Set Photos and Monday Filming Location

Got this e-mail from Louie (thanks!) who sent me these photos he took last week on the set:

Also I got an e-mail from Tony saying some of the crew who worked on this movie just finished working on M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening and JJ. Abrams Cloverfield (1-18-08).

This is about Saturdays filming location, it is from IMDB:

They were at an abandoned farm today in Chester Springs that is owned
by Toll Bros...filming outside the farmhouse. They started around noon when the
rain finally stopped. They will be back in early december to the same location
for 3 days. Security was very tight - but we did get to see a little of the
action - before getting the boot.

Tomorrows filming location is near:

VALLEY FORGE NATIONAL PARK

Washington Memorial Chapel

Valley Forge, PA 19481

SET REPORT/PHOTOS

^Peter Jackson

^Jackson looking at the pizza




^Salomon House

































^Creepy Doll in back seat of the Mustang


Philly.com also has a great photo gallery which can be found by clicking here:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/gallery/Hollywood_Comes_to_Willistown_Township.html


Here is an article from Philly.com:

Film crew transforms Chesco neighborhood


Ready for its 1970s close-up.

By Kathleen Brady Shea
Inquirer Staff Writer

Hollywood has come to a suburban street in Willistown Township and,
through its transformative magic, succeeded in making the thoroughfare even more
suburban.
The effect, done for the shooting of the movie The Lovely Bones,
is to rewind the street back to the 1970s.

Up went the rooftop TV antennas and out went the modern patio
furniture. In its place: white wicker with worn fabric cushions and aluminum
folding chairs with striped, plastic webbing.
Even the trash got special
treatment: dented metal cans replaced today's plastic variety.
After
reviewing about 75 sites, DreamWorks Studios selected the street as one of
several locales in the Philadelphia area for the film.

The Lovely Bones, to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, was adapted
from Alice Sebold's best-seller by Peter Jackson, a multiple Oscar-winner for
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The story revolves around a
14-year-old girl who is raped and killed and who looks down from heaven on what
happens to her family afterward.

The site boasts a connection to Sebold, who grew up in Paoli and
attended Great Valley High School. The author, though never saying outright that
the novel is set here, dots the story with references to Norristown, Chadds Ford
and Route 202.

Sharon Pinkenson, who heads the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and
who loved Sebold's novel, said she first contacted one of the producers in July
2003, initiating a "passionate" four-year pitch to have the movie shot
here.

"It's always best creatively to shoot where the story is set,"
Pinkenson said.

Landing the movie, she said, ultimately produced "a huge win" for the
region.

She said the film would inject $60 million into the region through
direct and indirect spending. Sixty percent of the approximately 150-member crew
is from the area.

Pinkenson said the region's allure to moviemakers has been boosted by
$75 million in state film-tax credits approved in July as well as by plans for
two film studios, one in Norristown and one at a site that has not yet been
announced.

Eight to 10 film projects have landed in Chester County in the last
several years - two by local filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, she said. Until this
latest surge of movie-making, The Blob, a 1957 sci-fi classic starring Steve
McQueen, was generally regarded as Chester County's cinematic high point.

In the case of Willistown's 50-year-old neighborhood, some serious
tweaking took place before filming began on Monday. About 20 split-level houses
were treated to a face-lift that, down to the smallest detail, created a look
more evocative of 1970s suburbia .

Balancing her 16-month-old daughter Ally on her hip, Moira Banister
said she and her neighbors had to sign off on the changes and received
compensation from the filmmakers commensurate with their level of
involvement.

"It's been fun watching the changes," Carol Anderson whispered.

She kept her voice low because Jackson was filming a dog-walking scene
down the block, and a gaggle of security people had just shushed the small group
of onlookers.

"We couldn't have asked for a more hospitable community to shoot in,"
said Claire Raskind, the film's publicist.

Fans elsewhere in the Philadelphia region craving a glimpse of their
favorite stars - including Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Michael
Imperioli and Stanley Tucci - will be disappointed. The set is closed to all but
residents, cast and crew, and it is secured by Willistown police officers.

"They've been great," said Banister, who baked a batch of brownies in
appreciation.

She said the major downside of her neighborhood's brush with fame had
been the periodic inconvenience of not being able to walk, park, or drive in
certain areas. Only vintage cars are visible, and one block is lined with trucks
and equipment such as lighting balloons, 15-foot-long inflatables that provide
ambient illumination.

The access to the action offsets the negatives, neighbors agreed.

An added perk: The film crew rakes leaves, stockpiling them in case a
scene needs to be reshot after the foliage has changed.

Banister said neighbors who barely knew one another were now trading
thoughts about what scenes will make the final cut and how they can juggle
requests from family and friends for visits.

Mary Gallen of Wayne made advance reservations.

She moved to the home of her daughter, Kelly Hennessy, on Sunday night.
By Tuesday, she had been joined by her cousin Margaret Dolan of Rosemont.
"I
thought it was so interesting that I suggested she come over," Gallen said as
Dolan fixed her binoculars on Jackson.

Conestoga students Dan McKinney, 18, of Wayne, and Henry Rome, 16, of
Strafford, who work for the school newspaper and TV station, got turned away at
one blockade but succeeded in grabbing some images and interviews with
spectators without violating a second security point.
McKinney said their
perseverance was prompted by their teacher's mandate: "This is a big story; we
need team coverage."

Filming Location

The crew is filming on Bryan Ave. in Malvern the base camp is at:

PAOLI PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
225 S. VALLEY ROAD
PAOLI, PA 19301

Here is a set report left in the comment box:

I went down to the set the other day on Bryan Road in Malvern. You can see
a little of the set but there is security and police blocking the entrance to
the street. However, both the security and police were pleasant and I was able
to get a glimpse of them setting up for a scene. It would have been nice to see
the actors. Does anyone know where they are staying this week while
filming?

Set Report #2:

Theyre filming on Queens Ave which is just off Paoli Pike. Its very easy to
spot beings all the cop cars surrounding the neighborhood. Its not completely
closed, you can walk down the streets just not drive. Currently they are just
filming extras and basic street shots... no stars just yet. Its very neat I
reccomend stopping by and checking the neighborhood out its very
70's.

This is from http://westmontcopa.blogspot.com/:

What a strange notion. As far as I know, the last scene from a movie filmed
in Royersford was from "The Blob". As people ran out of the famous Colonial
Theater, they ran around a corner, which then changed towns completely. People
are seen running around the corner of what is now Annamarie's at the corner of
Fourth and Main.Next month, November, the film crews will once again swarm to
our quiet little town to work on some scenes for the movie "The Lovely Bones".
Residents of Royersford have received a letter from the Borough stating that in
November, Main Street will be closed between 3rd and 4th Avenues, and this block
will be used in the film. Anyone who has read the book may know more about what
scenes may be filmed there.

The same blog found a follow up from http://www.pottsmerc.com/:

Official has big plans for town’s renewal

By Michael Hays

ROYERSFORD — Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson of “Lord of the Rings” fame will bring his film crew to this small town of about 4,300 next month to shoot scenes for his new movie, “The Lovely Bones.”Yet Borough Manager Michael Leonard isn’t banking on his town becoming the next movie hot spot in Pennsylvania. Just over a year into his job, this former mayor and borough manager of Conshohocken is focusing on the basics of municipal government — cracking down on building code violations, sprucing up downtown with plants and new cement, and finding ways to finance improvements to the sewer treatment plant.“I’m used to it. I’ve done it before. It’s just a matter of sorting things out,” Leonard said.An early problem he noticed upon taking the job in September 2006 was a lack of building code enforcement and accompanying standards. So Borough Council hired Pennoni & Associates, a professional engineering firm which can deploy its own team of code inspectors.For whatever reason, strict and regular
enforcement lagged in the past. Fire code violations, in addition to smaller
infractions like accumulated trash in front of properties, should become a thing
of the past once inspections begin in January or February, according to
Leonard.A lead engineer with the firm, Khaled Hassan, P.E., also serves as
Limerick’s township engineer.“We needed somebody who was going to be a little
more aggressive,” Leonard said. “It’s important that we have a safe place for
people to live.”Land surrounding the Schuylkill River is one area targeted for
future improvements in Royersford. A one mile walking/biking trail that could
eventually connect with Upper Providence is in the works. Two residential
developments in the same vicinity — River Park and Riverfront — will boast more
than 400 condominiums and apartments once construction finishes.Also on the
riverfront, Leonard said there is a good chance of securing a Pennsylvania Fish
and Game grant to build a boat ramp and fishing pier off First Avenue. A mural
arts program in Philadelphia selected the Giftwares Company building at Second
Avenue and Arch Street for one of their first suburban murals. Art students from
Spring-Ford School District will contribute to the painting, Leonard said.Then
there is Main Street.Peter Jackson may have loved the section between Third and
Fourth avenues, but Leonard sees “a need to brighten up the town a little
bit.”Short-term revitalization efforts include potted plants along Main Street
and the resurfacing of sidewalks. Looking down the road further, Leonard would
like to welcome a new restaurant or bar to the neighborhood. A nighttime fixture
could liven up the town once the sun sets, since Royersford is relatively quite
after 6 p.m., he pointed out.Sales tax revenue is steady but more is needed to
fund improvements. The Borough Council is reviewing options for funding $2.5
million in sewer treatment plant upgrades.“The borough hasn’t had much income
coming in,” the manager said.As a result, staff positions are limited. Leonard
and Donna Zigler, the borough’s administrative assistant, are pretty much it at
city offices. Then there are public works personnel, police officers, volunteer
parks and recreation personnel and few others.Getting work done electronically
is a little bit easier thanks to a $10,000 technology grant secured by state
Sen. John Rafferty, R-44th Dist., and state Rep. Tom Quigley, R-146th Dist.,
Leonard said.One constant in Royersford remains local elected politicians. There
aren’t any challengers in November to the three council members with expiring
terms come January.“You know who you’re working with,” Leonard said.

Set Report

From the inbox:

I also went to the set today, and we got pretty close up. There are tonsof
trailors, cranes, etc, occupying about 3 blocks of a residential areain Paoli,
PA. We saw what I assume was the "Salmon" house, which is a70s era brown
and white ranch style home with an old basketball net inthe front. We saw
Peter Jackson outside giving direction, and somenon-famous cast members in
70s-style costumes. They were filming someoutdoors scenes with "Holiday"
the dog, who is a gorgeous blonde mix ofwhat looked to be golden retriever and
labrador. There are alot of oldcars up and down the streets-- bugs and
mustangs. It looked verysimilar to the setting of "The Wonder
Years."

THANK YOU AND KEEP THE TIPS COMING IN!