatever, we’re all guilty of senior moments these days. Fact remains that road blocks were set up on 9th Street under the F train elevated by the Gowanus Bridge and very large crowds of people gathered to watch the filming. Naturally, the guys were all waiting to see if Raquel Welch or Dyan Cannon would arrive. I don’t recall that either ever did, but that doesn’t mean other people would agree with me. One thing was for certain, though. Burt Reynolds was there, and he was every bit as handsome and friendly as we all knew he would be! The girls went bonkers because Burt Reynolds was the latest and greatest heart throb who had recently done the unmentionable at that time and posed nude for Cosmopolitan Magazine’s centerfold! I remember him in his white-collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves and dungarees as he approached the road blocks to shake hands and talk
to his fans. He was really sweet and charismatic as he signed autographs and answered questions. You could tell he genuinely appreciated his fans. On one of his days filming, the crew was handing out photos of him, which my friend received and saved all these years. A decade later when much of the neighborhood baby boomers left to raise kids of their own, many came back in for visits when they found out Moonstruck was being filmed on the corner of Henry and Sackett Streets with Cammereri Bakery as the setting. This especially fostered camaraderie among everyone since the neighborhood had been changing quite a bit during the eighties. The pride of the crowds that gathered there was unspeakable as Nicholas Cage and Cher represented our loving neighborhood for all the world to see in its authenticity. Then, in 1991 thereabouts, I remember receiving a phone call from my mother as she breathlessly tried to relay to me that the block was filled with filming trucks and crews who were setting up to film Hudson Hawk. This held particular interest for me since not only were they filming on the street that I grew up on, but also because the movie’s star was Bruce Willis and there was no bigger fan of his than I. “Moonlighting,” the series that introduced the world to a snappy, sexy, quick-witted Bruce Willis, was sitting in a trailer on my block! How lucky was I? I quickly picked up a recent magazine with his picture and drove the hour’s ride to Red Hook. There, I met up with friends, some of whom were still living there, and waited in astonishment as an elusive Bruce Willis was in a trailer parked outside my friend’s house getting made up for his scene. We inquired about his willingness to come out and sign some autographs and were told by the crew members that he was not “that type.” Well, excuse us. We were there for a couple of hours and eventually made our way toward the site of the scene - the BQE right outside of the Battery Tunnel on Hamilton Avenue by “Dead Man’s Curve,” where an explosion was to take place. I looked around and noticed there were no crowds. His fan base consisted of just a few neighborhood women and a bunch of kids from the projects who really didn’t care to stick around much longer than an hour since there was no action right away. He finally did come out of his trailer, walked by his little pathetic fan base and curious onlookers and proceeded to ignore every one of us. Big letdown. I guess you could say at that point celebrities reached the point of entitlement and become snobs. Another decade later in the late 1990s, Samuel L. Jackson set up shop, again on Luquer Street, when the movie, Shaft was being filmed (it had a 2000 release date.) A very long scene with a conversation between Shaft and a young girl took place right on my parent’s stoop! That was awesome! Next door, Defonte’s outside walls were re-painted to read “Bordega.” Since my parents no longer lived there, I wasn’t aware of the filming until after the crew had gone. But I made sure to see the movie and purchase the video
www.RedHookStar.com
for my Red Hook movies collection. I know many more movies or series have been filmed in Red Hook during and after my residency there, including two of my own favorites, Across the Universe and Eat, Pray, Love. “Gossip Girl,” “Definitely, Maybe” and even the opening scenes for the current popular show, “What Would You Do?” have all been filmed in and around Red Hook. And with each new movie I venture to watch, I am aware that there may be scenes of my beloved neighborhood at any unexpected moment. That really makes me proud, because I never tire of seeing those familiar signs posted on the telephone poles revealing yet another time period for filming and an opportunity to see celebrities and creativity in motion. But things have changed since my friends and I were young. Our excitement still resonates. When my friend called not long ago and told me to come over because they were filming A Walk Among the Tombstones, a movie (again by Defonte’s on Luquer and Columbia) with Liam Neeson, I practically flew over in anticipation. But just like Bruce Willis, Liam Neeson seemed unapproachable. The neighborhood residents on Columbia Street and Luquer were almost ambivalent about the intrusion, too. I guess from their perspective it could get annoying with the parking restrictions. But I was disappointed that today’s stars aren’t as humble as they once were and don’t seem to value their fans’ patronage. Liam Neeson was, no doubt, deeply involved in his work, but afterward, would it have hurt him to wave to the few fans trying to get a glimpse of him and the Hollywood world? I don’t think it would. However disappointing the stars could be, though, I still feel lucky and honored that my old stomping grounds still holds resounding value when it comes to movie making. It is noted for its historical yet contemporary place in Brooklyn, creating lucrative real estate values and hipster presence that is even appealing to celebrities themselves who take up residency there. Not bad for a city neighborhood that was once associated with mobsters, crime and drugs, albeit a haven for poets and writers. Each time my husband and I watch movies, a knowing, triumphant look crosses my face when we see background scenes of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and beyond. He concedes each time. He has no choice; he’s still stuck on Sonny Corleone in the suburbs.
October 2013 Page 11