The one day I forgot to bring my camera...

Someone mentioned at work that some scenes for a movie were being filmed in Pike Place Market. When I was walking home, I swung by the location to see what was taking place. Unlike most days, I didn't have my camera so I used my cell phone to snap some shots. I got there just in time to see them start shooting the 1st scene of the movie where the actor Aaron Eckhart (chef from No Reservations with Catherine Zeta Jones) runs to the cab. He had been standing next to me and it caught me off guard when some chick walked up to touch up his makeup.

After watching 3 or 4 takes and laughing over the downpour of fake rain with other Seattlelites, I left the crowd of observers and went home. It rarely pours in Seattle so its the magic of Hollywood that makes people think it rains like cats & dogs here. DRIZZLE people...just dark, gloomy and drizzly! However, the fake rain made me miss downpours with thunderstorms and lightning...well when observing from the inside a patio when you can hear the rain hitting the windows and rooftop.

Here is the the production letter. This gives you an idea of how much work goes into shooting just one scene in the film.

Where: March 12, 2008
When: 6:00 AM until 9:00 PM
What: Opening scenes for the movie “Traveling”

We will be filming in the Market

Traveling Film Productions will be filming the opening sequence for a new motion picture in the Pike Place Market. We are working with the Market PDA, the Mayor’s Office of Film and Music and the Seattle Police and Fire Departments for permitting and hope to enlist your cooperation to successfully and quickly complete our day in the Market.

We will be working closely with you to accommodate any needs or concerns you have that may affect you and be filming 3 different scenes during our day here:

Pike Place between Stewart and Virginia: 6:00 AM-6:00 PM
*I showed up at perfect timing.... I saw the "test rain shower" and the actor do several takes.

This is the major element of our day. We would like to create a scene in which a cab is stuck in traffic and the passenger gets out to walk to his hotel only to have a downpour drive him back into the cab.

Pedestrian traffic will be held intermittently during actual filming. No one will be prevented from entering a place of business, accessing a meeting, their apartment etc. for any extended period of time.

It will be necessary to create a traffic jam, turning Pike Place and Virginia into two way streets. We will utilize both parking strips and vehicle lanes on both streets.

Cranes holding rain making rigs will be placed near Virginia and Western in such a manner that they are not seen by camera. When the passenger exits the cab, he will walk forward a few car lengths and the rain will start to fall driving him back into the cab. The area of rainfall will be approximately from the end of the north arcade to Western.

Post Alley between 1st and Union: 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
We would like to film two people waking down Post Alley by the gum wall.
It will be necessary to close Post Alley to vehicular traffic while we are filming, pedestrian traffic will be held intermittently.

The entrance to the Market: 8:00 PM- 9:00 PM
We would like to film two people crossing Pike between the News stand and the Sanitary Market.

Camera will be at the corner near Seattle’s Best and vehicular and pedestrian traffic will be held intermittently on 1st Avenue.

We understand the importance of the market and will portray it in a very sensitive and positive light. We also understand the enormous amount of merchant cooperation we are asking for. It is our intention to make this a positive experience for market visitors and businesses and will do everything in our power to do so and to accommodate your needs. We will be working with you to make sure that any scheduled deliveries are completely provided for.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

For the 45minutes or so that I spent watching, I thought it was managed very well. The market is usually crazy so having a movie in the middle of it really didn't make much of a difference. People watching were well behaved and it seemed like the tourist loved it. I kept hearing everyone telling others "its Jennifer Aniston's movie" and people were shooting photos and videos excited to witness such an event.

I love the internet. Here is the scoop:

Aniston will be doing a project with Aaron Eckhart titled ‘Traveling’. The project marks the directorial debut of Brandon Camp.

The film is a story about a floral designer (the role played by Aniston) who works in a Seattle hotel where a charismatic self-help guru is conducting a weekend seminar on coping with grief.

The couple then gets to know each other and the designer makes the guru realize that he personally does not practice any of the principles that he teaches. That’s it, the story is all about how the guru realizes the truth.

Ok, so I'll keep my eye out for Jennifer for the next few weeks. Maybe I'll have my people call her people and we'll do lunch.

Oh a local guy shared his flickr link on a Seattle blog. He shot some photos before the rain scenes...it gives you an idea of a typical sunny day in Seattle, before the fake downpour. ha ha

http://flickr.com/photos/26396842@N00/sets/72157604106856809/