A new HBO series starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant was denied filming permission on a Hamptons island due to the commotion that it would cause.
Page Six says that the HBO producers desperately wanted to shoot a critical scene for the series The Undoing on Shelter Island, which has just 2,500 residents. HBO location scout Linda Perkins asked the Shelter Island town council for permission to shoot for three days in May, but the group was not enthusiastic.
A town resident said that among the decision makers, only Gary Gert, the town supervisor, seemed to think positively of the prospect. The rest were concerned about the disruption.
“Others were worried about noise from a helicopter scene, and late-night filming causing disruption.”
For three days, HBO needed an old summer house and wanted to film a scene involving a helicopter which would hover overhead but not land. Perkins argued that the project would bring up to 100 members of the cast and crew who would spend money at stores and restaurants, but the council was not impressed.
Shelter Island councilman Jim Colligan was concerned about the late-night shoot and thought the $15,000 filming fee was paltry, calling it “archaic.” Colligan then told the council that HBO didn’t choose them.
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant stop filming due to Shelter Island locals https://t.co/JF9IJ2OZ9c pic.twitter.com/7UUGKB8cWw
— Page Six (@PageSix) May 26, 2019
The council was steadfast, but the residents of Shelter Island were disappointed that the opportunity had passed.
“The councilors made this big deal about filming, when it would have given the locals a lot of money in food and rentals. People are annoyed.”
The series, The Undoing, is based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The show chose to shoot the scenes in East Marion, Long Island instead with Kidman and Grant. The upcoming series tells the story of the meltdown of a New York City therapist.
News Australia says that for the role, Kidman returned to her roots, as her hair is back to its natural red. Kidman is finding her home at HBO as her other series, Big Little Lies , got a second season, reports The Inquisitr . Initially, Big Little Lies was supposed to be one season, like a miniseries, but after its popularity spread around the world, HBO reconsidered and decided to extend the story which was based on a novel.
This has opened the door for other miniseries, like Sharp Objects, to get a new life and perhaps a second season on the cable network.
