By Pam Fitzpatrick
Earlier this week, as Monrovia’s Volunteer Film Liaison for Old Town, I had the pleasure of walking Old Town with another team of producers and their location manager. This group was from Universal Television and the pilot is intended to air on USA Network with activity beginning next week in Old Town. I don’t have a detailed schedule at this time, but it appears that the filming activity will be on July 19th and 20th in several locations, including Library Park, W. Lime, the 400 block of South Myrtle (east side) as well as the 500 block of South Myrtle (east side). Here’s a short synopsis of the story line taken from their internet posting:
“USA Network has given a pilot order to a new scripted drama from executive producer Brian Duffield, the screenwriter of “Insurgent.” The pilot, titled “Olive Forever,” follows the exploits of Olive, a mysterious high school student who leads a double-life as a cat burglar. New to a sleepy town with a criminal underbelly, Olive must navigate new foster parents, new boyfriends, new gangsters, and new crime opportunities.” Hmmm… so Monrovia Old Town will be the “sleepy town with a criminal underbelly.” I do love a mystery!
Spoiler alert – don’t be scared if you see “mock” graffiti on the side of one of our buildings, or if you drive by the Krikorian Theater and see the marquee has been taken over by the film crew: it’s all part of the plan. I remember several years ago even though I knew there was going to be filming in town, I panicked when I saw a “Going Out of Business” sign on one of my favorite shops. Turns out, the sign was part of the filming and I almost spread a false rumor around town.
Speaking of going out of business, I was sad to see that a long-time local business has left their spot on E. Colorado. Not sure if that State Farm office moved to another location, or closed, but I’m really sorry to see them go. I saw a FB posting that another one of our small retailers will be closing, but not sure when. And – we still have the large empty space on W. Lemon looking or a tenant. It’s seriously been awhile since we had several empty spaces (not counting that sorry 316 building and the old Los Guerros site on Myrtle, the permanent vacancies), so I think it’s time to spread the word again that Old Town Monrovia is the place to be. The 600 block of S. Myrtle will soon have more activity with the pending opening (any day now!) of the Copper Still Grill. Have you seen their new sign? It’s really cool – and, they are looking for employees. Finally!
I thought I was going to miss the merchant meeting this week because of the “Olive Forever” walkthrough, but I just made it in time. We did talk about the parking issue (or lack of parking issue) in Old Town, and I think last week’s Monrovia Weekly headline story, “In Monrovia, Parking is Such Sweet Sorrow,” was spot- on. If you read the article, you know it discussed various ways to mitigate the parking problem, at least temporarily, including making adjustments to some of the inconsistent red curb markings, better signage to indicate current parking available, and there was a discussion of valet parking. The plan is to move forward with some of the suggestions, so let’s see how fast this rolls out.
Now, don’t forget the Traditional Music Gathering at Library Park (7 p.m.) on July 29th and the Monrovia Wine Walk on Saturday, August 26th (6 – 9 p.m.) – then, it’s the Monrovia Car Show on Saturday, September 9th (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and the Taste of Old Town on Sunday, October 15th (5 p.m.)!
