I Have Had Two More Law & Order Related Experiences.

Posted by Bloddard in October 22nd 2009

Since the devastating Law & Order: Criminal Intent news, I have had two more Law & order related experiences; I saw Jeff Goldblum and the production of part of an SVU episode. I mention it because I find it interesting; so much Law & Order.!

I was crossing eighth avenue at the forty-fifth and eighth intersection in New York City, and as I was about half way across, I noticed Mr. Goldblum. He was coming in the opposite direction, and walked right by me. He was accompanied by another gentleman, whom I didn’t take the time to focus on. At first, I saw him and had some sort of block, I couldn’t put my finger on who this guy was, but it all clicked when I heard his voice –he had said something to the other guy. We both continued on our ways and well, that was that.

Seeing him was a very pleasant surprise, I guess you could say that I was star struck. After all, I do like the guy, just not In L&O:CI. That whole experience came as a rude awakening for me because television—and by that I mean, the kind of television that indulges in celebrities’ personal rather than professional lives—has always depicted celebrities being harassed by the media and followed everywhere they go; and that is something I have gotten used to. So seeing Jeff Goldblum calmly walking the streets of New York City, came as a bit of a shock. Sometimes we forget that these are regular people like the rest of us.

I came to find out about the shooting of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, by way of a notice that the show’s location scouting department (or something along those lines) brought to where I work. It was on a Friday I believe, and the notice said that the following Tuesday SVU’s crew was going to be around from 5:30AM to 10:00PM. So it was no surprise to me to see, as I arrived at work, a group of people redirecting pedestrians and setting up cameras on rails and talking on head sets. What did come as a surprise, however, was the way production took place. I confess, this aspect of a TV show I had never thought about. But in the back of my mind, I guess I saw it as a major film production; lots of famous faces, trailers for the stars, catering tables and maybe extras waiting to be directed. This was not the case. It all turned out to be very targeted and specific; they closed off the number of yards of sidewalk they needed and extended that out toward the street, about a quarter of the way across. Then they put cones out to alert the oncoming traffic, and had pedestrians walk around the sealed area. It was crowded, since it was a sizable crew and there were a number of bystanders watching them work .

It all had a cozy and comfortable feeling to me because it turned out to be just about the opposite of how I think a feature film production is. It wasn’t a media spectacle or something that wanted attention, in any way.

I know, some of you out there are probably saying that there is no need for trailers and catering tables, since this was a quick “on location” shooting that probably did not involve the major stars and that since this isn’t the show’s lot, the crew must make as little a racket as possible. And while that, I agree with, I guess I just wanted to convey that I was excited to see it happen, before my eyes, for the first time.

Technorati Tags: Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Jeff Goldblum, show’s location, production, TV show, famous faces, trailers for the stars, “on location” shooting, extras