Venues
Events
MediaFilm
How I Stole Food from the Set of The Switch
And lived to tell the tale—and got a turkey burger too
Looking for food too (Photo: Miramax Films)
| | More
Living in New York City, you’re used to passing by film sets on a near daily basis. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Gossip Girl filming around Lincoln Center (although only once have I seen any of the show’s stars, the one time being Chace Crawford and Blake Lively sitting on a bench, which was just as exciting as it sounds). Usually, you’re told to “keep moving!” by a frantic PA, who’s just hoping to keep the crowd quiet and not get headbutted by an angry resident.
Occasionally, though, you’ll come across a set with no stars and PAs in sight, and, most importantly, free food, even if it’s not meant for you. For a hungry college student, that’s better than seeing, or even meeting, Jennifer Aniston.
In spring 2009, when The Switch was still called the much more disgusting The Baster, a camera crew set up outside my college, The New School, on Sixth Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. I had just gotten out of my morning class and went down to the newspaper office in the basement of the building. All of us cool kids from the New School Free Press hung out in this 10 x 10 box during our breaks and, in the case of one dedicated News Editor, kept our cutoff jeans in there too. You know, just in case. Of what, still not sure.
My friend Joe and I went to get something to eat before our next class, and probably decided to get Two Bros or some other .99¢ pizza place nearby (remember, we’re poor). But then we saw it: trailers, camera equipment, lighting stuff (note: I am not a film set expert) and a whole buffet of unguarded food. There were hamburgers, turkey burgers, hot dogs, chips; it was like the Fourth of July, but in the spring. And in the middle of Sixth Avenue.
We both looked at one another and knew that we needed to snag this grub. Or at least try. The brilliant minds we are, our plan consisted of: Let’s walk up to the buffet really confidently, like we work on set. Maybe someone would even think we’re the stars of the film and ask for our autograph? Joe kind of looks like Michael Cera, after all, and considering Jason Bateman’s in the film…Or maybe Jeff Goldblum, who’s inexplicably in the film, would cover over to the food table the same time as us, and the three of us would strike up a conversation and Dr. Ian Malcolm would invite us to Jurassic Park? Or we could just re-enact the dinner scene.
With determined steps (and no Jeff Goldblum in sight), we got to the table, picked up a plate and started piling the food on. Hey, as long as we’re here, might as well make it worth it. The only thing I remember eating was a turkey burger because, holy crap, the thing was huge, and delicious. I remember thinking to myself, “If this is how rich people live, count me in.” Thing is, the food was probably intended for the crew who aren’t Aniston or Bateman, so a) we were assholes for stealing from the deserved and b) that turkey burger was delicious!
When we had gathered enough food to cure our hunger for .99¢ pizza, we walked away, without a word from anyone. Except from fellow classmates walking on the street, who wondered where the food came from and how they could get it. Our mission accomplished, we told them and wished them good luck. A minute later, someone from the catering company caught wind of what was going on, and started asking people for identification. We were the only New School students to steal food from the set of a major motion picture that day.
So, thank you The Baster/The Switch for providing me with free food and a story that’s much less badass than it sounds. I thought about purchasing a ticket to see the film this weekend to, y’know, show them gratitude, but then I remembered how awful it looked, and decided to save the $12 for 12 slices at Two Bros.