Page 6 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022 ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 A: No. I’m not the type of guy to go out looking for it. My hostess called me and said there was a woman here that wanted to talk to me about doing a movie at the restaurant. Q: When was this? A: This was back in December, maybe November. So, I talked to her on the phone and we exchanged contact information. We negotiated back and forth. An entourage came from LA to look at all the various sites they chose for the movie. I guess that was her job: She goes around and looks at different areas that the director might like. So, I think she picked, maybe, four or five restaurants; she picked Angelica’s, too, and went there. Then they set up a meeting with the director and whoever he brings with him to take a look at it and decide if they are going to pick it. They came to the restaurant one day and said they loved the site (The Continental Restaurant), and they said it was just what they were looking for. So, we started the negotiations back and forth. I thought it was going to be in March, but then they pushed it up to February. So, we negotiated back and forth for a fee and that’s how it was decided. Q: The fee, I’m sure you don’t want to talk about a fi gure … A: I do not. Q: But it was probably more than what you could have earned during the three days they rented the restaurant? A: Yeah. They were very fair. I think they know what it costs to operate a business – the staff , losing hours – and we came to a good agreement. Q: So, this is, like, four years after your restaurant had been scouted out before for a movie. I heard yesterday (Tuesday) that it was back in 2018. A: Yeah. I guess they weren’t as aggressive. This time, this girl really wanted to talk to me. The hostess actually called me directly on my cell phone and said, “Someone wants to talk to you.” Q: This guy I talked to yesterday said he had scouted it out. And for some reason, they didn’t get a response back. A: Yeah, so now they say I am probably on the list of locations for future movies if they ever want a restaurant. Q: So, were you aware at the time – back in 2018 – about a movie crew that may be interested in using your restaurant? A: No. I don’t think I really got the message. The hostess must have just written it down on a piece of paper, and I just thought maybe it was just going to be a commercial. I didn’t think it was going to be for a motion picture. Q: So, what is the draw for something like this for a movie fi lming site? A: I just think it’s the appearance of the restaurant. We’ve been there since 1952. The place hasn’t changed much. I mean we’ve upgraded and redecorated, but we’ve always kept that old restaurant feel to it. The booths, I think, are probably from the 60s, and I had them reupholstered in their early 2000s. And it was basically the same tufted leather – the same exact look – so anytime we try to redecorate the restaurant, we try to keep it the same. We never tried to go modern or anything like that. We always try to keep the feel for our customers, because they are loyal, and we like them to come back. Sometimes when you try to attract new customers, you lose the customers who are really loyal to you. We try to maintain our longtime customers. Q: Have you gotten to meet any of the actors or the cast yet? A: I haven’t met anybody personally. I haven’t really asked. I met the director and we spoke for a little bit. Q: You will probably get some courtesy photographs autographed by some of the actors. row, they’re going to clean up and they are going to be out by 12:30. Q: So, they are going to be A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE: Initially, The Continental Restaurant owner, Paul Kourkoulis, said, he felt bad about having to tell loyal customers that his restaurant would be closed for much of three days this week while a Hollywood fi lming crew and movie cast and staff worked inside. But Kourkoulis said he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) A: Maybe. But I don’t know. I am not one to ask. Q: That would be something nice to put on your wall. A: Yeah. I’m going to see, maybe, when I get back to the restaurant today, maybe, if they would. I don’t know. But we’ll see. But it’s exciting; it’s amazing to see just how extensive the planning is and the execution of the plan for however few minutes – I don’t think it’s going to be much – maybe four or fi ve minutes in the movie. And just to see the magnitude of the equipment and the staff and the servers and the actors, the extras … it’s something to see – all of the cords running through the restaurant out to the trucks. They bring their own bathrooms with them. They bring their own restaurant with them. They feed everybody. Q: And they make sure the whole restaurant is clean. Like last night, they came with air fi lters. A: Yeah. Yesterday was to set up, so they brought whatever props they needed, and they changed a lot of light bulbs for the lighting, and they made sure the fl oor was clean. They removed some of the decorations, like some of the flower arrangements, and then they just made it the way they wanted it. They gave it the look that they wanted. It wasn’t a big change, but they did move some of the pictures. They had to put some Christmas decorations up because the movie happens around Christmas. And the big trucks all showed up last night and today [Wednesday, Feb. 23] was the shoot day. Tomorworking till tonight, fi lming? A: I think so. I asked how long they are going to be there, and they said they expected to be there til about 8 (p.m.). I think they might be doing a few scenes in the restaurant. Q: I notice the wine bottles on each of the tables. Is that similar to what you have? A: No, not really. They’re the old Chianti bottles with the straw wrap. So, they want to give it that feel in the time period – 60s or 70s maybe – early 70s. Q: Come to think of it, when I looked at them, I thought I haven’t seen these kinds of wine bottles in years. A: Yeah. And, well, if you noticed the ash trays, how they put ash trays with a match in the ash trays. So, they wanted the old look. We had newer salt and pepper shakers, but they changed all of the salt and pepper shakers. They go down to every little detail. I really don’t know how much people are really going to see it all. But they make sure they really got it all, just the way they want it. Q: What was with the steam ironing of the table cloths? I noticed a lady was busy running the steam iron over all of the white table cloths. A: Well, they used our table cloths. And when you get them from the linen company, sometimes they don’t fold them right. They still have creases in them because they were folded. And I think she was just steaming them to get all of the creases out so it was perfect. Q: Yeah, that was pretty interesting. She did every table cloth. A: Ah, for the place settings, they had a roller to make sure the place settings were just perfect, you know. Q: What were some of the other interesting things in the preparation that you noticed? A: Well, they didn’t do much, because they said the place looked the way they wanted it. They really didn’t need to, because they were pretty impressed with the way the place looked. They didn’t need a lot of props. You know, they changed the cash register. They got one of those old-fashioned push-button ones that makes the big ringing sound. That’s about it. Q: It’s been pretty crowded at the restaurant parking lot today. ASKS | SEE PAGE 7
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