Oscar-winning director uses Northport as backdrop

Downtown Northport was transformed into an outdoor television studio Sunday as Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow filmed a scene for a planned HBO series.

Bigelow and a fleet of television production personnel set up near Main Street and Bayview Avenue at 7 a.m. to film an approximately minute-long scene for "The Miraculous Year," a pilot Bigelow is directing for the cable network.

Bigelow, who won the 2009 best director Oscar for "The Hurt Locker," left the area around 11 a.m., when her crew began breaking down the scene.

The village learned of Bigelow's desire to shoot in Northport on Friday afternoon and granted her crew a permit, said Sgt. John Schneider of the Northport Village Police Department. HBO agreed to pay the approximately $1,200 cost of having two village police officers work overtime to direct traffic, he said.

The action caused mild traffic delays and attracted some gawking. But Peter Panarites, owner of Northport Sweet Shop, said he was only upset that Susan Sarandon, one of the stars of the show, wasn't in attendance.

"I was always a fan of hers. She's easy on the eyes," he said.

The crew originally intended to shoot on Tuesday in Sea Cliff, but bad weather is forecast, and Sea Cliff wasn't available this weekend, said second assistant director Taka Kawakami.

The show is set to be a dramatic series about a Broadway composer and will also star Norbert Leo Butz, Frank Langella and Hope Davis.

An air date for the first episode has not been set, Kawakami said.

Shooting in Northport was a one-day event, he said.

"I don't think it was an inconvenience for the village as a whole," said Deputy Mayor Henry Tobin.