Meeting a World-Famous Star in New York

Something is always happening in New York.

And you can run into a film shoot almost anywhere.

Yesterday, after an interview, I took the subway down from northern Harlem into Manhattan.

I decided to walk sixteen blocks to clear my head and organise the chaos surrounding the photography exhibition planned for 23 October.

On 51st Street, directly in front of MoMA, I noticed a film crew preparing a scene.

A grey-haired gentleman was leaning against a red vintage Porsche.

He did not attract much attention.

Nobody seemed particularly interested in him, so neither was I at first.

What interested me more were the technical solutions:

How were they lighting the street?

What equipment were they using?

How did the crew organise a film scene in a live urban environment?

That is an occupational habit of mine.

I try to learn something new every day.

Once the lighting equipment appeared, more and more people began stopping to watch.

Then somebody called out, not particularly loudly:

“Hi, Ghostbuster guy!” :)

I looked more carefully at the grey-haired man.

He seemed familiar.

A quick Wikipedia search solved the mystery.

It was actor Bill Murray, now in his mid-sixties.

What I found particularly interesting was how respectfully people behaved.

Everybody watched.

Nobody tried to interrupt the work.

Between two takes, stylists rushed over to adjust his clothing.

Meanwhile, Murray began entertaining the suddenly larger crowd and answered a few questions.

It was impressive to see how civilised the atmosphere remained.

Although, naturally, almost everybody had taken out a phone or camera.

I managed to move a little closer to Bill.

During a free moment, I asked what they were filming.

I did not expect an answer.

But he told me briefly that he had been asked to appear in a new promotional film for MoMA.

He could not reveal anything more.

Then, jokingly, he added that several people were listening and the project was strictly confidential.

After that, the crew repeated the scene.

The crowd watching from both sides of the street and the passing cars did not seem to disturb anybody.

I also managed to record a few seconds of video.

You can view it here.

At the same time, I was observing what people did with their phones in a situation like this.

Many posted immediately, especially to Instagram.

It made me wonder whether searching only the hashtags #newyork or #nyc might already tell us what is happening in the city at any given moment.

But now I will let the photographs speak.

I clicked a few frames too.

Part of the BANHALMI ecosystem

For the professional context and practical side of portrait photography, visit the BANHALMI professional website. Related art series, books and exhibitions are preserved in the BANHALMI ART archive.