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There are eight million stories in the naked ciry -

andsome of them towldbe fiImedinyour home.


Here's how to get Tinseltown into yoar building.

DIR ECTOR

HOL L OOD
sHu FFLE ByFrankLovece
Frank Lovece, afreelance writer is a co-op owner. He is the ctutlrcr of a nuntber of books, including The X-Files Declassified.
He wrote about dealing with dfficult shareholders in the May Habitat.

25 HABTTATJUNE 2006
HOLTYWOOD SilUrrrr
production paid the building and the
shareholder whose unit was used thor-r-
sands of dollars for four days of f-ilm-
HERE ARE EIGHT MILLION STO- ing: two days to Prepare, one daY to
ries in the naked citY - and shoot, and one daY to dismantle.
some of them could brin-e
your co-op or condo some The lost Boy ftoul
revenue and a bit of showbiz How do you get in on that? Unless
cachet with little effort. Inconvenience. you have a high-end ProPertY and a
yes, but effort? Not much. Laura Wagner pitching it, you'll need
New York City locations are unique. to catch the attention of filmmakin-g
so it's not surprising to find feature professionals called location scouts or
films, TV movies, episodic television. else list yourself with a broker at a
commercials, and music/fashion videos location service.
all shooting here. While it's mostly on The tornter generally freelance for
the streets or at studios like Silvercup in production contpanies on a project-by-
Queens or the Chelsea Piers in project basis. Thel' tnaintain f-iles of
Manhattan, filmmakers who want that aestheticallv diverse and easy-to-deal-
only - in-N ew -Yaw k- hev -v ou- t al kirt' -tu - with locations. The latter is essentially
me ambience often oPt to shoot in a real-estate brokera-ee u'here you list
actual New York City apartments. It's your lobb1. roottop -garden. or apart-
gotten so that at least two high-end ment. It is paid a conrtnission when an
realty firms have divisions that special- apartment gets used.
ize just in getting their clients' proper- Location scout Mark Bodnar of
ties onscreen- for over $ 10,000 a dar" Where'bouts.conl. u hose pictures
For the most Part, it's all been sur- include Men irt Blut'k and Spike Lee's
prisingly casual. According to Dick Girl 6. sllg-sests that boards be u'an' of
Pollak, board president of the 5O-unit location companies u hose prirrrarr
404 Riverside Drive co-op - where business is real estate. "A realtor is onlr
parts of Ragtime, TV's Law & Orcler' interested in the back end.' he ar-gues.
You've Got Mail, and 'oa couPle of 'A film company tryin-e to get a location
Woody Allen films, I can't remember will try to look as benign and snlall and
which ones" were shot - it works like easygoing as possible, and so a realtor is
this: a location scout "comes and puts gonna play down [to apartmettt on'ners]
a notice in the lobby saying [a film what a film shoot actually is like. If
company] is looking for an apartment you're dealing with boards, the nlost
where they can shoot scenes for a filnl- important thing is honestY."
and then somebodY in the building That means, he saYs, makin-e sutre
says, 'Yes. We're willing to let you use the board and the owner know that a
our apartment.' If [the filmmakersl like film shoot "is a circus, there are a lot of
the apartment, then they negotiate u'ith people involved, and there's more than
the building." While even a snrall just shooting: places are needed for the
shoot involves "a great deal of trafic trucks, for the generators, a place for the
and tie-up in the building, in the treight cast and the crew to eat lunch" and
elevator, people coming in and out. much more.
[and] upheaval, the tradeoff is we -eet "People often don't reallY knou'
money tor the repair and renovations what to expect," says location scottt
fund." Robert Chemtob, "and often scollts are
That's the equation, all ri-eht. Is it a little guilty of not quite tellin-e then-t
one you'd equate with Your o\\'11 everything. I don't say l0 people Iwill
bLrilding. or does the thou-sht of be therel and [then] 40 people shovu'
Holll'r'u'664 in your home conjure up." Unprepared homeowners and
.boards, he says, are otlen "blown away
inrages of soiled carpet. broken
\ Llses. arc li-ehts at all hours. ntt by all the equipment a film production
parking spaces. jealous neighbors. brings."
lnd. iner.itably. an offscreen cl.lt The process begins when a scout
cetting its tailed stePPed on and finds two or three places that look right
roing "YEOWRRRR:!"'l But if r tru for a particular shoot. Then he arranges
put policies in place and keep rt'rur a "directorts scout," a scouting trip
e\ e\ open and not starstrltck. then tire with himself, the director, and the pro-
tenrporar\ and nlavbe one-tinre-onlr ducer. After the director decides which
inctrnrenience mav be n'orth it. place he likes best, Bodnar says, "Then
these changds be reversed when
HOIIYWOOD SHUFFTE shooting is finished?
I tell the homeoWner this is what we
want to do, and go through all the logis- The Negotiotor
tics and sign the contracts." After that If you think pursuing film, televi-
comes a "tech scout," a scouting trip sion, and TV-commercial shoots can be
involving the logistical crews - the a good occasional source of revenue,
heads of the art and other departments, then it makes sense to cover all the
electricians, and grips who'll be carry- above in a standard board policy.
ing and moving things into place, etc. Pollak's co-op, like some other media-
"They'll look for things like, if it's a savvy buildings in the city, has one in
third floor, will we need [to rent] a place that make dealing with filmmak-
cherry picker? Is there a fire escape? ers and shareholders alike a relatively
Where will we store the equipmentf" painless and profitable process.
"The policy specifies a f'ee for shoot
Bosic lnstinct days, and for set-up and strike [i.e. dis-
Before that tech scout can happen, mantle the set] days," Pollak says.
however, the owner and the board have "Those fees differ. And there are a cer-
to learn what the production will do, tain number of hours of shooting, and a
generally, and what it needs. While deadline for when they have to be out
most crews uphold highly professional of the building," among other standard
standards - stories abound of produc- conditions.
tion companies actually leaving homes "Two negotiations take place," he
and gardens in better shape afterwards notes. 'The filmmakers negotiate with the
than they were when they came in - a apartment-owner to shoot in the apart-
building should take nothing for grant- ment, and then [the filmmakers] negotiate
ed, and get everything it can in writing.
What, for instance? The basics are:
t with the building separately." In the case
of Pollak's 4M Riverside Drive, compa-
nies negotiate with building manager
. Contact information for the film com- Barry Benami of Argo Management.
pany and related companies/studio And speaking of management, the
. Number of people in the crew production company generally has a
. Dates and times of the shoot, includ- location manager- who may be the
ing, specifically, night shoots (when same person as the location scout - to
extremely bright lights may keep handle the day-to-day logistics and to
other apartment-dwellers awake) work with a building liaison that you
. Number of vehicles to be used, supply.
and the dates and times, which may "Usually that's the super," says
extend beyond the above, for when Chemtob, who goes on to give an
vehicles will be taking up your example of what a film company
street, and, significantly, should not do: "On one shoot in my
.Insurance information. Make sure own building [with which he was not
the production company lists you involved professionallyl, my super
and your property as "additional worked hour after hour, and after a
insured," and have the board's attor- week of this, they gave him fifty or a
ney obtain a copy of the policy. hundred bucks. I called the location
According to the mayor's film manager and said, 'That's not right."'
office, a standard film location poli- It's also impractical. Explains
cy insures up to $1 million liability Bodnar: "We end up 'burning' a loca-
. A knowledgeable attorney will tion," creating enmity that prevents
also confirm that the production future film productions from returning.
notifies the New York Police "The location manager's job," says
Department movie/TV unit if any Chemtob, "is both to see that the pro-
weapons effects are to be used, and duction gets what it needs, and that the
the fire department for any fire location is happy."
effects Now, this isn't legal advice, but the
. The homeowner and a board rep- (
mayor'S film office suggests that your
cr,
resentative should ask for a "walk- one-time deal - and by extension, your
through" with relevant crewmembers building's policy - include the following
who will point out what environmen- provisions, to quote from its website:
tal changes will be done where - Will 'Advise the production company of
a rooftop garden be dug up? Will the permission process and any applica-
walls be painted a different color? - ble waiting periods. Payment schedule:
and when and to what standards will request full or partial payment prior to
Pre-approve the use bf any material that Two Faces, directed by and starring
HOLTYWOOD SHUFFTE may damage your walls, doors, beams or Barbra Streisand, filmed at the
commehcement of shooting, and desig- moldings, such as nails, tape, pins or entrance and in the lobby of 505 West
nate form of payment. It is recommended clamps. Floor covering should be provid- End Avenue, at West 84th Street in
that you request a deposit for damages. ed to protect surfaces. Remove valuables Manhattan, "The co-op got $3,000 for
"List any restrictions on the use of and breakables. a two-day shoot. There was some
your properly. List any restrictions on the "If you are displaced, hotel accommo- inconvenience for the residents,"
access to your propeffy. (e.,9.. limited dations should be provided. Picaso recalls, "but there was also a
hours of operation for passenger/freight "Stipulate that the production is feeling of being a part of Hollywood."
elevator[s].) Determine whether you or responsible for cleanup and trash And a profitable part at that:
the production company is responsible removal." Streisand, a notorious perfectionist,
for paying electrical f'ees. You may be making money, but "decided she wanted to re-shoot, and
"Include infonnation about mainte- remember, there are downsides. Gerard J. so they came back and did another
nance schedules that the production must of Gerard J. Picaso
Picaso, president two days. And then another. At one
work aound. Ensure that the placement Inc., a management firm, says that point it had gotten to be winter, and so
of lights will not danta-ee any property. when the 1996 movie The Mirror Has the crew had to glue leaves onto the
trees" to match the foliage-full earlier
takes. "I think the building must have
been paid $40,000 overall," he esti-
mates.
Despite that, Picaso says, the resi-
dents have never wanted to do it
again. "People were having to go out
the service elevator, delivery-people
couldn't come to the front door, the
sidewalk was blocked, they were
doing night shoots with lights, and
[people in] the neighboring build-
ings were complaining and yelling
out their windows" since they were
being inconvenienced as well but
without getting paid. "Plus," he
notes, "the crew is there to do a job,
and your building is not their prima-
ry concern. Yes, they were careful;
yes, they cleaned up any garbage and
mess. But it's still a lot of equipment
and people, and so there's wear and
tear on the building."
Complex Problem: Still, for most, once all that's
done and shooting has ended, you'll
You want responsive "small cc-rmpany" personal have a story for cocktail parties,
some money in the bank, and a
service. And all the strengths, skills and cache that may help future sales. But
advanced technology of the largest firms. whatever you do, don't get Swept Awav
by The Hollywood Shuftle.
"I was scouting a Whit Stillman
movie, The Last Dalts of Disco,"
Simple Solution: remembers Bodnar, "and we were
Tudor Realty Services. Owner-managed. looking at an empty co-op apartment.
We were talking to the super about
Medium-sized. Your next move is perfectly clear. using it, and we asked, 'Is it possible to
knock down some of these walls?' We'd
just met the guy, and he goes, 'Right
Tudor Realty Services Corp. now?' He thought we had sledgeham-
mers in our bag!"
Mirnagernent Brokerirge
They did end up knocking some
250 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003
walls down later, he says with negotia-
-
Contirct Davicl Gooclmau tions completed, fees paid, repair
arrangements made, and everybody
Phone: (7I2) 557 -3600 going home happy...including the apart-
w ww. Tu.l orRe arl ty. co m ment's neighbors and the slightly more-
www.Ttrd orConnect. coln well-off cooperative corporation. H

34 HABTTATJUNE 2006

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