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NYC Film Shoots Bring Money and Headaches to Neighborhoods

By Leslie Albrecht | August 25, 2010 7:18am | Updated on August 26, 2010 6:36am

By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — If Morningside Park has a little less garbage on its grassy hills this fall, park-goers can thank the movie "Premium Rush."

Friends of Morningside Park plans to spend a $7,500 donation it received from Columbia Pictures, the company making "Premium Rush," on hiring workers to pick up trash. The nonprofit got the money after the park was recently used as a shooting location for the thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Production companies are accustomed to spreading money around the Manhattan neighborhoods they shoot in.

Columbia Pictures routinely writes checks to community groups, said an employee on the set of "Premium Rush."

"People see us as this big huge hulking circus that rolls into town, but we take great efforts to pave the way," said the employee, who didn't want his name used. "We consider being able to film in New York a privilege, not a right."

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows off the bloody gash he sustained during a stunt scene for the film
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows off the bloody gash he sustained during a stunt scene for the film "Premium Rush."
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The employee said the donations help build good will and are a means of expressing gratitude.

A publicist for "Premium Rush" did not respond to requests for further comment.

Other film and television companies make similar donations.

When "Law & Order" filmed on West 75th Street last year, the block association got a check for $500 "with a nice note about what a nice block we had," said DeAnna Rieber, president of the association.

"Law & Order" even handed out $500 when they decided against filming at Community Board 3's office after scouting the location, said the board's District Manager, Susan Stetzer.

Community Board 3 and nearby neighborhood groups received donations when the movie version of "Rent" was shot in the East Village a few years ago, Stetzer said.

In Chinatown, where "Premium Rush" is filming next, Columbia Pictures is donating $5,000 to be split among several senior centers, said Gine Lui, a location scout and assistant set manager for Warner Brothers, Disney and Columbia Pictures.

Lui said Disney doled out $10,000 to Chinatown neighborhood groups when it shot "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" last year.

Chinatown senior centers will also receive donations when "Men In Black 3"  is shot in the neighborhood this fall, Lui said.

"In the past, we had experiences with some companies that would just come to Chinatown, shoot and leave," Lui said.

"They'd come and go and never try to connect with the neighborhood. (Donations) are like a little gift to show friendship and to show we care about the seniors. In Chinese culture, we respect the older generation, so (the film companies are) showing respect."

(L-R) Actors Jeremy Sisto, S. Epatha Merkerson and Sam Waterston attend the 'Law & Order' 20th Season kickoff celebration at the Law & Order Studio At Chelsea Piers on Sept. 23, 2009.
(L-R) Actors Jeremy Sisto, S. Epatha Merkerson and Sam Waterston attend the 'Law & Order' 20th Season kickoff celebration at the Law & Order Studio At Chelsea Piers on Sept. 23, 2009.
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Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

The younger generation has benefited from filming too.

When "Premium Rush" shot at Columbia University, the school didn't receive a donation, but it asked the film crew to hire five film students as production assistants, said Leonard Cox, assistant vice president of student and administrative services.

However, some neighborhood groups shy away from taking donations from film companies.

Bob Gormley, district manager for Community Board 2, said the community board doesn't accept money from film companies because such donations could create the perception of a conflict of interest.

"We do get complaints about some of these shoots," Gormley said. "They shoot in the middle of the night, they make noise, they take up parking spaces. It can be a real inconvenience."

He added, "People are going to complain to the community board about it. If they found out we were taking money, they'd say, 'Of course they're not taking action on it because they got $500.'"

But the contributions are not a cure-all for tensions between Manhattan neighborhood and film companies.

A resident got so angry about not being allowed to walk through a "Premium Rush" shoot at West 102nd Street and Broadway that he head-butted a production assistant.

And the next day, the movie drew the ire of locals when an elderly woman was "forced to drag her shopping-bag filled cart" out of the way of the film crew, the Daily News reported.