Archive | April, 2014

Love or Disaster at Islington Town Hall

24 Apr

At the end of March, Islington Town Hall hit the headlines and front covers for being the first one to celebrate a same-sex marriage. Today, the spotlight is once again on our Town Hall, again for a wedding and again for a ceremony involving a gay man…or maybe not.

Love and Other Disasters (2006) is a romantic comedy partly produced by Islington based Ruby Films, in which Emily, also known as Jacks (Brittany Murphy), works as an assistant at Vogue UK and shares a flat with her gay friend Peter (Matthew Rhys), a screenwriter. Both worry about serious relationships. Jacks spends her time with her friends Peter and Tallulah (Catherine Tate) and sleeps with her ex, while Peter lives and falls in love in his dreams rather than real people. Enter Paolo Sarmiento (Santiago Cabrera – Aramis in the BBC’s Musketeers to you and me), a charming photographer from Argentina.

Convinced that Paolo is gay, Jacks introduces him to Peter. At the same time she receives him at home in her underwear, when not in her bath. Both Peter and Jacks fell under Paolo’s charm…

All seems going well until Paolo announces that he is packing, going back to Argentina. Someone reported him to the UK authorities, his visa has expired, Paolo must leave.

With a promising photographic career ahead of him, Jacks offers Paolo to get married so that he can stay. And where best to tie the knot than Islington Town Hall!

When Paolo wakes up in finds a note from Jacks saying ‘Meet me at the Islington Registry at 11 a.m. sharp’.

Love and Other Disasters - Islington Town Hall - Film 01

Then we can see Paolo arriving Islington Town Hall.

Love and Other Disasters - Islington Town Hall - Film 02

Love and Other Disasters - Islington Town Hall - Film 03

Love and Other Disasters - Islington Town Hall - MRX 01

Seconds later Peter rushes out of a black cab.

Love and Other Disasters - Islington Town Hall - Film 06

Love and Other Disasters - Islington Town Hall - MRX 02

 

Will Jacks and Paolo get married or will Paolo dare to tell her that he is not the man she thinks he is? More scenes of Love and Other Disasters were shot across the borough so, you’d better watch it to get the answer!

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Islington Town Hall N1 2UD

Highbury and Islington Station (Zone 2)

Many buses to Upper Street

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Fever Pitch rises again around Arsenal Station

17 Apr

Ever since Gillepsie Road Tube station was renamed Arsenal (Highbury Hill) in 1932, football fans across the world have been able to pinpoint where the home of Arsenal Football Club was.

Gillepsie Road Sation pre November 1932

Gillepsie Road Sation

As we saw in part one of our Fever Pitch (1997) franchise, Highbury: It’s Fever Pitch Around Here, as a kid Paul (Luke Aikman) discovers Arsenal Football Club with his dad (Neil Pearson). As you would expect, in the same way that the old Arsenal Stadium features a number of times, so does Arsenal Tube Station.

On his way to the stadium, we can see him exiting the station on several occasions, here with his dad…

Fever Pitch - Arsenal Tube Station - FILM 01

and returning to it after the game.

Fever Pitch - Arsenal Tube Station - FILM 03

Towards the end of the movie, while looking for Paul (Colin Firth), Sarah (Ruth Gemmell) can be spotted on Highbury Hill with the station in the distance.

Fever Pitch - Arsenal Tube Station - FILM 05

Finally, all is well that ends well. After the celebrations, Sarah & Paul can be seen strolling down Highbury Hill making their way towards Arsenal Station.

Fever Pitch - Arsenal Tube Station - FILM 06

Arsenal Tube Station - MRX

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Arsenal Tube Station (Zone 2)

Many buses to Blackstock Road and Holloway Road

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Cowcross Street: Jude Law lives Closer than you think

10 Apr

In our first post on Closer (2004), we left Dan (Jude Law) and Alice (Natalie Portman) outside Anna’s studio (Julia Roberts) in Westland Place, off City Road. We find Alice and Dan back in Islington later on in the movie.

After heartbreaks, affairs, and a few arguments along the way, Alice and Dan are eventually back together. However, one evening, as Dan keeps asking Alice the same question, the couple argues. In the end, Dan apologies and goes to make tea. While in the kitchen, Alice disappears.

When he realises it, he runs down the stairs behind her only to find out that she has vanished in the night.

The first shot we see from Jude Law outside his flat does not tell us much. We primarily see him, in the dark, with an open door behind him.

Closer - Cowcross Street - FILM 01

Closer - Cowcross Street - MRX 01

However, the following one, from a different angle, allows us to recognise the Victorian structure of Smithfield Market which is all lit up. Yes, Ladies & Gents, Jude Law lives in Cowcross Street!

Closer - Cowcross Street - FILM 02

Closer - Cowcross Street - MRX 02

That’s the Wrap!

This post is our last one on Closer but if you know otherwise, please do let me know.

 

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Cowcross Street EC1M 6DR

Farringdon Station (Zone 1)

Barbican Tube Station (Zone 1)

Many buses to Clerkenwell Road, Farringdon Road and St John’s Street

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Liam Neeson rushes through Camden Passage

3 Apr

You may recall that in From Angel Station to Milano, we left Peter (Liam Neeson) a worried man. Following the passing of his wife, he had discovered that she probably had a lover. He wanted to find out who The Other Man (2008) might be and we had left him exiting Angel Station.

But then what next? Would we be lucky enough to spot him again in Islington?

Cinema has always been very good at tricking us, pretending to be somewhere when in fact the scene was shot in a studio or on the other side of the world. It would therefore not have been very surprising to see that on the next shot Liam Neeson was (already) in, say, Greenwich!

However, I am delighted to say that he stayed in Islington. In fact, Neeson follows a route that hundreds of locals and Londoners know very well. Once out of the station he walks past The Royal Bank of Scotland and goes through…Camden Passage!

The Other Man - Camden Passage - FILM

The Other Man - Camden Passage - MRX

Once one of London’s leading antique market destinations, Camden Passage has in more recent years welcomed a diverse range of vintage shops, cafes, restaurants, not to mentioned a British cheesemonger and a Chocolatier extraordinaire. If you haven’t done so already, it is definitely worth a visit the next time you come to Islington!

Having featured a number of times on the big screen Camden Passage will become another hot spot on our Islington Film Location Map. Just as well since I am yet to try half the cheeses on display there. You can take the boy out of France but…

That’s the Wrap!

This post is our last one on The Other Man but if you know otherwise, please do let me know.

Since the two sequences we talked about follow each other, here they are as they appear on screen.

The Other Man - Angel Tube Station - FILM

The Other Man - Camden Passage - FILM

 

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Camden Passage N1 8EA

Angel Tube Station (Zone 1)

Many buses to Angel and Islington

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