'CBGB' brings iconic New York club to Savannah, graffitied toilets and all
When Savannah stands in for skid row New York later this month, it will get some help in terms of authenticity.
The actual bar - and toilets - of iconic club CBGB will be shipped here and installed on the set of the rock movie that's borrowing its name, "CBGB" producers said Thursday. It's part of a meticulous process that's already transforming the interior of local Meddin Studios into an exact replica of the hallowed birthplace of punk rock.
"We're bringing in the original bar and the toilets - those famous toilets," producer and co-writer Jody Savin explained. "Graffiti and all."
Click here to read about a "Twilight" star joining the cast of "CBGB."
"The shell should be ready by Monday for us to start moving things in," added Nick Gant, Meddin's creative director, pointing out locations for the stage, mixing area and notorious bathroom on set.
There's also a lowered area where producers will shoot false exteriors of the Bowery, with virtual New York looking north across Louisville Road, west of downtown Savannah.
"People keep asking, 'Why Georgia instead of New York?'" Gant said. "New York is so expensive, so there's a real incentive here."
SLIDESHOW: Click here to view photos of movies filmed in Savannah
The film, which stars acclaimed English actor Alan Rickman as club owner Hilly Kristal, will begin shooting June 25, Savin said, and "last about five weeks - toward the end of July."
That will be preceded by an open call for extras Tuesday, when producers harvest Savannah for its best of the 1970s. But the cast already includes plenty of local talent.
"We found amazing talent out of SCAD," Savin said. "I'd say half the cast is going to be local."
To double-check that claim, she counted a grid of 50 actors' faces, led by Rickman, on a secluded studio wall. Joining him were Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and John Galecki of CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," who both came aboard earlier this week; then a host of other notables including Malin Akerman, Stana Katic, Joel David Moore, Julian Acosta - and Rupert Grint, who Savin and director Randall Miller had in mind from the beginning.
"When we were writing the script, we wanted Rupert to play Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys," Savin said. "He just looks so much like him. And we're excited to see Rupert in a dog collar, with a scowl."
The wall of faces still had some blanks - including one for the role of the Velvet Underground's Lou Reed - but those would be filled in soon, Savin said.
"We're going to have some more real life rock-and-rollers," she promised.
CBGB opened in 1973 and hosted breakout shows by the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Patti Smith and virtually every major hard-edged rocker since, even serving as the setting for Joey Ramone's wake. The club finally closed in 2006 after Kristal lost a battle to continue his lease. He died of lung cancer a year later.
"It was a [expletive] hole of a bar, attracting the flotsam of humanity," Savin said. "But Hilly was a human being, he accepted all of them.
"It created a kind of energy and revolutionized music," she added. "To us, that's heroic. Hilly was a hero because it's heroic to give young artists a voice."
BE AN EXTRA
The open extras call for "CBGB" is 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday at Meddin Studios, 2315 Louisville Road. Producers are looking for music lovers, musicians, motorcyclists, 1970s car owners and people with an overall '70s look.
