I’ve written a lot about CBGB over the past year, most recently about the soon-to-be-released soundtrack. You can see some of my photos from the set at that link as well.

Before the movie’s premiere at the CBGB Festival in October, I’ll repost my best shots of the filming, as well as some photos that I’ve never before published.

The USA Today piece seems to have come out at a bit of an odd time — two months out seems just long enough that it will be hard to sustain whatever anticipation the article creates.

Anyway, from that piece:

The film focuses on the early days, when owner and operator Hilly Kristal gave a stage to a mix of new and veteran underground performers such as Iggy Pop, Blondie, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, The Police and Talking Heads.

“It was this iconic place, and it has this kind of history,” says writer/director Randall Miller, who worked on the film with his writer/producer wife, Jody Savin. “But people don’t know how it all began. And that’s what we wanted to tell, the origin of all of this.”

Kristal (Alan Rickman), a classically trained musician and jazz club manager, had planned to open a forum for country, bluegrass and blues performers, hence the CBGB initials on the now-famous logo.

“But that’s not what came to him in New York’s Bowery in the 1970s,” Savin says. “But he understood music enough to know that maybe these young folks didn’t have musicianship, but a voice and something new. And the notion of giving them a stage was heroic.”

UPDATE: Here’s the new trailer. Thoughts?:

And here’s a fresh edit of one of the shots I took on set, with The Dead Boys — Justin Bartha as Stiv Bators, Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome, and Bronson Adams as Johnny Blitz. I haven’t posted one of this size before — click for a larger image.

Click here for another couple dozen photos from the CBGB set.

Click here for all of my posts about CBGB.

ORIGINAL POST:

I hung out in downtown Savannah much of Wednesday evening near the CBGB set on Congress Street.

What a great time.

The highlight was definitely seeing the real Cheetah Chrome, who has a small role in the movie. Rather idiotically, when I spotted him from my barstool at The Jinx, I ran out onto the sidewalk and got his attention by saying, “Mr. Chrome!”

Really, who calls an icon of punk “Mr.”?

Anyway, he seemed very nice.

The security and other crew were doing a good job of shooing bystanders as far away as possible, but I did manage to get a few photos. I apologize in advance, however, for the lack of resolution. I really don’t have the right equipment to do photography at that distance, looking into the sunset.

I’ll post more tomorrow, but for now here’s one of Rupert Grint as Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys. He looks appropriately decadent in a dog collar. To the left is Justin Bartha as the ill-fated Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys. And I guess that’s Bronson Adams as Johnny Blitz on the right, but I’m not 100% certain.

The scene appeared to be one where the trio left CBGB in a rush of anger and stormed down the street.