Over the weekend, I noticed pink flyers plastered to every pole on my street (W 56th) and the next street over. I'm still fairly new to New York City, so I had no idea what was going on.
Upon further investigation, I learned that pink flyers indicate that a film or television crew will be shooting in your area. Sure enough, on Sunday afternoon, throngs of Teamsters, producers and technicians took over my neighborhood.
It soon became obvious that the film being shot was The Amazing Spider-Man sequel, starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Jamie Foxx. The Hearst Tower had been transformed into Oscorp Industries.
The Spider-Man sequel is filming in New York City under the alias "London Calling."
The alias might've been a bit more convincing if the Oscorp Industries logo hadn't been plastered everywhere.
When film crews are in your neighborhood, you find yourself having to take a lot of detours. For the first part of the afternoon, the sidewalk in front of Hearst Tower on 8th Avenue was blocked off to pedestrians.
In the scene they were shooting outside Hearst Tower, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) exited "Oscorp HQ" with a briefcase and two burly men in tow.
Filming Spider-Man sequel in front of Hearst building. Check out this actor's Oscorp badge. #spiderman http://t.co/T90qpUBQ4c
Filming Spider-Man sequel in front of Hearst building. Check out this actor's Oscorp badge. #spiderman http://t.co/T90qpUBQ4c-- Ruwan Jayatilleke
Trucks and trailers lined both sides of W 57th Street. The "Made in NY" seal was everywhere, as The Amazing Spider-Man sequel will be the first Spider-Man movie to be shot entirely in New York state.
In addition to cast trailers, there were makeup trailers, wardrobe trailers, production trailers and other trailers that I failed to identify.
Production assistants, extras and crew members were hurrying in and out of the trailers all afternoon. Among the many people I observed was a harried-looking PA carrying a cardboard box labeled "dance belts."
Shooting in front of the Hearst Tower ended around 7:00 p.m., and Teamsters began moving lights and equipment to W 56th Street.
While I was exploring the set, shiny new BMWs and other fancy cars had been parked along W 56th street in place of the normal vehicles that had been forced to move.
Lights had been set up along the roof of the Hearst Tower.
As the crew was moving equipment, police officers set up cones to block off the street to all incoming traffic.
The cameras and lights set up in front of an "Oscorp Industries" loading dock.
The "Oscorp" signs nearby indicated that the loading dock led to a restricted area.
Passersby were actively discouraged from taking pictures of the loading dock and the black Oscorp vehicles that were parked inside.
Of course, they couldn't really do anything about it if you wanted to take pictures from across the street.
Two large water trucks were on the scene to wet down the pavement prior to filming. Wet asphalt and concrete, I learned, is more reflective and looks better on film than dry asphalt and concrete.
Hoses attach the water trucks to a large metal sprinkler-like device, which is then elevated above the set so that the water is distributed evenly.
The orange lift is elevating the metal hose for the "wetdown."
Filming on W 56th Street started at night.
Spider-Man sequel scene being filmed down the street! http://t.co/x15UMQTsAF
Spider-Man sequel scene being filmed down the street! http://t.co/x15UMQTsAF-- Ana Moroianu
In the scene, five cars drove by the loading bay, and then the Oscorp vehicles followed it out. It was impossible to see what was going on inside the loading dock.
The set was wet down in between takes.
They're makin it rain http://t.co/0ZQKHK1mPc
They're makin it rain http://t.co/0ZQKHK1mPc-- Ana Moroianu
The shoot ended earlier than the time posted on the flyers, and the Hollywood team quickly packed up and moved out.
OSCORP truck by Hearst Tower set of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2". @OLV Thank you! #tasm2 #SpideyinNYC #marvel #cbm http://t.co/8ec7wds26J
OSCORP truck by Hearst Tower set of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2". @OLV Thank you! #tasm2 #SpideyinNYC #marvel #cbm http://t.co/8ec7wds26J-- Anthony McNally
The Oscorp signs disappeared from the Hearst Building within the hour.
The Amazing Spider-Man sequel will hit theaters May 2nd, 2014.
