redwicons

I don't even know where to begin, I really don't. So I guess I'll begin from the beginning. You all know how much I love SVU and love Alex Cabot and how excited I was when I saw Alex Cabot filming last January. Well, another opportunity arose to see her ruling the courthouse steps once again.

So I got on the horn to a cyber friend and sent out the Cabot signal:

Get thee backside to NYC, for it appears that Teh Smarch will be filming on the courthouse steps on Thursday.


Now, though all the signs indicated that Smarch *would* be filming on the steps, there was so much that could go wrong. They could cancel. We could be wrong and Smarch wasn't filming that day after all (even though it was near the courthouses). They could be doing only interior shots. It could rain and screw everything up (this almost happened!).

BUT, none of that came to pass. And in the end, we hit the jackpot. Not only did we get to see Smarch filming not just one scene, not just two scenes, but THREE different and distinct scenes, but WE MET HER, too, and got our picture taken with her!

Best day of set stalking ever? Other than my very first experience set stalking SVU... yeah, pretty close.


LEGAL STUFF: All photos and descriptions are copyright me. Feel free to link to this entry, but please do not take or repost without permission. Thanks!

Obligatory Production Sign (aka, you-will-experience-nirvana-here-on-Thursday sign) to kick this thing off, heh.



I'm going to skip the preliminaries (arriving early and getting the lay of the land, passing an hour in Starbucks waiting for the action to begin, forgetting umbrellas and having to buy some since it was raining) and go right to our second walk-by of the trailers. One blared out CABOT.

My heart might have skipped a beat. Or two. I don't think this is Kansas anymore, Toto.


Oh, and this trailer (and the one it was attached to, prompted me to make this, hee!):



So, we were hanging out by the fountain and I was JUST saying let's go closer to the courthouses when A (the person with me) was all, "Wait. Just. One. Second." Actually, that's what her body language said, what she actually said was something completely unintelligible, close to "Gah Ung Smmm". But I followed her gaze and lo-and-behold, Stephanie March was in front of her trailer posing for pictures and signing autographs for a couple of guys there.

Needless to say, we teleported over there. We arrived at her trailer front as she was going into her trailer and the PA outside told us she had to change but she'd be out in a minute and we could get a picture. No, this definitely isn't Kansas anymore. OMG, was this really going to happen?! Finally?! Was I finally going to get a picture with Stephanie March?

Well, in a word. YES! Just a few minutes later she came out (looking all Cabot-like, I must say) and was so very gracious and so very sweet and so very kind and posed for pictures. I told her there were a lot of fans ecstatic to have her and Cabot back on SVU and she thanked me (us) and said that we're the ones that make her job fun. And then A gave her a gift and SM went back into her trailer and we turned to make our way to the set all giddy-like.

BUT THEN, we hear this, "Wait a second! Get back here!" We turn around and SM had thrown her trailer door open and beckoned us back. Why? Because she'd opened the gift from A (which was a necklace) and absolutely loved it and wanted to thank her again. HOW SWEET IS THAT?!? I'll tell you how sweet: VERY SWEET. She's just pretty much made of awesome and win.

After another picture (this time with the necklace), SM went back into her trailer and we kind of let out a collective squee heard round the world and then pretty much fainted.

Because, is this real life?

I mean, did that really happen? I checked my camera. Yes, yes there was a picture there. Holy-bajeezus. Right off the bat! I knew that no matter what we saw for the rest of the day, the day was already a whopping success! Really. Seriously. Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.

BUT, the thing is, the day hit that high and then STAYED THERE. For maybe 20 minutes later, filming started. And filming was AWESOME. As I said at the top, it wasn't just a single scene, but THREE different scenes (actually, I think there were 5-6 scenes shot, we watched the three with SMarch). In any case, it was like the jackpot of filming. In addition, Belzer and Ice-T showed up at one point and so they're prepping a scene over on the steps and prepping a scene in a car near by and Belzer, Ice-T, SM, MH, and Linus Roach (Mike Cutter) and Ron Rifkin (the guest star) are all walking around and I turned to A and said, "It's like we've been transported into the middle of the SVU Universe. This is so awesome!"

Yes, as I said, everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.



Alight, I know you all don't care about most of that, you want to see pictures! So, here they are, pictures!! Warning...I suppose, since these are from the set, they contain spoilers. But, really not much. We couldn't hear anything so I have no idea what was being said in any of these scenes.


Scene 1: Cabot and Cutter walk out of the courthouse, meet Benson at the top of the stairs, and talk

Well, first, I HAVE to include a picture of the clacker!


Here, Cabot walks out of the courthouse. You can't see Cutter next to her, but who really cares? (lol, sorry Cutter).


They meet Benson and talk talk talk. As always, I do love including behind the scenes stuff so I love the boom mike and camera behind them in this pic.


And a closer and a further away view so you can get some perspective of how big the court really is compared to us wee little people; quite imposing, really. The originally shot this scene from a different angle and there were all sorts of production people between them and us. And at times Benson was blocking our view of Cabot and we were cracking ourselves at how we were saying to ourselves, "Yo, Benson, move out of the way, would you!" LOL But then, they shot it from this angle and there were NO obstructions...and it was super awesomesauce.




(also...it was at the end of this scene that I got a picture with Linus Roach, too. The day just kept being such a high!)

Scene 2: Cabot and Benson get some coffee from a cart, then do a little walk and talk

They rehearsed the scene several times and we were standing nonadvantageously (i.e. behind them), but I still like the shots because they have their little yellow scripts still with them. I especially like the one at the cart with SMarch's script poking out of her briefcase.




Then we turned around and saw all the extras hanging out, for some reason, how they were all just lounging on the stairs cracked us up.


We then swung around to the other side to get a better view of the filming. This one isn't a great picture but when we were looking through pictures that night this one cracked us up because the director (the man speaking to SMarch) looks like he's all "OMG, YOU'RE SMARCH!" ... and that's how we felt, too, LOL


And a shot of the two of them at the cart just before they filmed a take.



Scene 3: Cabot and Cutter walk up the stairs of the courthouse, and are mobbed by a hoard of press.

So, all of those extras that were lounging on the stairs in one of the pictures, above? Well, they were put to work in this scene. Here they all are, closing in on Cabot and Cutter as they make their way up the stairs. And then completely close in around them at the top.


And, I have to say, the chaos and noise and energy of this mob was convincing. We had more than one person stop and ask us who was being tried, what the press conference was for, etc. They didn't realize it was a TV show shoot, they thought it was real. Kudos, all you extras, kudos!


Also, they had all us gawkers (and there were a lot of us) off to one side when they filmed the first take. Then they told us we were in the shot and asked us all to gather off to the other side while they did the second take. Then they said, never mind, just spread out and watch, but be warned we might be on camera, pointing to the 'You Are Being Photographed' signs. No complaints here!


So, with everyone in place, they started again. BUT, not before SMarch got her iPhone camera out and took a picture of all us fans watching the proceedings – I told you there were a lot of us and, apparently, that amused SMarch enough for her to take a picture of us, lol.


And of course...Clacker!


Coming back down between takes.


And here SMarch is asking the director is she is supposed to be a step behind Cutter on the way up or level with him. That question was about the only thing we heard all day, lol. But what a cool little behind the scenes nugget (and the answer was 'a step behind him')


So that was the day, for the most part. We waved at SMarch (and she smiled and waved back) as she walked past us back to her trailer, hung around for a little longer, long enough to know that the rest of the scenes would be inside, and so we called it a day. And oh, what a day!

So, I leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the day...

Can't Wait For This To Be Back On My TV Screen!

During rehearsals for the walk-and-talk. Can you say "Sassy!"?


How cute is that little balancing on her heel??


Just before 'action!' for the going up the stairs scene. It's like she's parting the Red Sea, heh.


That's a good looking pair (trio), right there, all badassery.


And this...Gah. Just Gah. And also, it's like she's looking out over the courthouse steps and going, "You people seriously have nothing on me." And, of course, she's right. ;)


And the proof. :D
I look like my face is going to break from grinning, lol.
But I regret nothing!





As I said, what a day. Everything we could have imagined. SMarch was amazingly sweet and gracious, and the filming was spectacular. An all around wonderful experience.


LEGAL STUFF: All photos and descriptions are copyright me. Feel free to link to this entry, but please do not take or repost without permission. Thanks!