Movies are not usually shot in West Hartford, but on Sunday a film crew and a few celebrities were on South Main Street for the first day of filming for the movie "Pawn."
"I got a live one," Marnie Paulus said as she showed her husband a blurry picture of actor Michael Chiklis
The Paulus family came to West Hartford Center Sunday to see the film crew and hopefully to spot some stars. Nearby, a group of seventh-grade girls were there for one specific reason. They said they hoped to see actress Nikki Reed, who appeared in the "Twilight" movies, and they pledged to watch for her all night.
Other onlookers did not realize that South Main Street had become a film set.
Many drivers cruising north on South Main Street stared at the set as they went by. Some even hit their brakes and rolled down their windows to ask pedestrians or police officers what was going on.
Several people strolling through Blue Black Square and West Hartford Center were also not aware of the filming.
"We thought there was a real crime scene," said Jerry Aronson of Rocky Hill, who was visiting the Noah Webster Library when he saw several police cars and a large crowd.
The plot of "Pawn," according to the online site imdb.com, is about a petty robbery that spirals into a hostage situation after gunmen hold up a diner that's a front for the mob. The website said the movie is set to open in 2013, and segments are being filmed at and in front of the former Friendly's restaurant on South Main Street. The restaurant has been redecorated as a diner for the movie.
In addition to Chiklis and Reed, the cast includes other well-known names, such as Forest Whitaker, Stephen Lang and Ray Liotta.
Earning spots as extras in the movie are members of the West Hartford police SWAT team. The officers have no lines in the movie, and are not being paid by either the town or the film company, said Sgt. Chris Chappell, who is an extra. The officers play a SWAT team in the movie, he said.
Six West Hartford police cruisers will also be featured, but the West Hartford name has been covered up for the movie. The film company is paying the town to use the vehicles, Chappell said.
Chappell said he has never appeared in a movie and said that it is a neat opportunity. "It's not as easy as it looks," he said of filming.
Through Wednesday, the southbound lane of South Main Street, between Farmington Avenue and Memorial Road, will be closed between 4:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. because of filming. The northbound lane of South Main Street will remain open, but will occasionally be shut down for short periods of filming.
The film company will also be using 28 on-street parking spaces on the east side of South Main Street. Those spaces will be used from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
After Wednesday, most of the filming will take place inside the old Friendly's building. The restaurant was one of 63 Friendly's restaurants nationwide to close in October as the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Filming is expected to be complete by Dec. 22.
Source Courant
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