And to think once upon a time, not so long ago, I was wide-eyed about film crews in Manhattan. I’ve seen so many since, they’ve blended into the background, one more thing blocking my sidewalks.
Making my usual Friday trek to Academy Records, I had to walk down the middle of 18th Street to bypass the trucks and equipment set up to film a scene of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at Books of Wonder, a children’s bookstore a few stores down from Academy, where the staff was equally blasé.
- Random Woman:
- They could film in here!
- Academy Guy Behind the Counter:
- [eying sweaty, pudgy loner pawing through the 99-cent bin] Yeah, we got our “special” victims.
Later in the evening, walking the wrong direction looking for the Upper East Side American Apparel store, I came across a building on East 64th Street off Park Avenue, floodlit and with gels in the windows. A weary man, part of a large black-shirted craft services crew lounging around and pulling down union scale, guarded the beverage and snack table on the sidewalk and told me that they were filming a scene for Sex and the City: The Movie. Again, no reaction from me. Other than, man, would Sarah Jessica Parker really miss one small bag of Fritos?