Tommy Lee Jones — and the ‘Finestkind’ crew — appear to have a favorite New Bedford restaurant
"It was kind of cool to have a celebrity here.”
MOVIES:
Tommy Lee Jones appears to have found a favorite New Bedford restaurant.
For two Sundays in a row, the Oscar-winner and his wife have dined at downtown’s The Black Whale, says front of house manager Cynthia Lawrence.
With crime thriller “Finestkind” set in the New Bedford region, A-list cast and crew have been spotted filming around the area, from Brockton to Fairhaven.
Written by New Bedford-raised Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland — whose long list of credits include “LA Confidential” and “Mystic River” — the New Bedford-set “Finestkind” centers on two brothers, played by Boston native Ben Foster and Toby Wallace (“Babyteeth”), who make a deal with a Boston crime syndicate. Jones, 75, plays their father.
That first Sunday, Jones walked in and “asked for a quiet area. I sat them at the hightop. People were buzzing,” Lawrence said.
Jones was “like a normal person,” she adds. “He asked for a quiet area to sit and everyone was respectful. We just left him alone, really. He came in with his wife; she was very nice. It was kind of cool to have a celebrity here.”
She doesn’t know what they ordered — but evidently they liked it.
The Joneses made reservations for this past Sunday: “They sat by the window, right in a quiet little corner,” she said.
She added that “producers and some of the makeup people have been dining with us regularly over the last couple weeks. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Filming of the movie has had the South Coast buzzing for weeks now.
Just yesterday, Jones was spotted filming at Supreme Coffee & Donuts in Brockton by the Brockton Enterprise. In April, actor Tim Daly was spotted filming a scene in Fairhaven at Rasputin’s Tavern, according to The Standard-Times of New Bedford. Production took over a home on Edward Foster Road in Scituate in early May, according to the Patriot Ledger.
When the film releases, you’ll see quite a few familiar spots — and maybe some familiar faces. Last month they put out a casting call for locals.
Lauren Daley can be reached at ldaley33@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurendaley1.