Watching The Office

But of course, the branch office there has closed down. John Krasinski returns to that place, though, to shoot his movie with Maya Rudolph, Farlanders.

STAMFORD - Refusing to be typecast, Stamford is expanding its range on the silver screen, offering itself to filmmakers as the city of a thousand faces.

Film crews and makeup trailers have been no stranger to Stamford streets since July 2006, when Connecticut began offering a 30 percent tax credit to filmmakers. Still, residents may be surprised to see Bedford Street masquerading as downtown Montreal or a Vine Road home impersonating a Colorado residence in a forthcoming Sam Mendes film.

Mendes, the British director known for his Oscar-winning “American Beauty,” moves into the realm of romantic comedy with a movie written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, currently using the working title “Farlanders.” The movie follows an expectant couple - John Krasinski of NBC’s “The Office” and Maya Rudolph of “Saturday Night Live” - around North America as they search for the perfect place to settle down and raise a family. Among the places they visit are Montreal, Colorado and Arizona - faraway places that will seem close to home to Stamford residents because these scenes were filmed in their backyard.

“It’s pretty amazing because none of the scenes are of Connecticut,” said Chris Weiser, a scenic foreman for the film who worked on Bedford Street during filming May 23. “Our job has basically been to make it look like something else.”

Weiser and the rest of the “Farlanders” film crew transformed Remo’s Brick Oven Pizza on Bedford Street into a 24-hour French-Canadian diner. In the film, Krasinski and Rudolph stop at Remo’s for pancakes after a night on the town.

The “Farlanders” location scout was attracted to Remo’s because its black-and-white tiled floor and lighting fixtures gave the restaurant a French feel, Weiser said.

“I’m kind of proud,” said Eugenio Marraffa, the restaurant’s co-owner. “They chose this place because of the ambiance.”

To prepare for filming, the “Farlanders” crew added French lettering to Remo’s interior and exterior. They added two 24-hour breakfast signs, one in French and one in English, outside the restaurant and pasted French lettering on the main windows. They left the diner’s name as Remo’s, however, which the owners said will give the restaurant good exposure.

“Remo’s the name is going to be (in the movie),” said Anthony Nargi, Marraffa’s partner. “And people, if they do go to see ‘Farlanders,’ will recognize Remo’s. It’s there.”

Full article here.

John Krasinksi, Farlanders, John Krasinski in Stramford