Emergency vehicles line Mill Road in Tuckahoe next to the film shoot in the background.
Mike Novak drove around the wooded back roads of rural Tuckahoe on Monday morning, hoping to find the spot where Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg is filming scenes for his new movie.
“I knew it was around the railroad tracks. When I saw the cops, I knew I was close,” Novak said.
However, a police roadblock prevented Novak – and anyone else for that matter – from gaining access to the film shoot near the historic Tuckahoe train station on Railroad Avenue.
Novak, of Sea Isle City, wanted to at least see, and possibly meet, Spielberg during the filming. Instead, the person he met was a polite state trooper who was blocking traffic on the opposite side of the railroad tracks on Mill Road.
“That would be cool. You don’t get a lot of excitement like that at this time of year,” Novak said of the possibility of seeing Spielberg.
Generating tons of excitement for rural Cape May County during what is normally a sleepy time of year, Spielberg is expected to shift his filming to neighboring Woodbine later this week after wrapping things up in Tuckahoe.
He is reportedly filming a UFO-themed movie, called “The Dish,” that will star Emily Blunt of “Oppenheimer” fame.
A camera crew from Fox 29 News in Philadelphia caught glimpses of Spielberg while he was shooting scenes near the Tuckahoe train station early Monday morning.
Director Steven Spielberg, in dark cap, is spotted at the movie shoot on the train tracks in Tuckahoe. (Photo courtesy of Fox 29 News Philadelphia)An Upper Township ambulance and Tuckahoe fire department truck could be seen near the train station on Mill Road, near Poplar Avenue. The smell of smoke hung in the air, suggesting that a disaster scene was being filmed. The movie set was blocked by a large screen.
Sisters Stephanie Palermo and Glenda Garrison walked up Mill Road hoping to get close to the movie shoot, but also were stopped by the police roadblock.
“This is the most exciting thing to happen around here in a long time,” Palermo, who lives in Woodbine, said with a laugh.
Admitting it was a longshot, Palermo and Garrison showed up to see if they could land a role as extras in the movie.
Prior to the filming getting underway, a casting call was put out on Facebook looking for local residents as extras to play train station passengers and car drivers.
“We’ve known about this since last week,” Palermo said of the film shoot coming to Tuckahoe. “My daughter saw it on Facebook and said, ‘Mom, you should do it.’”
Garrison, who lives in Galloway Township, looked at her sister and smiled at the thought of somehow becoming extras in the film.
“We should get out of our comfort zone and try to do something new,” Garrison said.
Sisters Glenda Garrison, left, and Stephanie Palermo, had hoped of landing roles as extras in the film.Perhaps Palermo and Garrison will have better luck becoming extras when the filming moves to Woodbine later this week.
The filming locations in Woodbine have not yet been revealed by Spielberg’s production company. Mayor William Pikolycky said he understands that the railroad tracks running through Woodbine will be used for some filming, as well as DeHirsch Avenue near the Woodbine Developmental Center.
About 175 production people are already in town to begin work on the film, giving Woodbine’s restaurants and retail shops an economic lift from the influx of visitors. Hotels in neighboring towns are also benefiting by having the film’s production crews fill their rooms.
“It’s a real boost to the whole area, not just to Woodbine, but the surrounding communities as well,” Pikolycky said.
