When the action movie Dead Man Down is released next April, Lower East Side residents will recognize plenty of the scenery. The film, starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace, shot scenes along Essex Street and on the grounds of the Seward Park Co-op yesterday and today; more taping is set for other parts of the LES the rest of this week.
This afternoon, the basketball courts and track that belong to the Seward Park High School were the scene for a shot involving Farrell sitting on an imported park bench with a large box next to him while two little girls played nearby and two young boys kicked a soccer ball back and forth. Fabco Shoes of Delancey Street made an assist, when a member of the costume crew made a run for a new pair of pink tie-up sneakers for one of the girls to wear in the scene.
Judging by the lights set up on the roof of commercial buildings owned by the Seward Park Co-op along Grand Street, it looks like filming will continue after dark tonight. Click through for more pictures.
The movie took over the front entrance of one of the Seward Park Co-op buildings at 383 Grand St., which was closed to residents and sealed off with lots of security the last two days. Apparently an apartment on the 16th floor was also employed for the project; late this afternoon camera operators and star Noomi Rapace were on the balcony surveying the scene.
Rapace, who is best known for her starring role in the Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, hung out on the balcony in a dressing gown, smoking and waving at colleagues on the ground below, where a scene was being filmed in the entrance to the building.