Two middle-aged tourists walked up to the Dior store in midtown Manhattan, looking to browse the selection of luxury goods and maybe splurge while on vacation. Before they could enter, though, a no-nonsense woman holding a clipboard, stopped them in their tracks: “Sorry, the store is closed until next week.”
There was nothing online to indicate the store’s closure on this brutally hot Wednesday in July. And to be fair, the sidewalks of New York City are perpetually chaotic. But had the couple taken a look to the left — or just a gander across the street — they’d notice the crew members with walkie talkies, paparazzi with jumbo cameras, a video village set up nearby and a gaggle of black directors chairs, one of which was emblazoned with the name Andy.
All the fanfare was for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” which has captivated the masses while filming around Manhattan. This afternoon’s setup involved shooting inside Dior, a relief during a blistering heatwave for the film’s well-dressed stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. But the floor-to-ceiling windows were completely covered by large sheets of crumpled brown paper, meaning that nobody can see inside — much to the disappointment of the many spectators who accumulated across the street. No less than 60 people were gathered on the narrow shady patch of sidewalk with their cellphones raised and ready to capture a photo or video, should they be lucky enough to get a glimpse of the all-powerful Miranda Priestly in the flesh.
Stargazing proved difficult because much of the already-obscured action was playing out on the other side of 57th Street, across a six-lane thoroughfare that was busy with taxis, trucks and speedy bikers.
Diana Nassar, a Prime Video employee who lives in Manhattan, took a break from work to snap selfies and take pictures of the crew. She’d been following the production on Instagram and was devastated to learn that she missed the “Devil Wears Prada 2” contingent when they were filming earlier this week in front of her office. When she posted about her disappointment on social media, users notified her of the production’s plans to shoot on Madison Avenue. Though the address was wrong, she ran into a crew member who not only pointed her in the right direction but also shared the entire remaining shooting schedule. And he gave her a water bottle to “stay hydrated.”
“I just want to see something in action,” Nassar said. “If there’s any chance to see [movies being filmed] in my city, I’m more than happy to join.”
Disney’s 20th Century, which is backing the movie, isn’t advertising where Streep and her co-stars will next appear. But a few telltale clues have been popping up around the city, namely production notices bearing the name “cerulean,” a reference to the particular shade of blue that inspires a withering monologue from Miranda in the original film.
Other onlookers traveled great distances to see Hollywood’s midtown takeover. Alison Stewart, a high school teacher from Scotland, went on a sightseeing tour of U.S. film locations with her sister, Sarah McManus, that took them to New York, as well as Forks, Washington, where the “Twilight” movies were set. They watched “Devil Wears Prada” on their flight and were excited to learn a sequel was being shot at the same time they were scheduled to have a layover in the Big Apple.
“We saw Meryl Streep come out of a car,” said Stewart, sporting a T-shirt that paid homage to Forks’ fictional police chief Charlie Swan. “Nobody knew she was in there, so when she came out it was exciting.”
The sisters got there around 11 a.m. and were prepared to stay put until they had to depart for a flight at 6:30 p.m. “You can’t believe how long it takes to film one scene,” McManus said.
Amal Matmati, a software engineer from New York, decided to brave the heat to see some of the biggest stars in the world in their most glamorous outfits.
“I want to see all the fashion, the looks and the costumes,” Matmati said.
Paparazzi, who were out in force on Wednesday, have already snapped photos of many of the new looks that Hathaway, Streep and Blunt will debut on screen. But Matmati doesn’t believe that seeing them months before “The Devil Wears Prada 2” opens will spoil her excitement for the film.
“It’s out of context,” she said. “It makes you want to understand what’s happening there. It makes me more excited to see the movie.”
But is it really worth the risk of heat stroke, as temperatures near 100 degrees, for a quick look at Streep or Hathaway exiting a store or piling into a town car? As Priestley herself might bristle, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
