White trailers, orange and white road closing signs and burned out, smashed up police cars, this is how the downtown Cleveland landscape has looked for the Captain America filming. I don’t work downtown so I have not been affected by these inconveniences. I am sympathetic to a certain point but everyone knew these road closures were coming. I can’t help but be in awe that Captain America is here in town filming. I might be alone in this but I do think this is a huge plus for our city and it could definitely lead to more films.
What have I seen other than the emphasis road closure signs? Not much to be honest. I have ridden my bike downtown in hopes that I might see Samuel L. Jackson or another famous person; no such luck. I did see, however, that the old Ameritrust bank rotunda was transformed into a D.C. gallery with banners streaming along the exterior. I have seen huge cranes but every time I walk by, the crew is idle.
I was one of the crazy bike riders on Memorial Day where the sky looked ominous and threatening rain. I pedaled through East Cleveland on Euclid Avenue to avoid the many parades plaguing the city. As I got closer to Lakeview Cemetery, I saw a security guard sitting by two large semitrailers. Wow, I thought. They are going to use Lakeview cemetery for filming. How cool is that?
As I pedaled through the Euclid Avenue bike lane, I kept thinking what wonderful, old nostalgic buildings we have. Perfect for film without the heavily traveled street traffic. I remember again riding my bike downtown when the Spiderman 3 was being filmed. I completely forgot when I saw clusters of people standing around Tower City in dark, woolen suits in the middle of the summer. Then it occurred to me that they were filming. My thoughts even then what a cool thing that was going on in the city.
But as the film industry goes, there is much standing around and waiting. You set up a shot then you wait for a very long time before you see anything “happening.” When they were filming for Spiderman 3, I remember being able to stand pretty close on Euclid Avenue with countless others gawking, hoping to see something cool. I recall seeing the camera track going up and down; I’m assuming they were prepping the shot and getting the right angles and light. I was ready to stand there all day but a friend of mine was eager to get going. I kept saying, “Just a few minutes and we’ll get going.” Those few minutes ended up being an hour; I finally gave in and left the scene.
I was engrossed in the filming process and didn’t want to miss something. Another friend became an extra for Spiderman 3 and he told us the ins-and-outs. You do wait a very long time in the “green room” sort of speak. My friend stood on East 9 right by the yellow NYC cabs and newspaper stands, being part of the NYC crowd. He spent at least two weeks hanging out in the snack line waiting to be called. I do recall that he enjoyed himself even though there was a lot of time wasted.
I did wait in the crazy casting call line for “The Avengers” in the summer of 2011. I will never forget that experience, boiling to death for hours hoping that I will be called as an extra. I never did but my chances were slim since there were thousands of people wanting the same chance to be in the film. Oh well, I tried but what I remember most is the engaging, intelligent conversations I had with four people. We were strangers at the beginning but became friends at the end of our journey. I was sadden when I finally exited the Holiday Inn; who knows if I’ll ever see these people again. Captain America, I didn’t attempt the casting call line but it would have been a memorable experience.
What I noticed with this filming is they have been using much of Cleveland’s skyline unlike the other films that concentrated on Euclid Avenue and Tower City. They have used Rockwell and Superior Avenues close to the Cleveland Public Library. Someone told me that they saw Samuel L. Jackson; darn, I completely missed that memo. Now they have completely shut down the West Shoreway; that has never been done before. I hope the film crew has given the city a ton of money for that inconvenience.
I happen to be downtown on the first day they shut down the Shoreway. Admittedly, it took me over 20-minutes to reach West 29th Street from downtown. At one point, I shut off my car and sat idle as the traffic completely stopped. Not only is the Shoreway shut down, but there is road construction on both West 6 and 9 streets, which is adding to the bottleneck.
Oh well as I said in the beginning of this piece. Clevelander’s need to just suck it up. Take alternative transportation such as the RTA or ride a bike. We have been spoiled that our traffic is nil compared to other cities. I’m just as guilty thinking this way; I am running late and I assume that it will only take me 15 minutes to get downtown. I’m lucky that I live east and I don’t have to deal with the Shoreway but it will only last an other 9 days.
If I know in advance there will be a delay, I would opt to ride my bike. I did it yesterday as I attended VegFest at CSU. I felt empowered that I didn’t have to deal with many frustrated driver’s. This landscape needs to change with more public transportation and bike share, maybe! Cities are changing and commuters want more options.
Cleveland.com
Captain America Filming (I don't have any personal photos)
http://www.cleveland.com/movies/index.ssf/2013/05/captain_america_the_winter_sol_5.html
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