Article from The Daily Camera:
Caption said:
Actress Jennifer Garner chats with Ally Walker, left, Alli Bowdey and Suzy Jed while they were having coffee Thursday morning at Bookend Cafe on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall. Walker, Bowdey and Jed drove from Louisville in hopes of catching a glimpse of Garner and edned up getting some conversation and autographs.
Filming takes over Pearl St.
Boulderites may notice many local hallmarks when movie is released
By Kim Castleberry, Camera Staff Writer
July 29, 2005
It's official: Jennifer Garner is down with Boulder.
The actress seemed particularly fond of the Bookend Cafe — dashing in and out a couple of times, greeting young fans and flashing a Hollywood smile with a dimple too deep to be anything but the real thing.
"I love Boulder," Garner said. "I'm really happy we're here."
And so are shopkeepers along the Pearl Street Mall where filming took place all day Thursday, drawing huge crowds of star-struck gawkers. The film "Catch and Release" began shooting earlier this week and is set in Boulder, although most of the filming is in Vancouver, Canada.
When the movie is released, Boulderites will notice some familiar Pearl Street hallmarks, including the Paper Doll pig, shoppers carrying Art Mart bags and that guy in the brightly colored pants who wows audiences daily by twisting himself into pretzel-like positions.
Troy Rivington, owner of Paper Doll, said he was more than happy to lend his pig to the movie.
"It's really become an icon of Boulder with all of the tourists down here," he said. "We just told them the pig has to have a credit in the movie, but I don't think it's going to happen."
The hustle and flow of foot traffic along Pearl Street came to periodic halts as filming moved down the mall, but store owners didn't seem to mind.
Julie Luther, Paper Doll store manager, said all of the exposure can do nothing but good things for the local economy.
One Pearl Street store in particular reaped the economic benefits of having a big-budget movie star right outside the door.
Garner paid Pedestrian Shops a visit Thursday afternoon, buying 16 pairs of Crocs for family, friends and castmates on her hit TV show "Alias."
"She was very sweet," store owner Richard Polk said. "She projects some pretty wholesome energy."
Martin Cuff, director of the Colorado Film Commission, said he has been told that "Catch and Release" is spending $100,000 a day while in Boulder, the bulk of it with Colorado businesses. Cuff said the state needs to work harder to bring movies here because of the economic benefits.
He said movies benefit all sectors, not just those directly involved with filmmaking.
"Someone tonight is placing a locally made chocolate on Jennifer Garner's pillow," he said. "That chocolate would not be there if this movie was not being made in Colorado. It's a huge trickle-down effect."
Cuff is part of an effort to get an initiative on the ballot this fall that would provide tax incentives to movies that choose to film in Colorado. He said many other states, including Arizona and Wyoming, already offer incentives.
Filming of "Catch and Release" is expected to continue through Saturday.
Camera Staff Writers Michael Cote and Corey Dahl contributed to this report.
and thanks for the new pictures. They're very cute. ^_^