Lights, Cameras, Plenty of Action
Trailers and cranes, generators and boom lights, miles of cable and legions of production assistants are a common sight on the streets of Manhattan. While the South Fork has seen its share of one or two-trailer photo shoots, full-scale film production is less common, especially in such relatively unspoiled locations as the narrow lanes that crisscross the dunes of Amagansett.
It was a surprise, therefore, for some of the residents of Dune Lane, Marine Boulevard, and Jacqueline Drive when a convoy of trucks camped in their neighborhood last week for three nights of filming at an oceanfront house.
The crew from the pilot of “The Affair,” a new Showtime series, is expected to complete almost two weeks of filming in the area tomorrow, after having deployed at such sites as the Lobster Roll on the Napeague Stretch, Cedar Lawn Cemetery on Cooper Lane in East Hampton, and a Wainscott soundstage.
“The Affair” explores two marriages, the infidelity that disrupts them, and the fallout that ensues. Joshua Jackson (“Fringe,” “Dawson’s Creek”) plays Cole, a hard-bitten cowboy who manages a ranch on the eastern tip of Long Island that has been in his family for generations. Cole’s wife, Allison (the Golden Globe nominee Ruth Wilson), who works in a pancake house, is trying to reconstruct her life in the wake of a tragedy.
Cole and Allison’s emotionally charged marriage becomes even more complicated when Allison begins an affair with Noah (Dominic West, also a Golden Globe nominee), a New York City high school teacher spending the summer on Long Island with his wife and four children. Maura Tierney, an Emmy nominee who starred in “E.R.,” plays Helen, Noah’s college sweetheart and wife of 17 years, whose world is shaken by Noah’s infidelity and who, over time, teeters between understanding and anger, forgiveness and vengeance. The story is told from both the male and female perspectives.
Sarah Treem, the producer and writer of the Netflix series “House of Cards,” starring Kevin Spacey, and Hagai Levi, the executive producer of “In Treatment,” are co-creators of the series. According to the production company’s New York office, a release date has not been set for the pilot.