The movie cameras continue to roll throughout downtown Detroit, most recently for the spy flick "The Double," starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. The movie is set in Paris, and Detroit is providing all of the backdrops because of the wide range of architecture available here.One scene was shot Tuesday at Coaches Corner, a bar in Harmonie Park that takes on the brief roll of a French bistro in the movie. By Thursday, there was little evidence remaining that a movie crew had come in on Monday and tore everything off the walls, taped the scenes on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and put everything back together on Wednesday. This chalkboard - which announces the name of the place in the movie as Le Petit Escargot - was left hanging by the front door. The manager also showed me a few splatters of fake blood outside on the sidewalk that were left behind. (The scene included a stabbing of some sort.)
Scenes for "The Double" are going to be filmed throughout Detroit, including in a nine-story garage across the street from work where many Free Press and News employees park. We at work cleverly refer to the building as The Nine-Story Garage; in the movie, it's going to serve as the exterior for a hospital in Paris.
