EV Grieve

Friday, July 23, 2010

Rush hours

Today, "Premium Rush" follows in the fine tradition of "The Smurfs Movie" and "Step Up 3-D" — movies that filmed scenes on Seventh Street and Avenue A of late...

Looks to be a big production....

And the plot:

An action story set in New York City, where a bike messenger picks up a package at Columbia University and subsequently catches the attention of a dirty cop.

Bike messenger?! Why aren't they filming on those new bike lanes on First Avenue and Second Avenue?!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has the lead... in the movie directed by the guy who wrote the screenplays for the "Jurassic Park" blockbusters.

Kind of makes me want to watch "Quciksilver" again.

7:45 a.m., First Avenue, July 23

Meanwhile, the commenting continues on [Updated] Looking at the First Avenue's new bike lane and "floating lane."

New look, name for 'The Villager'

Per the paper's editorial this week:

You might have noticed something different about the newspaper you are holding in your hands. For starters, it has a different name on the front page — and that name is in “eco green,” not blue.

Starting this week, East Villagers and Lower East Siders who have enjoyed reading The Villager over the years now have a paper they can call their own. It’s called the East Villager and Lower East Sider, and it will offer the best of what The Villager brings — but with an increased focus on Downtown’s vibrant East Side

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In addition, each week, the paper will feature a page of Clayton Patterson's vast LES archives.

If you don't pick up a hard copy around the neighbor, then you can check out their new website.... and new digital flipbook.

Congrats to Lincoln Anderson and his crew... as always, I look forward to reading the paper each week...

East Village Cathedral stars alongside Angelina Jolie in 'Salt'

Waaaaay back in May 2009, Angelina Jolie, the former semi-crusty of Tompkins Square Park, came to the East Village while filming "Salt," the mineral-turn-CIA thriller....

The crew filmed on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue inside the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection. In honor of the movie opening today... let's take a look at the role the Cathedral played in the film...

First! Woo! Angelina over here! Here she is on Second Street!

With the ball-in-chain in tow on the Cathedral steps...

Anyway, according to the website, the crew used the Cathedral to replicate the interior of the Makariev Monastery in Russia when it was an orphanage in 1970s Soviet Russia. You see, Angelina plays a spy who may or may not be Russian...so this might be some flashback scene or something...

No idea whether these scenes made it into the movie... Perhaps I'll by a pirated DVD from that guy on the corner for $5 to see.

Also, curious about what kind of location fee the Cathedral received...

Updated: A Scouting Life shares a "Salt" review with us... "It took years, but 'The Last Boy Scout' finally has competition for the most ludicrous action film ever made."

Ouch! That's seriously bad.

And I asked if the Cathedral made the cut. Yes, but!: "They did shoot the orphanage but the scenes there were all pretty soft focus and dreamlike so you didn't see much of it."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Why the paparazzi will be in the East Village tomorrow (OMG! Angelina!)

I hope that "Salt" is a more exciting movie than these photos

About Angelina Jolie's "semi-crusty phase" in Tompkins Square Park

Everyone getting in on the Russian spy hoopla

Speaking of Russian spies, have you noticed how some people are trying to cash in on the recent alleged-Russian-spy hoopla in the tabs? (Steve Cuozzo sort of did at the Post — he wrote a piece on it the other day...sort of — work with me...)

Which brings me to Flashdancers... you may recall their cab ads featuring the Hooters-waitress-from-Orlando-looking, uh, model in the campaign....

... and now, the new Flashdancers cab ads have a harder, Natasha-cold-war-spy model type...

It's nice to see Ray's again

Hey now, workers removed the sidewalk shed on the Avenue A side too... Melanie has a shot of the workers in action here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Sidewalk shed partially down on Seventh and A

Scaffolding to cover Ray's, Yuca Bar

Rag & Bone early contenders for John Varvatos preservationists of the year

Back in March, I noted the for lease signs going up on the southeast corner of Houston and Elizabeth above the cozy Cafe Colonial, which opened here in 1994... this is what the landlord was selling the space as... (thanks Keith McNally!)

Now, the new tenant here -- Rag & Bone -- is opening shop today... as I witnessed from the sidewalk, they had a pizza/beer preview party the other evening... (Is that pizza from Pulino's?)

In any event, Racked has more on the new store, include a message from ownership not to take the change in businesses personally... Per Racked:

A company rep did emphasize to us that Rag & Bone "did not swoop in" and kick Café Colonial out with capacity to afford higher rent payments. The beloved restaurant already lost its lease before talks even began, but now at least the nabe gets a shiny new store as opposed to a sad empty storefront. Rag & Bone did make a strong effort to keep many of the iconic signature from ye old Café Colonial, including the lovingly-worn blue and white tile floor, the white kitchen wall tiles and the white painted pressed tin ceilings.

This reminds me of Jeremiah's essay last week titled Faux-dora, in which he wrote:

More and more, beloved icons of the city are getting their guts ripped out for revamping, given over to the wealthy, made exclusive, though the husks are kept intact for the cultural cachet they bring to the new owners, who pride themselves on their dedication to preservation, and receive praise for saving the old holes in the wall from turning into banks.

Well, Cafe Colonial doesn't qualify as a beloved icon, but the trend continues...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Future of 276 Elizabeth apparently doesn't include the Cafe Colonial