Bill Pullman will no longer be filming at a Shelton bookstore this week.
Worldwide Pants Inc. last night cancelled its shoot scheduled for Wednesday at the Written Words Bookstore.
Bookstore owner Dorothy Sim-Broder said she received a message on the store answering machine this morning notifying her the production company has decided to film at another bookstore.
Sim-Broder said the store now will be open Wednesday.
And anyone who shows up at the store that day will receive a free truffle, Sim-Broder told customers in a mass e‑mail sent out Tuesday morning.
“We were notified this morning that the film production company will NOT be filming at our store after all. They had a change of plans. That’s “Hollywood” for us, I guess!” Sim-Broder wrote in the e‑mail.
“But hey, this means we WILL be open for business on Wednesday, June 23rd. Woohoo! So come by and get your summer reading books! Better yet, let’s make it a Free Truffle Day! Everyone who comes in tomorrow gets a free truffle! Yum!”
The following was an article posted Monday about the scheduled filming:
Bill Pullman will be signing books at Written Words Bookstore Wednesday.
Not for real — as part of a scene in a movie being filmed in the Valley this summer.
The crew from Worldwide Pants Inc., a film production company owned by David Letterman, will be filming a scene at the Shelton independent bookstore all day Wednesday, according to owner Dorothy Sim-Broder.
The store will be closed to the public all day.
The film’s working title is “The Greatest Movie Ever” and is being filmed at locations in Derby.
“It’s quite interesting,” Sim-Broder said. “We never get to see what goes on behind the scenes. With this, you get a taste of it.”
Sim-Broder said the scene will involve a book-signing where Pullman’s character is signing a children’s book he wrote in the film.
The production company called her about a month ago, Sim-Broder said, looking for a bookstore in the area that would work for the scene.
The crew wanted a big-box book store, but didn’t want to travel far from the filming hub in Derby, Sim-Broder said.
Written Words was large enough to accommodate the crew.
Sim-Broder said the staff at Written Words will stay late Tuesday night rearranging the store to move the children’s section up toward the front for the scene.
“The camera angle has to be right,” Sim-Broder said. “The existing children’s section is too far back. We need to transform another area into the children’s section.”
The production team will also change out the store light bulbs for the shoot, Sim-Broder said.
The store agreed to host the shoot because Sim-Broder said it was interesting and it might help with publicity.
“I think it’s a win-win situation,” Sim-Broder said. “We’re coming into the summer season, which tends to slow down anyway. I think it’s exciting. Hopefully it will help with advertising the store as well. Hopefully people who have never heard of us will hear of us now.”
The movie filmed at the baseball field near Derby High School earlier this month. They’re scheduled to shoot interior shots inside the high school next week.