HBO executives wanted to film new series, "The Undoing", starring Grant and Kidman, on the Hamptons island that has just 2,500 residents. But when location scout Linda Perkins appealed to the town council for permission to film for three days in May, pagesix.com was told she was met by grumpy faces.
An onlooker at the meeting said, "The only one who gave her a warm welcome was Gary Gerth, the town supervisor, who said, 'We're excited'." But others "were worried about noise from a helicopter scene, and the late-night filming causing disruption".
HBO reportedly needed an old summer house and also hoped to film a scene with a helicopter that involves an arrest. The chopper would have hovered overhead and not landed on the island.
Perkins said around 80-100 members of cast and crew would be working on Shelter Island and planned to use all the local restaurants and hotels and rentals.
But Shelter Island councilman Jim Colligan said he was worried about "light noise" from the late-night shoot, and called the suggested $15,000 filming fee "archaic", according to notes taken at the meeting.
He also said because his daughter was in the film industry, he knew what chaos would ensue. Other councilmen were worried about the "whole mess". Days later, Colligan told the group, "They didn't pick us. They didn't want us."
A local said, "The councilors made this big deal about filming, when it would have given the locals a lot of money in food and rentals. People are annoyed."
( With inputs from IANS )