After financial glitch, filming resumes in Montlake

This being Seattle — where Bill Gates can be seen at a movieplex or Mexican restaurant along with the regulars — the neighbors in Montlake think it's interesting that Tobey Maguire is filming on one of their streets.

But, you know, it's reserved Seattle.

Nobody was rushing the star of the "Spider-Man" megafilm series.

"I have seen a lot more people walking their dogs along here," said Simone Bouterse, who lives on 26th Avenue East, just north of Boyer Avenue East, where filming is going on.

"I counted 50 people walking their dogs. We just don't have that many dogs along here."

After a financial hitch, "The Details" — a dark comedy that stars Maguire and Elizabeth Banks, also known for her "Spider-Man" role — is back in Seattle.

Oh, the movie also includes ravenous raccoons gone berserk.

The raccoons come into Tobey's life, tearing up the carefully tended turf he had put in his backyard, at the same time his marriage is on the skids.

Remember: "Dark comedy."

Trained raccoons — apparently raccoons are trainable — are set to arrive from California in a week or so.

They'll always be on a leash when filmed, and away from the human actors. The leashes will be digitally removed from the film.

You might recall the story in June about the financial problems of the low-budget film.

It's a "Tier 1" movie, which means the budget is less than $4.3 million, said Bob Riggs, business agent for the regional International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

So Maguire is giving up his star salary to work on "The Details" because he believes in the film and its director, Jacob Estes, who drew good reviews for 2004 indie coming-of-age film "Mean Creek."

Explained the film's producer, Hagai Shaham, "we had problems with financing; it got fixed."

Meanwhile, a Seattle woman, Daphne Tomchak, who had agreed to rent out her home and have the producers do some free remodels, was put in a financial limbo.

She was looking at ripped-out walls, missing wiring and electrical fixtures and having her furniture moved to the basement when the money problems surfaced.

But everything is fine now, said Tomchak. She's staying with a friend.

The remodeling work was completed, with changes such as putting French doors facing the backyard, where most of the action with the increasingly agitated raccoons takes place.

Tomchak said the producers also changed the color of the back of the house from dark green to yellow; they'll paint it back to green.

"They said yellow is funnier," she said.

Seattle was chosen to film "The Details," said Shaham, "because it's like America, it's not New York, it's not Los Angeles."

He said the Montlake home was chosen because of its big backyard, "and there aren't many big yards in Seattle."

The filming also involves two other homes along the block, although just for their exteriors.

The neighbors have taken their temporary film invasion — filming began Tuesday and is scheduled to end Sept. 12 — in good humor.

On some nights, filming has been scheduled until 5 a.m.

Kit Bakke, who lives on 26th Avenue East, said the neighbors all got letters and fliers explaining the filming.

Her family is having remodeling work done on their home, she said, and sometimes a young woman from the film crew with a walkie-talkie stops by.

When there's filming going, said Bakke, she tells the guys working, "Stop, stop," so their noise doesn't interfere.

Bakke also confessed that having a film crew around "is so seductive. I guess I'm kind of overwhelmed by the magnitude of the truck, and equipment, and everything."

She has written a book, "Miss Alcott's E-mail," and she's thought she'd show it to the director of "The Details." It'd just be a short walk, and, well, you never know.

Bakke's husband said it wasn't that great an idea.

"I still might do it," said Bakke.

As for sightings of Maguire, neighbors exchanged stories.

One told of watching Maguire doing a scene in the backyard of the "hero" house, looking very serious as he moved slowly across the yard, speaking loudly. When the director yelled "Cut!" Maguire started laughing.

Maguire and his wife and two children were seen on the sidewalk, the children playing with neighborhood kids and dogs.

Actress Elizabeth Banks, on the other hand, "was standoffish," said the neighbor.

Uh-uh.

A standoffish star in Seattle.

Come on, give us a smile.

Elizabeth ... we're SO nice here.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com