It’s not every day you see Tina Fey and Amy Poehler shopping at your neighborhood retail store. But that was the case last Thursday as camera crews, producers, makeup artists, bodyguards and some of the funniest people in Hollywood descended upon the Big Lots in Hicksville to film a scene for Universal Studios’ upcoming comedy, The Nest.
Big Lots remained open for most of the day, with certain aisles closed off to make room for equipment. Lighting equipment and huge trucks could be seen in front of the store and certain aisles inside were marked off to make room for equipment and props.
The Nest stars Fey and Poehler as two sisters who while cleaning out their childhood home, throw one final wild party for their former high school classmates. In the scene at Big Lots, the two could be seen pushing shopping carts overflowing with goods toward the door, only to be stopped by Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids). We can only imagine that what follows is hilarious dialogue.
Local residents got as close as they could to catch a glimpse of the stars through the windows.
Hicksville High School junior Alexander Kalemkeridis was at school and heard that Amy Poehler was filming at Big Lots. Knowing that Poehler and Fey are real-life best friends, Kalemkeridis came down to the set in hopes that his heroine would be around.
“I adore Tina Fey, she’s my idol. She’s smart and has so many achievements and is such an inspiration. I think it’s really exciting that I could maybe meet her,” said Kalemkeridis, who spent over six hours at the set hoping to get a picture with Fey.
Michael Themistocleous is a film major at LIU Post and lover of all things comedy. “It’s so exciting to think this is less than a mile away from my house,” he said. “Plus three comedy legends are here so I’m enthralled by this.”
While around the set, Themistocleous got to mingle with some of the crew and pick up some tips about his future profession.
“They showed me some programs and told me some tips about how to apply and where to apply. It’s helped with my future career quite a lot,” Themistocleous said.
Hicksville resident Marissa Lant got a heads up about the filming from her parents who were eating at the nearby Friendly’s and immediately called her friend Lisa Mantone to come scope out the scene.
“I thought she was pulling my leg! I’ve never had a movie filmed by my house before,” said Mantone. “Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are so amazing. I love both of them.”
“I just think it’s really nice that this is so close to our home and that we can be privy to this and that we can stand here and look in the window and see Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. That’s like a once in a lifetime thing,” said Lant.
The film also stars James Brolin (Catch Me If You Can) and Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project), and with Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) directing and a script by Paula Pell (writer for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock) the movie is sure to be comedy gold.
The movie will continue filming all over New York, including in Westchester and several more locations on Long Island. The Nest is set to release in theaters Dec. 18, 2015.
