Since ‘House M.D.’ films in L.A., I made sure I didn’t miss one of my last opportunities to meet Hugh Laurie on the set of his current movie ‘The Oranges‘ in New Rochelle, NY. The cast also includes Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) and Adam Brody (The O.C.) which made the set visit even more worthwhile.
After close to an hour and a half drive on Wednesday, April 21st, I found myself in the beautiful town of New Rochelle, which offers the scenery for the movie, ‘The Oranges‘. However, the storyline actually takes place in New Jersey, which would have been a shorter drive had they filmed there.
The filming location was at a local residence and like most filming locations at private homes, the crew made sure that fans were standing practically around the corner. All of the scenes being filmed on this particular day took place inside the house, so there wasn’t much to see to begin with. Occasionally the actors would come out to take a cigarette break, talk on the phone, or just relax since it was a bright sunny day.
When I asked one of the crew members about Hugh Laurie, I was told that earlier in the day they had paparazzi all over the place which made the actors nervous. I later found out that this was a fabrication, making me wonder if the next thing I heard was true. Apparently Hugh Laurie has a stalker. According to a member of the crew, “he received gifts at the house they were filming at a week before they started filming.”
Continue reading to see more set news, pics, and video of Adam riding his scooter.
Now I don’t know if this was the reason that earlier in the week he told a fan who asked for an autograph, “I can’t. I’m working.” Either way, this serves as an important note to all fans, avoid sending gifts to obscure locations and just wait to give the gift to them in person. It’s safe to say it would be more meaningful that way, to both the celebrity and the fan.
So as you can tell, all I saw was the back of Hugh Laurie‘s head once or twice from a distance. The same went for Leighton Meester and Catherine Keener (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief). Much of the time I spent waiting with two fans, Julia and Anna (with two N’s), who said they met Catherine Keener on another occasion and she was extremely friendly.
Although it seemed like this set visit was going to end with me walking away empty handed, Adam Brody saved the day. He came out of the driveway on a scooter and down the block to greet fans. It only took 5 minutes, but fans including myself, were able to get autographs and pictures with him.
When he was signing an autograph for me, he asked for my name. By the time he got to the second L in Melissa, he said “sorry, I know I’m spelling your name wrong.” While he got Julia’s name right, he also misspelled Anna’s name, using one N instead of two. We didn’t mind though, we were just happy to be getting an autograph and a cute story to tell.
OLV Member Alexandra was also on the set that day, although our paths didn’t cross in the group of 15 people spread out on the “fan” corner.
Alexandra came from the neighboring town of Scarsdale hoping to meet Leighton Meester and Adam Brody. During her time at the set she was able to see Allison Janney, Hugh Laurie, and Adam Brody.
“I was talking with the PAs when Adam rode his scooter over to meet me to say ‘Hi‘,” said Alexandra. “All I was thinking was Oh My God! It’s Adam Brody!”
While this wasn’t her first time on a movie set, she says “this is by far my favorite experience because there was a lot of interaction with the fans, especially Adam. It felt like a one in the million chance.” He even came back on his scooter a short while later and stopped by to say hi to his fans again and sign autographs for those he missed the first time around.
Below is footage of him on his scooter heading back to the set. Thanks to Adam Brody for making this set visit special!
Right before I left the set, I heard that the actors were going to be filming a major scene. One can only wonder what that scene might be! ‘The Oranges‘, which is a movie about a man (Hugh Laurie) who has an affair with the daughter of a family friend (Leighton Meester) that creates a whole slew of drama between the neighbors.
Thanks again to OLV Member Alexandra who sent in her photo and story. If you’ve stopped by a set recently, please send your photos and story to OLV@OnLocationVacations.com or post them on OLV.me.
big thanks olv
Hugh probably has several stalkers, but I doubt it’s going to kill him to come out for five minutes and greet the fans.
[…] Our longtime readers may remember that the film was shot back in the spring of 2010 and also stars Adam Brody. […]