The Return of Violet

She's back! The character East Villagers love to love: Violet — otherwise known as Jessica Jones!

Proof.

The last time they filmed Jessica Jones in the East Village, there were all sorts of sitings of Kristen Ritter, and Mike Colter, and David Tennant, and who could forget the One-Time Simulated Explosion?!

What will they do to top that? Stay tuned!

#eastvillage #filmmakers #jessicajones #netflix #violet

Sunday In The Park

Wow, was this past Sunday a great day for walking around Tompkins Square Park!

There was so much to see, I don't know where to begin!

Filmmakers were making films:

Making films.

Puppets were dispensing free advice:

Advising.

Yelpers were yelping:

EAT24.

Unfortunately, those scooters were not for public use — I tried!

A jazz band was taking five:

Take five.

The purples were watching the dogs:

Watching.

A great time was had by all!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #puppets #yelp #eat24 #filmmakers #freeadvice

An Actor Prepares to Eat

It seems like forever since anyone has filmed a movie or television show in the East Village, so this set-up I saw on East 7th Street this past Tuesday came as welcome relief!

Welcome relief.

Since I didn't see any celebrities, I went to check out the food tent:

Food tent.

What's this?

Tri-colored pasta.

Yuck!

Life is hard if you're an actor.

#eastvillage #filmmakers #tricoloredpasta #7thstreet

Filming and Filming

Hot on the heels of filming Jonathan on East 3rd Street, more filmmakers are filming more films in the East Village!

Except this is not a movie, it's a TV show — and it's not called Jonathan, it's called The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel!

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel sign.

This next picture will come as a surprise to East Villagers, because it's a bar scene being filmed not at the beloved Vazac's!

The bar beneath the black tarp is the beloved Josie's Bar, on East 6th Street, famous for having a statue of a bear in front of it, that you can't see because of the black tarp!

Tarp-hidden bear statue.

But fear not, Vazac's has not been ignored! It's just been rebranded as Milston's Tavern:

Milston's Tavern.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

And for added effect, they built a subway entrance right outside!

Subway entrance.

In real life, there couldn't be a subway station there — the East Village was built on a swamp!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #avenueb #filmmakers #josiesbar #subway #themarvelousmrsmaisel #vazacs #swamp

Jonathan

I was walking across East 3rd Street this past Sunday, when I saw the signs of another exciting film shooting:

The signs.

The working title of this film is Jonathan, as can be seen here:

Jonathan.

There were no shortage of signs!

The only thing more exciting than watching a film or TV show shot in the East Village is… watching them shoot it!

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #orangecones #signs #filmmakers

The Breaks

There is nothing more exciting in the life an East Villager than the shooting of a movie or television show!

I was riding my Citibike down Second Avenue yesterday evening, when I came upon this site, at the corner of St. Mark's Place:

Movie gear everywhere.

Are these real crusties, or movie crusties?

Crusties.

Are these real firemen, or movie firemen?

Firemen.

All of this was taking place at the beloved Orpheum Theater, home of the beloved Stomp!

Stomp.

Who knows what magic is created inside the secret tent?

Creating magic.

This movie will be called The Breaks:

The Breaks.

According to the Internet Movie Database:

Three friends united by their love of hip-hop work to make their big mark in the music industry.

It's just like real life… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #crusties #filmmakers #firemen #imdb #movies #secondavenue #stmarksplace #thebreaks #orpheumtheater

Spoiler Alert

I was walking down St. Mark's Place last night, when I noticed these signs, alerting East Villagers of another exciting movie or television shooting taking place on the block!

No Parking signs.

Further down the block, I spotted this:

Alert!

For those East Villagers who don't know, the protuberance on the back of this car is called a spoiler — not the kind of thing you want when shooting a movie or television show!

#eastvillage #filmmakers #movies #signs #spoilers #stmarksplace

New Line

I was walking up Second Avenue this past Sunday, when I saw this sign, taped to a lamp post:

New Line Productions, Inc.

As you know, East Villagers are always excited when this neighborhood is used to film TV shows, and films! Drivers move their cars hours in advance — tow-truck drivers rarely have to move anything!

True to their word, the film crew was set up along East 4th Street, Monday morning:

Set up Monday morning. 

I think it's a film about the new Second Avenue subway line, hence: New Line Productions!

Second Avenue subway line.

It's done with CGI… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cgi #filmmakers #movies #secondavenue #subway

Some Filmmakers

East Villagers are accustomed to crusties congregating outside empty storefronts, but sometimes those congregating are filmmakers!

I was walking up Avenue A this past Friday, when I saw these filmmakers congregated outside the formerly-beloved Nino's Pizza:

Congregated filmmakers.

There's nothing like an abandoned storefront to add East Village character to a movie!

#eastvillage #filmmakers #ninospizza #avenuea

Photographing & Filmmaking

Yesterday was such a nice day in the East Village that it seems every photographer and filmmaker was out photographing and film-making!

This group of filmmakers was making a film on East 4th Street, in front of the Secret Garden at Avenue C:

Making a film on East 4th Street.

Further up Avenue C, at East 6th Street, this group of photographers and models was photographing and modelling clothes:

Photographing and modelling.

Here they are from a different angle:

A different angle.

An edgy background for edgy clothes!

East Villagers love to take advantage of unseasonably-warm weather to squeeze out the last drop of creative juice, before hibernating all Winter!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #6thstreet #avenuec #filmmakers #models #photographers #secretgarden

On Location in Tompkins Square Park

I was walking through Tompkins Square Park this past Sunday, when I saw this film crew preparing a shot beside the robot trash can:

Film crew preparing a shot.

It turns out they were not in fact preparing a shot, but taking apart the camera, in preparation for walking to another part of the park (the drumming is from a drummer, warming up for a "punk rock" concert):

Once they got to the other side of the park, they set up their camera again:

Setting up the camera again.

This was the scene that they were preparing to shoot:

Actors preparing to perform.

It looks like a remake of "Sid and Nancy"!

East Villagers love movies about punk rockers!

#eastvillage #filmmakers #robottrashcans #tompkinssquarepark

On Location With Younger

Avenue B between East 6th and 7th Streets is probably the most popular block in all the East Village for movie and TV-show filming!

Here are new signs that were put up outside the beloved Anwar Grocery recently, announcing the filming of something going by the project name of Younger:

Younger signs.

I was spoiled by my amazing video of the filming of Netflix's "Jessica Jones (a.k.a. "A.K.A. Jessica Jones") back in July, so unless they announce there's going to be something exciting, the way they did before:

Announcement of something exciting.

…I won't make the effort to be there. If they're shooting when I pass by, and I have my camera, I'll check it out. Otherwise, not.

Spoiled by success… in the East Villager Today!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #7thstreet #anwargrocery #avenueb #filmmakers #signs #younger

More Filming

I was walking down East 7th Street yesterday, when I saw a film crew setting up at the intersection of Avenue B, in the same location as the recently filmed "A.K.A. Jessica Jones"!

Take a look-see:



I think they were a low-budget operation, because they didn't post any signs announcing that they were shooting, and they didn't have any P.A.s telling me "No videos, please."

This is the kind of stuff I used to shoot — the crew — until Jessica Jones ruined me for good!

#eastvillage #filmmakers #avenueb #7thstreet

Rock and Roll

Here it comes, hot on the tail of "A.K.A Jessica Jones": "Rock And Roll"!


This sign was on Avenue B and East 5th Street.

Filming starts Friday! Let's see if anyone famous is in it — and what sort of explosions they'll set off!

It's not a true East Village movie/TV show without explosions!

#eastvillage #avenueb #rockandroll #filmmakers #signs

Independent Filmmaking

Ask any East Villager and they'll tell you: independent film-making started in the East Village!

It's true — they'll tell you that!

Some people think that independent film-making went the way of the super-8 camera, but not in the East Village!

I was walking up First Avenue this afternoon, when I saw this film-making crew, making a film:


Coming soon, to an underground cinema near you!

#eastvillage #firstavenue #filmmakers

Pure Fanzine Stuff

This is the last of my A.K.A. Jessica Jones videos from the other night, and what would be a better send-off than images of the star herself, Ms. Krysten Ritter?!

Before I do this though, I just want to say I'm sorry I didn't get any scenes with David Tennant in them. For all I know, he was there in the earlier pictures, and I just didn't recognize him, what with his beard and all!

So with no further ado, Ms. Krysten Ritter:

#eastvillage #jessicajones #krystenritter #vazacs avenueb #7thstreet #filmmakers

False Start

Setting up for shooting a scene isn't just a lot of tweaking of cameras and replacing of street signs. No, stunt doubles have to rehearse how they're going to fly and fall, too!

And just when you think it's time… "Stop rolling!"

Once again brought to you without added sound effects:


#eastvillage #jessicajones #filmmakers #avenueb #7thstreet #stuntdoubles

T Minus 54 Minutes and Counting

When we last left off, I had gone home to eat supper, seeing that the one-time simulated explosion™ was not yet ready to occur.

After eating, I ventured back over. They were still setting up, but they were further along, and it was dark: the perfect setting for a night shot!

And here it is, the crew of A.K.A Jessica Jones, setting the stage:


The cameraman was from WLNY.

#eastvillage #jessicajones #vazacs #avenueb #7thstreet #filmmakers #wlny

Violet, Before the Explosion

As readers may recall from my post yesterday, the one-time simulated explosion, featuring air cannon with debris, was scheduled to take place some time between 6:00 and 11:00pm.

Being the punctual sort of blogger that I am, I arrived as soon after 6:00 as I could, which was at approximately 8:20. They were still setting up around the beloved Vazac's, and didn't look like they were anywhere near setting off an explosion, one-time or not, so I went home to eat.

This is what I got in the time I was there though:


Stay Tuned! There's more to come!

#eastvillage 7thstreet #jessicajones #avenueb #vazacs #filmmakers

Ninja Turtles

It seems everyone wants to film in the East Village these days!

I was walking up Avenue B this morning, when I saw this at East 7th Street:

Vazac's lit up to look like daytime.

Here's a close-up:

Close-up.

Tourists were caught up in the excitement:

"I wonder if that's that East Village Today I've heard tell about?"

So what was filming, you ask? Here's a hint:

No Parking sign with project name.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell!

And here they are:

Famous actors.

Why would turtles film in a bar? Or teenagers, for that matter? Mutants, I can understand!

And no overview of a film set would be complete without a picture of the food table:

Fruit? That's it? No bagels or muffins or anything?

What do you expect turtles to eat… in the East Village Today?!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avenueb #filmmakers #halfshell signs #teenagemutantninjaturtles #vazacs