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Tuesday, December 4, 2007 8:43 PM EST
Filming continues on 'Little Chicago'
By ADAM VOSLER
Special to the Olean Times Herald
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| A movie crew for the film "Little Chicago" shoots a scene in an alley behind the Bradford, Pa., Fire Department Sunday evening. In this scene, which took several hours to set up and a minute or so to shoot, bootleggers make a delivery to a speakeasy. Photo by Wade Aiken/The Bradford Era |
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BRADFORD, Pa. - Local filming for the gangster movie "Little Chicago" continued over the weekend despite some unforgiving weather.
Crews started working on Sunday's scenes about 12:30 p.m. on a snowy Kennedy Street. Executive Producer Carl Veno described one important part filmed that involved one of the movie's main stars, Joey Vacchio.
Said Veno: "Joey and his wife come (into Bradford) and he falls in love with the town. His wife doesn't."
Vacchio is shown speaking in glowing terms about the town - only to have the next scene show someone getting mowed down by a Tommy gun and rolled into a carpet in the back of a truck. That second, grim scene was to be filmed late Sunday.
Other scenes captured throughout the day were less dramatic.
"They're making people walk in front of a makeshift grocery store," explained a Bradford Special Police member who was providing security Sunday afternoon. "They're doing a pretty good job if you ask me."
The security was providing traffic control and keeping onlookers at bay, making sure nobody wandered onto the set. The precipitation kept the audience relatively small, but did not deter the filmmakers.
"We just deal with the weather as it happens," Veno said. "We are ready for any condition."
Not everyone was necessarily prepared. Upon arriving at the filming spot Sunday, one crew member from California slid on the snow-coated road and ran his car into a yellow barricade, leaving paint on the car.
"These guys don't know how to drive in this weather," the special policeman said.
"These Hollywood types ... said it changes so quick."
About 4:30 p.m., the crew got a short reprieve when a production member yelled "That's a wrap here at this location!"
This set off the rapid movement of lights, a crane and other equipment as crew members worked to clean up and move to a new area of downtown.
Sunday's work was expected to continue up until midnight.
"I've been working 12-hour shifts all week," one production assistant was overheard saying.
Numerous scenes for "Little Chicago were also photographed Saturday, as several curious locals watched the action.
Kennedy and Chestnut streets went back in time to the 1920s and early 1930s as extras portraying townspeople, in old-fashioned garb, lined the roads. After the sun went down, "gangsters" in antique cars took over.
Veno jokingly called it a "great day" of dramatic shots.
"We strangled one guy in the alley and killed three more with a Tommy gun," he said.
Of course, the slayings were fakes. However, during filming, an authentic Tommy gun was used that dates back to the Prohibition era depicted in the movie, according to Veno.
"This particular gun, we learned, was later part of President Roosevelt's lend-lease program with Britain, and miraculously it got returned at the end of the war," he said.
The "Little Chicago" costume department was also making efforts to make sure everyone is dressed in era-appropriate clothing from head to toe.
"The look of the movie is so important, in even minor details," Veno said, adding that some of the extras wore their old-fashioned shoes all day so that they'd be prepared when their camera time came.
Those details, according to Veno, are going to shine through thanks to what he touted as "better than digital-quality" pictures being captured. The film's crew even includes a cameraman from one of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
Shooting will continue today, highlighted by pyrotechnics simulating a house exploding on Howard Street. The big bang, scheduled for approximately 7 p.m., is expected to draw the attention of television networks, according to Veno.
He showed concern about the special effects going as planned, since there is no chance for a "do-over."
"We get only one shot at it," he said with a laugh.
After initial work is done in Bradford, the film that's captured will be taken to Hollywood for the addition of music and Dolby surround sound technology. Veno will meet with a music producer there to discuss what type of tunes will best suit the film's environment.
After a holiday break, the crew will return to Bradford and resume work downtown.
"The people in Bradford have been nothing but nice," Veno said.
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