Pencil Paparazzi: Hilary Swank in Ann Arbor doorway

We have another entry for the Pencil Paparazzi file. This one comes from Doulicia in Ann Arbor.

This is from the set of Betty Ann Water’s house, a private residence on Fifth St. in Ann Arbor. It’s 3 blocks from my house, so I walked past it on my way home from work each afternoon. Apparently they did some filming outside, but whenever I was there, they were doing filming inside the house. Nonetheless there were 30 crew in the yard and street. Occasionally they’d bring out a prop (e.g. a broken chair: “Did Hillary throw the chair?” “Did someone sit in it and break it?”) or let in a dog (“Are they Hillary’s dogs?” answer: Yes. They travel with her).

The base camp was 2 blocks from our house, in back of a church. The trailers were parked there and the various equipment trucks. My boys usually ride their bikes in that parking lot, though, so I let them take a pass through. One day we saw Hillary with her dogs in the playground area.

For this picture, I was on my way home and they had Hillary’s Suburban (a tan behemouth) running and backed up in front of the house – no white shuttle van for her. She walked out, got in the passenger seat (she has a driver). I was across the street, talking with my haircutter. She was holding her adorable, weeks-old husky puppy. Hillary pointed to the dog and broke into that Oscar-winning smile. She really did look lovely. Then they drove away.

Interestingly, the next day all signs of occupation were gone. It was as if the 3 semis, the 4 prop tents, the countless lights, cameras, shades, filters and people who’d been there round the clock had been vacuumed up. The only remnant from filming were 2 large tree branches laying by the curb for pickup. One had green silk maple leaves wrapped on its dead limb; the other had orange and yellow silk maple leaves. No doubt they were used outside a window to make the seasons change.

The man whose home it they used was just moving back in (temporarily – he said they’d be back in a few weeks). He said he thought it was a scam when a guy knocked on his door saying he was a location scout for a Hollywood movie starring Hillary Swank. The guy asked to take photos of the interior. The owner said no way. The scout returned a few weeks later and asked again. The owner still wouldn’t let him take pictures, but he gave the scout a tour.

Apparently 2 things made the house appealing: It has a lot of original and unaltered woodwork (i.e. the old arts and crafts baseboards that are, like 8 inches high) and a few walls had been knocked out at some point, making rooms flow together and easily accommodating of cameras.

I love the image of the two dead branches covered in silk leaves… One hopes it’s not the case, but it seems like it might prove to be a good metaphor for Michigan’s experience with the film industry.

Thanks, Alicia. This is great.