Long Island, NY – A low-budget indie film shooting inside a Long Island convenience store got a dose of real life drama last night when a passerby mistook a robbery scene for the real thing and called the cops. Twenty officers responded to the call, and when they arrived at the scene, they saw a man pointing a gun at another man behind the register. The director was filming from the back of the store with a small high-definition camera and no movie lights, so it was not immediately clear to cops that they were charging into an imaginary holdup with guns drawn.
Full Story – HERE
I would have assumed in the movie business there would have been measures taken to make sure things like this don’t happen. Possibly some signs would have helped?
Comments
3 responses to “Cops Nearly Shoot Actor Playing Convenience Store Robber”
This falls under the “call the police department and let them know what you are doing” heading – sure, it is stupid, but it prevents unnecessary perforation.
hahah perforation!
Just having a PA outside the store with a radio and clipboard looking kind of official might have helped. Covering the windows from the outside with black fabric would have helped too. On low budget projects these sometimes get over looked. I can hear, “Were only going to be there for an hour…”, which turns into 5 hrs.
Notifying the police about when your going to be doing a production with firearms I believe is required in some locations like outside in a public park. For an inside location like the one in the story I don’t think its required. Each city has either a department or individual in the Major’s office (City Government) that should be able to direct your questions. Contacting the police first would be the wrong option.