Oct 2, 2008 10:43 pm US/Central
What It's Like To Have Your Home In A Movie
(WCCO)
-
-
Pat Ekstrom is a set decorator's dream. She and her husband have lived in their Bloomington home since 1969 and they've got the stuff to show for it.
CBS
On Monday vintage vehicles from the 1960s were lined up for blocks on Rice Street.
"Ok, guys, gonna back all the way down," a crew member yelled to the drivers of the classic cars.
The road was blocked off to make room for two of Minnesota's most famous sons. Ethan and Joel Coen last shot in the Twin Cities in 1995 when they were making Fargo. They've returned to shoot their latest film, A Serious Man.
The main character, Larry, is an economics professor, like the Coens' father was. He's got a wife, two kids and a home in St. Louis Park.
"There's a 13-year-old boy and his older sister, and the father is a professor and his life is kind of falling apart, and it sounds like it's not funny, but it's really funny," said Anne Healy Shapiro.
A former WCCO-TV staffer, Healy Shapiro scouted locations for the movie. She spent the better part of two summers trying to find the right look for the movie.
"Joel and Ethan wanted a new suburban tract housing on a cornfield, kind of that look," she said. "When they grew up in 1965, that's what St. Louis Park looked like."
The location scout didn't find the right look in the Coens' hometown.
"I called the city managers and said, 'Have you had a really bad storm in the last 10, 20 years?' Bloomington had, Brooklyn Center had, Roseville had," said Healy Shapiro.
Within those suburbs, only a few blocks worked. One of them was the 8500 block of 4th Avenue in Bloomington.
"We had a real severe storm come through here and it took down all of the mature trees," said Pat Ekstrom. "It was pretty devastating at the time, but it was kind of a bonus for us now."
Ekstrom is a set decorator's dream. She and her husband have lived in their Bloomington home since 1969 and they've got the stuff to show for it.
"Because we get something new doesn't mean we throw away the old ones," she said. "We're packrats."
Her picnic table made it into the movie, so did an old screen door, bike, lawn furniture and mail box stored in the garage. Healy Shapiro said it was hard to track down older items.
"We were knocking on doors on this movie, asking if we could buy the screen doors, the older screen doors, and that's where they started getting really suspicious, because they're like, backing up from the door, 'Why would you want this old screen door?'" she said.
"My husband and I will never look at a movie again in the same way," said Ekstrom. "Because these people have such attention to detail."
The block is proof of that. From the tiny trees in front yards to TV antennas on rooftops, it feels like a neighborhood untouched by time. Awnings, brick trim, fake garage doors have all been added to turn back the clock.
What looks like a single gravel-covered driveway isn't. Crewmembers covered half of a double driveway with grass. The whole block looks like it got new sod, but crews greened up the yards the old-fashioned way.
"Water, water, water," said Ekstrom with a laugh.
The Coen brothers used her entryway as part of the sexy neighbor's house. How sexy is the Mrs. Samsky character? Well, the Ekstrom patio was the site of a nude scene.
"Sunbathing scene and wardrobe was not necessary," said Ekstrom.
"When you come in the house, you come in the door and the kitchen's right here on the left," said Jim Felker, as he opened the front door of his home.
The location of the kitchen -- in front on the left -- is the reason Felker's Edina address has a Hollywood future.
"They think it's gonna fit for the 1960s. That they can make it that way," he said. "They're doing a lot of changing."
Moviemakers loved the Felkers' old oven, but not the modern cook top.
"They're gonna pull this out and put something else in -- more 60s like. Like we took out," said Felker.
The Felkers headed to a hotel while moviemakers moved in. They had a couple conditions though. Felker wanted access to his computer and his wife wanted to be able to do laundry.
The filmmakers pay families for use of their homes. Felker didn't say how much he received for moving out for a month. Healy Shapiro described it as, "enough to buy a new car."
"You to have a certain personality to have a movie company in your house," said Healy Shapiro.
Felker might not know if he has that kind of personality until the film has wrapped.
"It's interesting," he laughed. "I wouldn't classify it as fun yet. We'll see."
The Coen brothers are expected to finish shooting the first week in November, although they are running three days ahead of schedule. A Serious Man will likely debut about a year from now.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
