October 3, 2007
Ask DCist: What Are They Filming on Q Street?
We can't tell you how many emails we got this morning asking us if we knew what was being filmed on Q Street NW between 16th and 17th, right in front of Hank's Oyster Bar. By the time our intrepid reporter arrived, the production was either being packed up for lunch, or for good, but we were able to find out that it's in fact a shoot for a Chevy commercial. We're not sure why this particular location was deemed the best for a line of vehicles commonly marketed with aggressive patriotism -- guess we'll just have to wait until the spot airs for the first time. In any event, the area looks to have largely cleared up by now, but we hope no one's walk to work this morning was interrupted by the circus of grip and electric trucks.
Photo by Eddie Kim
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nothing says 'aggressive patriotism' like the center of the gayborhood.
the owner of Java House commented to me that Chevy's were the LEAST likely brand of car to see in the neighborhood. I hope the whole crew bought their coffee there.
I live on that block. On Monday residents got a slip of paper in our mailboxes describing the shoot. (Something about a father and a daughter, don't remember the details.) The note was careful to mention that it was "regional" -- read: local -- Chevrolet commercial.
Now, to me, local car commercials should consist of some schmuck in a polyester blazer standing in front of greenscreen on which we see endless pans of the dealership parking lot. He's staring into the camera, and screaming the phone number over and over again. THAT's how you sell Impalas, dammit.
Not with this fancy schmancy daddy-giving-daughter-carkeys-over-Penobscot-Bay-oysters stuff.
Well it interrupted my walk to work, but only in an interesting way. The only major traffic they were stopping was that of cars, not people.
And yes, the crew did indeed buy its coffee at Java House.
Imagine the "This is our Country" line of commercials cutting from some cowboy tossing a football to his son on a dusty road to a gay couple dining on oyster shooters at Hank's?
Maybe it'll feature someone driving a Trailblazer with flag decals and a "W" bumper sticker through a restaurant full of effete liberals.
I live in the building across from Hank's and didn't get any notice. But when I was coming home today around 4pm, they were just finishing up. The building manager told me that he watched the filming and it was mostly shots of the car doing parallel parking on Q Street.
Chevys and Bike lanes - two things that don't mix very well, in my experience. The vast majority of motorists who get irate at bikers are driving domestic makes.