Hollywood Comes to Rye Library

Hollywood actress Julianne Moore came to Rye Friday evening to film a scene for her upcoming movie “The English Teacher” in the Rye Free Reading Room.

The film production crew waited until after the library closed at 5:30 p.m. to start shooting, although it took several hours to set up.

In the interim, the production company shot scenes around town in the Purchase Street vicinity of Ruby’s Bar & Bistro, the Rye Country Store and the Arcade Book Store.

“We were looking for a small town, unspoiled look from the library on tbe Village Green to quaint restaurants to a main street without big chain stores and corporations,” said Michael Shaw, production manager for the film that also stars Nathan Lane and Greg Kinear.

“We needed all that in one location, and Rye filled the bill because we could shoot everything in one day,” Shaw said as he supervised a crew taping the library windows to the right of the library’s main check in desk, the only area that was disrupted.

“We have to create the illusion of daylight for a series of flashbacks, and this was the soonest we could get in to the library and get everything set up,” he said. “We hope to wrap everything up for this sequence in one day and return next week for another shoot.”

Library executive director Kitty Little watched the window taping.

“It is all being done with a minimum of disruption to the library and its patrons,” said Ms. Little. “And the film company’s contribution to the library is both welcome and generous, although we would always like to receive more."

"And let's face it, if you were looking for an old-time library and an unspoiled- looking Main Street, you can't beat Rye," she said.

Setting up the library as a film set basically involved moving the magazine, newspapers and periodicals tables and shelving into the computer room.
The main inconvenience was losing seven parking spaces in front of the library in the lot opposite the Village Hall for several hours while the production company moved equipment into the library.

“We got lots of patron complaints about the lack of parking spaces, but that too shall pass, and the film company’s contribution should help,” she said.

The “English Teacher” shoot is the latest film production at the library with Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon filming there a few months ago and cable TV series "Royal Pains" also shot several sequences at the nearby Wainwright House.

If that keeps up, they will just have to start calling Rye Hollywood on the Sound.