New Streetwise article

Streetwise: In view of the set!


10:15 a.m.

Streetwise has perched ourselves in the line of fire, so to speak. Extras are everywhere. Four police officers sitting on a bench looking bored, women in period costume chatting nonchalantly.

All of this happens minutes before the loud cracks of the prop guns erupt. We have reached a point so close it comes across as more of a dull thud.

We notice poor Hale Keith -- the Sioux Falls motorcycle cop shot by Baby Face Nelson in the robbery on March 6, 1934. He now lies face-down -- seemingly dead, though he did not die in reality -- in the street for most of filming. That's got to be a hard gig.


10:54 a.m.

Machine gun fire erupts outside. Of course, your intrepid reporter tries to sneak a peek at the action only to find a street that looks frozen in time.

One of my hostesses, who have been so very kind to provide Streetwise with this opportunity, comments on how she wishes they'd provide some indication of when they plan to unleash a spray of fake-lead.

We don't think much of it until we are on our way back to our perch when gunfire erupts again. It would be unnerving after four days of it now. We would imagine random bursts of gunfire has to impact productivity in offices in earshot.

Check back for updates over the course of the day.


11:50 a.m.

It has been slow the past hour. Not a lot of activity. It looks like the crew has started to plan a new shot of some sort. Or they've moved on to other scenes.

We have amused ourselves by catching up on other work and wandering around the building looking for the best vantage points.

In talking with the good people who have put Streetwise up here, it seems like access is pretty controlled in and out of the building. We should have thought about this and brought some lunch in with us.


12:51 a.m.

Big gun battle between the gang below and the police in windows and rooftops along North Main Street. Heavy gunfire -- the rapid bursts are the gangsters, the individual pops are from cops -- as they try to make their break.

The waiting game continues, though. Every 30-45 seconds of filming seems to take 15-20 minutes to set up. As someone else in this building said "Now I see why movies cost so much."

In the meantime, Streetwise can spy crew members down below with bar-b-q ribs. They're livin' the high life down there, apparently.

hmmm, I wanted to post this in the news thread, what went wrong?

I think you just clicked on "new topic" instead of the Oshkosh thread. No worries!

Osh... Great find!!!!!!! This is the next best thing!!! :D