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Smurfs Leave Their Village For NYC
By
Jen Carlson
Published May 21, 2010
Modified May 21, 2010
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Photo of Smurf chairs in Cortlandt Alley, photo via zenametalz's flickr
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By
Jen Carlson
Published May 21, 2010
Modified May 21, 2010
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It's time to talk Smurfs. The blue creatures who entertained us many a Saturday morning are headed to the big screen, and the movie is currently filming far far away from Smurf Village, right here in NYC. One source explained to the Post, "The Smurfs fall through a portal and end up in Central Park, and Gargamel [Hank Azaria], who's chasing them, follows. Neil Patrick Harris is running in Central Park. The Smurfs end up sneaking into his backpack."
Yesterday the production briefly came to a halt, however—reportedly a worker on set took a 30-foot fall from a lift while shooting at FAO Schwarz. This came after 9 hours of shooting a Gargamel/Smurf chase scene in the store, at around 6:30 a.m. The worker is now in stable condition at Bellevue, and it looks like shooting will stay on schedule. Signs are already posted in the East Village, where they'll shoot this weekend—other locations include Cortlandt Alley, the New York Public Library, and next Tuesday, 68th Street and Central Park West. However, until the CGI magicians can start getting their hands dirty, it'll mostly just look like Hank Azaria chasing after nothing—so for now, children of the '80s, rejoice in some old school Smurfs:
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filming
Hank Azaria
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neil patrick harris
Smurf Village
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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