Disney comes to Marshfield for ‘The Finest Hours’ shoot

By Lisa Kashinsky
Wicked Local
December 3, 2014

The Brant Rock area was bustling with activity after setup began in the morning. Crews started shooting at the seawall along Ocean Street around 3 p.m.

Cars from the late 1940s were driven through water cannons down Ocean Street Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 3, as part of filming for Walt Disney Studios' "The Finest Hours."

The light rain that fell over the Brant Rock esplanade Wednesday night wasn’t enough to keep away spectators as Walt Disney Studios’ “The Finest Hours” shifted production from the Ocean Street seawall to The Latest Scoop.

Anne Bowen and her daughter, Maddie, were among the dozen people gathered outside the Venus II Restaurant and Sports Bar around 6:30 p.m., watching as crews filmed a car scene on the street.

“I just think it’s cool to see a movie being made where I walk and drive and such,” Maddie Bowen, 17, said.

“The Finest Hours,” adapted from the Casey Sherman and Michael Tougias book of the same name, tells the story of a U.S. Coast Guard rescue off Cape Cod after two oil tankers split in half during a February 1952 nor’easter.

Actor Chris Pine plays the hero, Boatswain’s Mate Bernie Webber. Casey Affleck and Holliday Grainger also star in the film, which is directed by Craig Gillespie.

The Brant Rock area was bustling with activity after setup began in the morning. Crews started shooting at the seawall along Ocean Street around 3 p.m. before moving to The Latest Scoop at 263 Ocean St., for the nighttime shoot that started shortly after 6 p.m.

“It’s amazing to see how they spent all these hours for a 7-minute clip, or a 15-minute clip,” Anne Bowen said.

Residents came to watch throughout the day hoping to catch a glimpse of the action and maybe a movie star.

Francesca Henry, 14, came to watch with her mother, Paula.

“I think it’s exciting just seeing where I walk everyday and where I grew up on the big screen,” she said.

At the Ocean Street shoot, crews sprayed fake snow, took down street signs and installed old-fashioned streetlights to help create a 1950s feel for the shoot, along with driving in snow-dusted cars from that time period.

Around 3 p.m. spectators were ushered down the street as the crew prepared to test water cannons for the scene.

Sandy Young, who lives in the Brant Rock neighborhood, said she was excited to see another movie come to town.

“It’s fun. It breaks up the everyday life of working and school,” she said. “It’s just a little excitement.”

As darkness fell, production shifted to the area of The Latest Scoop, which had been transformed into Murray’s Diner for a scene. The front of the gift shop next door, Shore Things, had been turned into an appliance store as well.

Crews had again installed old-fashioned streetlights and sprayed fake snow. Since the shoot was set around Christmastime, Christmas decorations that fit the time period were also brought in, Scott Levine, the movie’s publicist, said.

Levine said Marshfield was chosen for the shoot based on its look and its proximity to the Quincy set.

“The movie takes place on Cape Cod and these towns have the Massachusetts coastal feel of the Cape, but you’re closer to your production center,” he said.

While some residents chose to watch the filming in the rain, Derek Maksy took in the movie magic from inside The Jetty restaurant.

Maksy, a Lakeville resident, was doing work on his summer home in town today when he found out about the shoot and decided to stay.

“I think this is awesome,” he said. “I’ve been here all day watching.”

Read the Marshfield Mariner next week for more on this story.

Follow reporter Lisa Kashinsky @MarshfieldLisa

Disney, crew get Marshfield ready for 'The Finest Hours' shoot
Disney's 'The Finest Hours' filmed in Cohasset

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