FIRST, I want to THANK ALL THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO LEAVE COMMENTS about my previous pics. I REALLY DO APPRECIATE you all taking the time to do that. I spend a good amount of time on both taking the pics and posting them up and it really does me good to know that the effort is appreciated. Thank you.
Well, two weeks ago RESCUE ME came to Harlem to film.
The shoot took place on 121st St. between Manhattan Avenue and Morningside Avenue, with the trailers set up on Morningside Avenue.
If the location and/or the first photo seem familiar to you, that is because this is the same block that Law and Order: SVU taped on about a month prior. (You can see those pictures HERE.) Unlike that day (the pic below) which was rainy and chilly, this time around the weather was PERFECT. :D I LOVE SPRING!!
The thing that really stood out to me that day was just how accessible the actors were. There were no body guards around like there usually are on SVU shoots and some of them kept their trailer doors open while they went about their business inside. The other thing that also really stood out in a GREAT way is just how down-to-earth and friendly the guys are!! There were no "Hollywood Egos" present at all. :D They are very fan approachable and appreciative.
When I initially got there the crew was setting up the scene and camera equipment so the guys were just chilling out and not yet in their fireman gear. The first set of them that I saw was Steven Pasquale, John Scurti, Larenz Tate and Mike Lombardi. (Don't worry. Further down there are better pics of Larenz Tate.)
Steven Pasquale and Mike Lombardi are REALLY musically talented. If you watch the show you should already know this. I told them how GREAT their musical talents truly are and I wish I had gotten a photo of how broad they smiled while they were saying thank you for the compliment. I also told Steven that he should be on Broadway with that voice and he said that "something" is in the works for him to indeed return to Broadway. :D That will be a ticket worth purchasing because He Can Sing! :D Below are the clips from the episodes where Steven sings. If you only have time to watch one of them, then watch the second one because that is the one that he sings completely through. He only sings for a portion of the first clip, but the clip is Very Funny! :D Finally, you can find his first solo album by clicking here: Steven Pasquale: Somethin' Like Love.
Clip from Season 5's Mickey episode:
Clip from Season 5's Disease episode:
If it seems that I am favoring Steven Pasquale over Mike Lombardi that is not it at all. I am just REALLY, REALLY, REALLY into Musicals! (Much to my partners dismay! Lol!)
I didn't see Denis Leary as of that point, but heard over a crew member's walkie talkie that he was on set ready to rehearse so I walked over to the set when I saw the guys also heading over there. Up to this point I also hadn't seen Daniel Sunjata and unfortunately he was not on set that day. :(
Their firetruck was so incredibly Spotless and Shiny.
I REALLY LOVE this director's chair!!! (Btw, what is the real name of this type of chair?) It just begs the question, "Who are, and what happened to, "Witches" 1 and 2?" LOL!!! I obviously edited out what the chair really said because otherwise I think I would not be able to post the picture here on a non-soley-adult-rated blog. I really wish the picture had come out sharper. :)
Finally I saw Denis Leary. He spent a good amount of time consulting with a real fireman.
They then went for a break and to suit up. While he was walking over to his trailer I asked him for his autograph and told him just how much I LOVE "The Ref"!I think it is one of the FUNNIEST MOVIES ever made! This scene always makes me laugh so hard that I almost pee on myself! LOL! He chuckled when I told him that!
Warning: The clip contains adult/foul language.
I then walked over to the guys' trailers and when I saw how bored Steven seemed and that he wasn't doing anything major (Lol! Gotta love his leg placement!), I asked him for his autograph.
I was distracted when John Scurti finished speaking to Steven so I wasnt' able to get his autograph, but I did ask Larenz Tate for his and asked him to also make it out to my partner since he really likes Menage II Society.
I of course asked Mike Lombardi for his autograph. :D
I then walked over to check out some of the other trailers and came across the Makeup trailer in time to see the makeup artist put on the final touches on one of the actresses. It was then that I noticed that the actors appeared to be playing a family that consisted of a father and his two children. I didn't see an actresses that appeared to be playing the mother. I don't know if they were playing a family that was severely sunburned. The scene that they shot was an interior scene inside one of the brownstones. Why would a family call firemen for sunburns? But who knows maybe that is part of the humor of the scene. They might have also been playing a family that was burned in a "regular" house fire. It will be interesting to see the final episode to see if fire is digitally added to the scene because obviously they didn't set the brownstone on fire when they were shooting the scene. A crew member said that they were filming two episodes that day and she only had the numbers 616 as the episode description, so I don't know exactly what episodes they were filming. If I find out the episode name I will amend this post.
The guys then walked over to set and shot scenes of them entering the building/apartment. Like I said above, the actual scene was an interior scene so it was out of view.
In between takes they would just chill out, speaking to and joking with each other. :)
They then took a break and Robert Burke (ex-Father Mickey Gavin) stopped by the set. He and Denis Leary had what looked to be quite an amusing conversation because some of Denis Leary's facial expressions were too funny! :D
In true NYC fashion, there were people who just walked through their conversation and they couldn't have cared less that the people were TV/Movie stars. :) I LOVE my city! :D :D
I have liked Robert Burke since I saw him in Thinner, but I really never knew he was so buffed! :D I asked him for his autograph and told him that I really liked him in Thinner, but that I don't like his character so much in SVU(Internal Affairs Sgt. Ed Tucker.) He chuckled at that. :)
Things got a bit slow so I decided to walk over towards the park and that is when I saw the "dirty side" of filming! :D I never really thought about it before, but of course the trailers' toilets would need to be drained!
When I walked backed over to the set a REAL firetruck pulled up and the REAL firemen said that they should be in the filming! :D They then thanked them for the show and the crew thanked the firemen for what they do on a daily basis. It really was a great interaction to watch.
While I had been over in the park they had continued filming inside the building. When I walked back over they were coming out to take another break.
The "burnt family" also came out this time for a break. I mean even extras have to eat right! :D It must be hard to eat and not ruin your makeup.
During the filming I met another On Location Vacations visitor, Shane, who came down from Massachusetts that day in order to see the taping. He was very happy that he was able to also get Denis Leary's autograph! :D
At that point I had to leave. While I was walking away I noticed this police car and "thing" (I have no idea what it is officially called) and I asked the officer if it was there because of the filming and unfortunately he said no and that the reason it was there was because there had been a recent rash of shootings. Not exactly the thing one wants to hear. :(
After I walked over a few more blocks I saw those same REAL firemen from above busy on a real call.
Firemen seemed to be the theme of the day because just one more block over I saw this. :D
Since I was disappointed that I had gotten almost all the lead actors' pics and autographs except for Daniel Sunjata, I decided to go out to Queens when they were shooting there on another day. Now I am a true Manhattanite and I don't often venture out to Queens, but I am glad I did. Not only did I meet to great and funny fans of the show and of On Location Vacations, but I also found an AMAZING "Graffiti Building" that I had only seen previously from the train. I always wanted to know how to get to the building, but since I didn't know the building's name I couldn't find the directions. Luckily they were filming right by the building so it all worked out well. I will post pics from the building at a later date. It really is AMAZING!
They were filming an interior scene that day so I don't have a lot of shots.
Cast members, Adam Ferarra and Sopranos' actor Jerry Adler were onset. They were really nice. I knew I must sound like I am just repeating myself, but truly all of the cast I encountered were friendly. You can tell Adam Ferrara is a stand-up comedian andJerry Adler laughed when I told him that a part of me feels "scared" (obviously not really) talking to him because he could have me "whacked!" (Heh, I never said I wasn't corny! Lol! :D)
Of course I asked for their autographs.
Like I said above I also met two fans of both OLV and the show. They were FUNNY! One had come from Kansas City, Amy (in the blue), and the other had come from Michigan, Cole (in the pink.) They had come here as part of a trip to see a soap opera star named Roger Howarth. They were so much fun to be around because they were first so happy just to be on set (the pic on the left) and then even happier after they got to meet the cast members (the pic on the right.) The size of their smiles were contagious. :D
This time around I was able to get John Scuti's autograph.
However, he gave Cole a really GREAT autograph! Cole's brother REALLY LOVES Rescue Me, but does not like big cities so he wouldn't accompany them on their trip. Well John Scurti (who misheard Cole's name as Nicole) wrote what he thought about that... obviously I edited what he wrote so that it would be PG! Lol!!!
FUNNY!
After that I left because my sole reason for going out there that day in the first place was not on set. One day I will get Daniel Sunjata's pic and autograph! Lol! :D For now, I will just have to enjoy these pics which are NOT mine! Lol! The first picture is from StarryMag.com and the second picture is from Selective Memory.
ALL MY PHOTOS ARE SOLELY OWNED BY ME. PLEASE DO NOT USE THEM FOR ANY REASON WITHOUT MY WRITTEN PERMISSION. THANK YOU.
If there is some way that the blog can be better please email me and let me know. Thanks! :)
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