My photo taken was taken in the Luna Theater in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The idea to do this blog stemmed from when I happened to see Ricky Gervais on the set of his new movie, and shortly after that, I saw Mark Wahlberg for a fleeting second on the set of his movie on a street off of Lincoln Parkway. I know of seven movies that were made here in Lowell. If you know of others, please let me know.
Speaking of movies, I think most of you know that Bette Davis was born in Lowell, see my post Two Lowell Actresses Won An Academy Award, and I Met One!
The seven movies, with titles and links to their trailer or information, are:
The Tender Bar
The Invention of Lying
The Fighter
Proud Mary
Professor Marston and Wonder Woman
School Ties
Here Comes the Boom
Since I saw three movies partly filmed (The Fighter, The Invention of Lying, Proud Mary) and was able to locate scenes from all of them, I decided to take photos of the locations. In addition, I knew where School Ties and The Tender Bar were filmed. For those interested, two are based on true stories; The Fighter Professor Marston and Wonder Woman.
THE FIGHTER
It was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 2011, winning the awards for Best Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Leo).
The story begins in 1993.
The movie was almost entirely filmed in Lowell, MA. I live near two streets, Lura and Florence. I saw the film trucks, equipment, and people but no filming. A group of us watching had to be kept at bay on Lincoln Parkway. Most pictures below were filmed in the Highland section of Lowell.
Hasting Street, Cupples Square (below photo, credit to
the movie).
Cupples Square (Westford and Pine Sts.)
Opening scenes were taken here.
The above photo was taken in 2018 (with the island on the left side and Pine St. is one way) and the below photo was taken about 2013.
The Olympia Restaurant (Market Street), where Amy Adams had dinner.
(See the very end for more film locations. Credit from themoviedistrict.com.)
THE INVENTION OF LYING
The opening scene is from a DVD player. The below shot is looking down on Central Street.
This location on Central Street is where a lot of filming was done. It was here, that I saw and got to say hello to Director and star actor Ricky Gervais. I was in my car, on the left. Hot spring day, windows down. The photo location below is when I turned around. Both scenes were in the movie.
Looking at Kearney Sq., Central, and Merrimack Sts.
The photo below, from the movie, was taken by the mailbox where the person holding up the sign was. I did not take this picture. However,, if I had my camera I would have. I was driving right where the truck was, on a warm sunny April day hoping to see some action. I saw the homeless man and Ricky Gervais standing there, ready for action. With my window down, I spoke to him, and he did the same to me. We were only feet apart. I couldn't wait for this movie to open.
Bridge Street (where cop Edward Norton played one of his funniest roles).
This shot is in the movie, and the following year I went to take this photo of the Massachusetts Mills and the Eastern Canal.
Lowell Auditorium was the location for the Casino.
John Street, the location for the theater that showed, "The Plague."
PROUD MARY
In the movie, a young boy is about to enter the blue door.
Moulton Avenue (used for the above and below shots)
The trailer (below) shows a car speeding down this alley.
The minute I saw this shot, I knew where it was filmed, unfortunately, not in Lowell, but at the Stonehurst Estate in Waltham. See my blog for more photos at: http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2018/06/stonehurst-robert-treat-paine-estate.html
A better photo of the bookcase. A chair replaced the fire hydrant.
A lot of filming was done in an alley, off Palmer Street. I was there, couldn't see anything, but heard several "Action"s being shouted. However, once the movie came out, I never saw evidence that anything from that location made it to the big screen.
Palmer Street was blocked off by everybody but hired staff. I took this picture from the same alley, across from the filming, and was watched by a LA sound crew member, who told me not to make a sound.
A week later, I walked this alley, and couldn't see anything that would have been in the movie.
CAST & CREW
PROFESSOR MARSTON AND WONDER WOMAN
There were so many scenes that looked familiar, and I tried to find them, but couldn't. However, one of the best, I did find, and I think it tells it all. Here we have a quick shot of Greenwich Village, NYC, 1940. Anybody from Lowell would recognize this scene immediately and know it is on Middle Street. Rodgers Toy store is still in business.
Taken on a Sunday when nobody was around. Unfortunately, I didn't see any filming, but did walk the street, and saw the yellow car.
HERE COMES THE BOOM
On February 11, 2011, I read that actor Kevin James would be starring in a movie called, Here Comes the Boom, to be partially filmed in Lowell, MA. "James will play a physics teacher," "Filmmakers and actors love Lowell because the city has been really good to them," "Lowell is also a metropolitan city that's both lovely and gritty. It has a lot to offer because no other place really looks like it." Well, I don't know about the lovely, but it sure has grit. When I saw that there was going to be a casting call for the movie, I went to take a photo.
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| Open Casting call for "Here Comes the Boom" March 20, 2011, Lowell, MA See a copy of the application below. "Filming began on March 28, 2011, in and around the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Filming continued on through May 25, 2011, in Lowell and Quincy, Massachusetts, where it wrapped shortly thereafter, by early June 2011." Cast |
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| Form was handed to everybody to fill out. |
SCHOOL TIES
School Ties had opening scenes in Lowell.
The film School Ties was released in 1992. Filmed throughout the region, it featured scenes that were shot in Lowell in 1991. Set in the 1950s, it told the story of a star quarterback given the opportunity to attend an elite preparatory school but must conceal the fact that he is Jewish.
The most recent movie is The Tender Bar, released in January 2022. I saw it on Amazon Prime on January 7, 2022. It was shown in only three movie theaters in the Boston area. It was on Netflix for quite a while, but no longer as of February 7, 2023.
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From the Lowell Sun newspaper, I'm sharing a few interesting articles. The first is from Ricky Gervais who tells us why he chose Lowell to film. Some actors in his movie had long roles but were not given credit on the screen, they were Jason Bateman. Edward Norton, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
"Almost the entire movie was filmed in the late spring of 2008 in Lowell, and there is no mistaking the cobblestone city streets with any other. For 100 minutes, the city shines as a place where no one is able to tell a lie.
In an interview with The Sun on the set last May, Gervais said he chose Lowell because "it looks so good on film."
He continued, "It's because it is very different. There is no town like it. I think it is really important to make your own iconography. On the face of it, it looks like what you imagine a typical American town to be, but different. So it's just perfect. It's really got a lot of character. The architecture is great.
"It's just something that already looks quaint and the streets look great. I love the way they put the lights in the trees. It's going to look really good. Lowell is going to look great in this film."
And he was right. The city was ready for its close-up and little makeup was required."
Movie locations for The Fighter http://movie-locations.com/movies/f/Fighter.php
Excellent article about the production of Professor Marston
Newspaper article about the filming of Proud Mary and Taraji P. Henson.