Each spring as the temperature around the country begins to rise, helicopters can be seen circling the outer reaches of Long Island. Traffic moves at a snail’s pace along its Expressway as the rich, famous and aspiring head out to the Hamptons. It’s where east coast meets west coast amongst the summery beach breezes of the Atlantic Ocean, where finance meets creativity on Further Lane and, inevitably, where many ideas are developed and deals brokered.
In the past, Hamptons life has been depicted on screens of all sizes–making a convenient excuse for production members to haul set out to the white beaches and quaint streets of the New York vacation spot. Joining that elite pack was the recent cast and crew of The Weinstein Company’s The Nanny Diaries, which gathered in the town of East Hampton to film scenes for the movie, released August 24. Based on the best-selling book of the same name, The Nanny Diaries follows recent college graduate Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) in her pursuit of employment and purpose in life. When a nanny position opens up for a family in Manhattan’s swanky Upper East Side neighborhood, the humble, working-class young woman accepts and is subsequently drawn into the world of proper social etiquette and summers in the Hamptons.
The small town of East Hampton, Long Island, is comprised of the even smaller villages of Wainscott, East Hampton Village, Springs, Amagansett and Montauk. All carry a distinct appeal and are part of both New York’s substantial working and upper-class histories. Founded in 1648 by a group of farmers, East Hampton largely remained a farming community until the mid-1800s, when it began to conform to the needs of the wealthy and powerful that looked to escape the unnatural walls of New York City life to the Hamptons’ open expanse of beaches. Today the lighthouse of Montauk, many farmhouses of Wainscott and buildings of Amagansett date back to the original settlers. Even the town pond has been around since the first settlers made their home there.
Setting up shop in the now chic Island town requires permission from the larger state film board known the world over as “NY Loves Film.†Through them you can coordinate with offices statewide to apply for permits and shoot in the national parks. And while the Long Island Expressway might be a hassle as a weekend commuter, you’ll find a police escort to be the key in making that tense traffic scene pitch perfect. In East Hampton, the possibilities are endless for historical dramas, modern day romances and adventures on the high seas, all while staying in the summer’s hottest (and coolest) east coast escape.
East Hampton, “America’s Most Beautiful Village,†was also featured in:
Grey Gardens(1975)
Annie Hall (1977)
Town & Country (2001)
Something�(tm)s Gotta Give (2003)
The Door in the Floor (2004)
The Forgotten (2004)
For more information, visit www.nylovesfilm.com or www.hamptons.com.
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