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Blooming Grove - The George Clooney "home invasion"
began Tuesday.
But neighbors knew about it months ago. Don Menck said some people were
notified in
December that the film company was scouting locations.
They said they'd be here in February, and they are, Menck said. "The
letter read that they
would be here for three days. They're just taking care of business and
being very
courteous."
In the movie "Michael Clayton," Clooney plays a "fixer" in a high-powered
law firm in
New York City. It will include scenes shot throughout Orange County as
well as in
Midtown and Downtown Manhattan and Long Island. The scenes being shot here
are set
in Clayton's father's house, and the insiders call these shots crucial.
"We can't have a movie without these scenes," said unit publicist Julie
Kuehndorf. "These
are key scenes."
Eighteen-year-old Anthony Caponero, who now finds himself living in a
house that no
longer looks like his own, said that the entire decor had been changed to
look like a '70s
era home.
"In the kitchen there's two huge film reels and there's monitors in the
basement. There's
people just all over the place," he said. I
The family is being paid - an undisclosed amount - for the use of their
house.
And the house doesn't quite look the same.
"We took everything out of their house except the bedrooms," said
assistant location
manager Hilary Smith. "The layout inside was the best and fit the
director's visions for
these scenes. The locals have been very welcoming."
Said Anthony: "The inside of our house looks like an old man's house. They
completely
changed the whole house... There's oxygen tanks and canes and presents
because it's a
birthday scene.
"So how did the Caponeros get so lucky?
"In November, someone put fliers in our mailboxes, and I got it when I
came home from
work.
It said they're going to film a George Clooney film, and before I
could call to find
out what was going on, they called me," homeowner Maria Caponero said.
She's met the man, and said, "He's the coolest guy. We were hanging out,
and he was
telling me about the things he did as a kid in Kentucky."
She was in the house during some of the shooting.
"They were singing 'Happy Birthday,'" she said. "And then a kid blows out
the candles."
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