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And so’s my street. Filming has begun on State of Play, the new Ben Affleck flick being shot on location in our fair city. The cool thing is that while most D.C.-based movies center around government buildings and monuments, this one is being shot – at least partially – in the neighborhoods. Exact filming times are hush-hush (to discourage you stalkers and gawkers who would crowd around to get a glimpse of Affleck or his co-star, Russell Crowe, or of course, my boyfriend, “a delivery guy” who’s working tomorrow.)
Crowe’s character lives in an apartment above Pfeiffer’s Hardware and Heller’s Bakery. Apparently the recent fire in Mt. Pleasant hasn’t set back the filming schedule, but something must have – they were supposed to shoot here March 29, but that’s been postponed.
In the meantime, they’ve recreated the whole Pfeiffer’s/Heller’s strip in Hollywood, building a whole new façade exactly like the real one. The set-builders, however, finished the job without having seen the Heller’s sign lit up; they guessed it lit up blue – but they were wrong, and so they’ve paid the bakery to replace the red lights in the sign to match their blue-lighted Hollywood set. They’re replacing Pfeiffer’s sign with a new one, too — still called Pfeiffer’s Hardware — but the store won’t be keeping it up because it doesn’t accord with historic standards.
Rumor has it there will also be a scene shot at Ben’s Chili Bowl and maybe the Kennedy Center.
The movie is about investigative reporters and police officers digging up the truth about the murder of a Congressman’s mistress. I wonder if Gary Condit will play himself? —Tanya Snyder