They could have been just about any couple seeking a couple of scoops of ice cream on a hot summer night.
The strapping young man with bleach-blond hair sauntered up to the takeout window at Dairy Circus and placed an order. His attractive female companion watched on, smiling as she softly cradled an infant in her arms.
It’s a scene that could play out at the small restaurant on Sacandaga Road during just about any midsummer night. But normally, the two at the window aren’t Hollywood stars Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes.
Mendes is apparently a new addition to the filming of Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines” this week. Gosling was the only identifiable Hollywood actor when filming began last week.
Still, Gosling remained the object of affection for most of the fans that turned out for Thursday’s shoot at the Dairy Circus. Dozens of women and teenage girls crowded around a compound of trailers set up behind Scotia-Glenville High School in the hope of capturing a picture of the Hollywood heartthrob. Mendes’ arrival to the shoot seemed ancillary to many of the fans.
“I said his name and he waved,” exclaimed Daniella Pedone, who captured a picture of Gosling on her cellphone.
The filming created buzz that kept curious onlookers pacing around the Dairy Circus throughout the late afternoon and into the evening. Hundreds of people gathered across the street from the restaurant at the high school in the hope of watching the filming, only to be pushed hundreds of feet away from the action by producers fearing they’d get into their shot.
Still, crafty fans found ways to get a close-up view of the action without drawing ire from the film crew. Katie Rubasky pulled her car into the Scotia Sunoco Mart next door to the Dairy Circus and slowly filled her tank with gas.
“I was told this was the place to be,” she said quietly, while watching the film shoot a short distance away.
Others skirted the one village police officer on hand during the shoot by ducking into the small convenience store. Several onlookers stood inside watching the action next door while enjoying token purchases.
Station owner Ejaz Ahmad said the film producers alerted him of the filming several months ago, but never asked him to close his store for the shoot. As a result, there were plenty of people stopping in to top off their gas tanks or pick up a soda.
“It’s a little bit busier, yes, ” he said.
The rush to take pictures of the two stars at the conclusion of the shoot led to one spectator getting injured. Members of the Scotia Fire Department treated a woman who twisted her ankle when a crowd of people tried to rush toward the set.
In the film, Ryan Gosling stars as Luke Glanton, a stunt motorcycle rider who turns to a life of crime to support his newborn child. He is doggedly pursued by Avery Cross, a rookie cop portrayed by Bradley Cooper, spurring a generational feud that extends from his career in law enforcement through his election as county district attorney.
Filming this week has allowed fans candid access to the production. That’s likely to change Monday, when swaths of State Street, Albany Street and Brandywine Avenue will be closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic from midmorning until late in the evening.
Categories: Schenectady County
