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December 10, 2004
West Wing actors, crew members descend on town
By Craig Campbell
Dundas Star News
Christopher Misiano, director of the West Wing episodes filmed in Dundas this week, knows how lucky his crew was to film in the historic DeLuxe Restaurant.
"Being able to film here, after it hasn't been open for 26 years, is amazing," Mr. Misiano said Monday afternoon as the crew prepared to film a scene with West Wing stars Jimmy Smits and Bradley Whitford.
Dundas filled in as a New Hampshire town for the show, which is following Mr. Smits' character during the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Despite similar filming requests, former owner Susie Wong had refused to open the space since 1977. Her grandson, John-Paul Yuen, was pleased to see it open again. He hung around to watch the filming.
Norman and Sharon Duckworth were keeping an eye on the former restaurant during filming. They are helping find someone to lease the restaurant, which hasn't changed since it first opened more than 50 years ago.
"Some of the crew members were asking about the history of the place. They were fascinated," Mrs. Duckworth said. "It has a lot of history. If these walls could talk..."
Over 150 actors and crew members descended on Dundas last weekend for three solid days of filming in the Valley Town. Locations included the former Dundas Town Hall, a Sydenham Street home, Hatt Street and Today's Family Daycare at Victoria Street.
On Monday, the focus was downtown Dundas. In the morning, scenes were filmed on King Street West and in the DeLuxe Restaurant. In the afternoon, filming continued inside the DeLuxe, then moved to Cabin Fever.
The experience was a great one for Cabin Fever owner Catherine Boyle. Shooting moved to her clothing store mid-afternoon Monday and lasted until nearly 8 p.m. Scenes were filmed outside and throughout the store, as the characters shopped. The store's real name was used.
"They were great people to work with. It went smoothly," Ms. Boyle said.
She met the two male stars, got autographs and had her picture taken with them despite not really being a fan of the show ñ yet.
"After yesterday I'll probably watch it," she said.
Ms. Boyle said the actors and crew did some real-life shopping as well. Bradley Whitford bought a denim coat at Cabin Fever. She figures the poor weather affected business more than the filming interruption did. She noticed people leaving nearby stores with bags, so she guessed business downtown wasn't hurt.
Sandwiched between the two downtown locations was Cruikshank's clothing store. And while owner Gord Cruikshank believes business was hurt by the filming, he was prepared and the whole day provided a very positive and interesting experience. Mr. Cruikshank ran into Jimmy Smits Monday morning at Piccone's Market, when he was picking up a danish for his coffee. Mr. Smits was waiting at the cash register, so Mr. Cruikshank approached him, introduced himself and offered his studio tailoring area in the store as a refuge for the actor during breaks in filming.
"He dropped in later and apologized, he couldn't take me up on the offer because he was busy filming," Mr. Cruikshank said.
But later, the location manager dropped into the men's and women's clothing store to ask if Mr. Smits and Mr. Whitford could use the studio changerooms to dress for the next scene.
"While they were changing, they were rehearsing," Mr. Cruikshank said, recalling the two men calling out their lines from changerooms at opposite ends of the building.
"They are very focussed men, particularly Mr. Smits," he said. "Once they're out of your line of sight, they're somewhere else."
But both actors were "gracious" and "polite" to Mr. Cruikshank and his wife, Evelyn. The actors even did some business there, but Mr. Cruikshank didn't want to say what was purchased. With a laugh, he cited "Tailor-Client confidentiality."
Mr. Cruikshank expected less business with the filming scheduled for Monday, so he gave his staff the day off in advance. He said it was a slow day, because people's attention was directed elsewhere. But he pointed out that the production company did compensate his business.
"They really seem to have engratiated themselves with the community," Mr. Cruikshank said.
Small groups of onlookers watched Jimmy Smits and Bradley Whitford walk a few steps along King Street, then into the Deluxe Restaurant, where a scene was being filmed.
"My wife says she saw Josh walking around today," said Dundas resident Ken Redish, as he stopped for a moment across the street from the DeLuxe. He was referring to Josh Lyman, the president's deputy chief of staff, played by Bradley Whitford.
Moments later, both Mr. Smits and Mr. Whitford walked out of the old restaurant and stood on the sidewalk for a couple of minutes.
"Ah...and there's Josh," Mr. Redish said.
Christopher Misiano has directed more than 17 episodes of The West Wing since 1999. His television directing credits also include Third Watch, Now and Again, Trinity, Nash Bridges, ER and Law & Order. He is also a co-executive producer of The West Wing.
Mr. Misiano said Monday morning's snow was a huge benefit for the film shoot, as they were hoping for some snow.
"The only challenge is having to film in the lack of daylight. We're going back and forth filming the scenes where we need light coming through the windows," Mr. Misiano said. "The location has just been great."
The cast and crew were commuting from Toronto each day, and with many scenes to complete they fell behind early in the filming. With little down time, Mr. Misiano said there wasn't much chance to see much of the town.
"It's been a pretty full plate," he said.
Posted by Jo at December 10, 2004 04:11 PM