Body heat helped in frigid Southold shoot of 'Romantics'

The North Fork is beautiful. But it's not exactly the best place to jump in the water. In December.

But that's what Katie Holmes, Adam Brody, Elijah Wood and the other stars of "The Romantics" did - twice - when shooting in Southold last fall. "It was freezing," says co-star (and Roslyn native) Rebecca Lawrence, recalling the scene that required most of the cast to leap into the water in just their skivvies. "We thought we got it on the first take, and were celebrating and warming up when the director says, 'Uhhh, guys? I think we need to do it again.'

"I immediately latched on to Adam [Brody] for body warmth," Lawrence says. "Leaping in was great. I think everyone should do it once. Just not on Dec. 4."

SHOOTING THE NORTH FORK

The cast and crew spent five months shooting in the main house and guest cottage at Old Field Vineyard, a family-owned vineyard in Southold. They bunked at The Greenporter or Sound View Inn in Greenport, and hung at local haunts like The Frisky Oyster. By all reports, they enjoyed the region's tranquillity. "I fell in love with it right away," says director Galt Niederhoffer. "It's just a beautiful part of the world. Those expanses of vineyards give it this beautiful, golden green glint. And it's so quiet and . . . blessedly underpopulated."

THE NEWCOMER FROM LI

For Lawrence, who was the new kid in the cast (her other major film credit is "The Kids Are All Right"), coming back to Long Island to film was comforting.

"When we'd drive to or from the city, and we'd pass my exit, I'd show everyone 'that's where I grew up,' " she says.

Before Lawrence moved - she attended Harvard and now lives in Los Angeles - she appeared in shows at Roslyn High and Hofstra. Fun . . . but a far cry from performing in a film alongside prime paparazzi targets like Holmes. "That must've been interesting for Greenport," Lawrence says. "It was new for me, that's for sure. There were times where I'd show up in a website in a blurry shot, and it would say 'Katie Holmes is hugging Adam Brody.' And I thought - 'wait a minute - that's my costume!' "

Lawrence was busy during the shoot, so didn't get home much. "One weekend, I crashed in my old bedroom," she recalls. She caught a ride with crew members and Elijah Wood, who offered to carry her luggage.

"On set, we were all treated as equals," she says. "But to have this actor who I've always admired carry my bags up my driveway to the house where I grew up - it was definitely surreal. And wonderful."