By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
Douglaston and Bayside are literally under the spotlight once again as an independent film with hopes of major distribution shoots scenes at a Douglaston house and at Bayside High School.
A film crew for “Nights in Phnom Penh,” a movie about a suburban New Jersey couple whose lives are transformed by their friendship with a neighborhood boy, were on location all last week at a century-old Douglaston Hill home and spent this week shooting interior and exterior scenes at Bayside High School.
The movie stars Simon Baker (CBS's “The Guardian”), Frances O'Connor (“A.I.: Artificial Intelligence”) and Gregory Smith (WB's “Everwood”). Robert Ahrens, the film's producer, said he hoped to screen the $500,000 movie at next January's Sundance Film Festival in hopes that a major distributor would buy it.
The filming comes on the heels of three recent television location shoots in northeast Queens, one for HBO's “The Sopranos” at the Pier 25A fish restaurant in Bayside, another for “The Sopranos” at Fiddler's Green in Whitestone, and one for “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” which shot scenes on Bell Boulevard and in Douglas Manor.
“When you need a place that looks like a suburb, there are communities in Queens that look good,” said the producer, whose company is based in New York and Los Angeles.
Ahrens' location scouts chose the Stuart family's restored Queen Anne home on 43rd Avenue and 242nd Street in historic Douglaston Hill because of its old-fashioned charm, Ahrens said.
“Even though it's not a huge house, the sight lines work really well,” said Ahrens, who pointed to the house's clear views from the hallway to the kitchen and from the kitchen to the dining room.
Bruce Stuart, 45, has spent the last three years meticulously restoring his family's home and could not say no when location scouts asked to use it for the movie couple's house.
“We've worked very hard to restore the house to historical accuracy,” said Stuart, a New York City firefighter assigned to Ladder Co. 29 in the Bronx. “To have that recognized was very complimentary and we are hoping it's a benefit to the neighborhood.”
The crew also shot exterior scenes at a nearby house on 242nd Street to serve as the neighbor boy's home in the movie.
Douglaston Hill has been seeking landmark status similar to that of nearby Douglas Manor based on its large number of early American homes.
“Hopefully, more people will recognize the nature of the neighborhood and that it's worth protecting and preserving,” said Stuart.
Although he was paid for use of his house, the filming was not without its inconveniences. The Stuarts moved into the Ramada Inn in Bayside for a week as a production crew turned their home topsy-turvy, using the den as a makeup and wardrobe room, replacing much of the family's furniture with set pieces while shoving the rest into the dining room, and using the kids' bedrooms as breakrooms for the actors.
Even making a pot of coffee was a problem for Stuart, with the production crew having stuck the percolator's cord in the wrong drawer and having unplugged the refrigerator to stop its humming, a move that caused the milk to spoil.
“There are definitely sacrifices made,” said Stuart philosophically.
But the shoot was a novelty nonetheless. Stuart's son Matthew, 17, stayed in the family's house as a production assistant on the set. He and his friends will have roles as extras, playing high school swim team members and supporters during a “meet” at the Bayside High swimming pool this week.
Ahrens said separate areas of the school would be used as a backdrop for two different places in the movie- a working-class high school and an exclusive private girls' school.
“It's a beautiful old school, but there's a few places that would look fine as a working-class school,” said Ahrens.
Bruce Stuart said his neighbors had reacted to the filming with interest and took the brief parking restrictions on the street in stride.
“They've been very gracious,” said Stuart. “Most of them realize it's good for the neighborhood.”
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
