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A neon Miller Lite sign now hangs on a wall at the San Juan Bautista State Park’s Plaza Hotel Bar. A stand-up fridge labeled “Budweiser “has been planted in one corner. And someone, for some reason, has decided the place needs a scattering of rodeo trophies.
The small town has once again become the focus of filmland attention, 66 years after Alfred Hitchcock arrived to shoot “Vertigo.” A sizable number of crew members work to recast locations near the Mission Plaza as a “Southwestern Town” for the “DL Project,” an as-yet-named film by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The biggest beneficiary of the shoot might be the State Park itself, according to Wes Gray, the South Sector manager of the California State Parks Diablo Range District. “They are paying full cost recovery,” he said. “They are paying for all of our staff to monitor the park, for example, and for any moving fees for stuff we had to take out of the buildings. And there is a fee for every day they are on the property.”
All the money paid by the production company, Gray said, would stay with the park, to be used for desperately needed maintenance and repair projects.
Flint Hartman, a Teamster and the only crew member willing to speak on the record for this article, said only that he was grateful for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support of California’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program.
“I want to make it clear that I can’t talk about the shoot,” he said, “but I appreciate our getting this help from the governor. We love getting the money and spreading it to small towns like this one.”
The rest of the crew, when asked about the town, are willing to talk with considerable enthusiasm about the reception they have received and the restaurants they have come to love.
“Everyone has been really nice to us,” one crew member said. “I really like that little sandwich place on the corner. We are on short breaks and don’t have much time to go anywhere, and the food there is great.”
Sarah Griss, the owner of Lolla—“that little sandwich place”—says that the attention she is getting from the crew has been wonderful, and she is happy to serve them as best she can.
“They have all been very polite,” she said, “and they seem to really enjoy our dishes. We’re typically not open Mondays and Tuesdays, but for the time that they’re here, we will be here for them. And I hope they explore the other restaurants here, too.”
Production trailer. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Production trailers. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Staging the bar for the film. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Trophies destined for bar transformation. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Staging the bar for the film. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Work at night in the Zanetta House. Photo by Robert Eliason.
The crew does seem to have explored the town quite a bit. Windmill Market owner Chang So, a member of the BenitoLink Board of Directors, says there has been a rise in his sandwich sales as well. Jardines de San Juan, JJ’s Burgers and Dona Esther’s Mexican Restaurant all report the crew dining there. One crew member praised the brisket at Smoke Point BBQ. Director Anderson was rumored to have dined at Inaka Japanese Restaurant.
Lookie-loos drive past, shouting, “Where’s Leo?” but there is no chance they will get a reply from the crew beyond a weary nod. Their silence is a sign of the tight, potentially career-ending non-disclosure agreements they said they had to sign to work on the film.
DiCaprio, the main attraction, so far seems not to have graced any of the eateries, with only one sighting of him reported near the Mission last week. But Margot Tankersley, owner of Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor, wants him to know that she Googled his favorite flavor—vanilla bean, apparently—and she is ready to serve him a cone or a cup of her best, any time he wants it.
News about the shoot has hit the internet as well, with people around the world hungry for details. A Reddit group devoted to author Thomas Pynchon may have solved one of the most-discussed mysteries: what the film is actually about. Their speculation has centered on his “Vineland,” a novel about a man and his daughter on the run from mysterious government forces.
One sign of how closed off the set will be to the public is the street closures approved by the San Juan Bautista City Council on Feb. 20. City Manager Don Reynolds and councilmembers discussed the logistics of the shoot, which will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. Feb. 26-28. On those days, the following streets will be blocked from public access:
- Second Street between Franklin and Muckelemi streets
- Polk Street between 3rd and 2nd streets
- Mariposa between 3rd and 2nd streets
- Washington Street between 3rd and 2nd streets
- El Camino Real between Franklin and San Jose streets
There will also be nine stations surrounding the production, each manned by park staff, the sheriff’s deputies and private security. Filming will take place in the Zanetta House, the Plaza Hotel Bar, the Mission Plaza and the Mission’s garden.
For those interested in checking out the four-night shoot that starts next week, Gray with the State Parks has one suggestion: stay home.
“The attention that this is getting is actually a negative for the park,” he said. “It’s almost encouraging people to trespass and cross barriers. It is good for the town, and that’s great. But there’s nothing to see, and it’s going to be a closed set.”
Besides the benefit to the park and to all the local businesses, including both hotels, which are fully booked, the city is also getting a slice of the rumored $100 million film budget. Though the city has no filming fees, the company rented the San Juan Bautista Community Center for three weeks at $600 a day.
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