From 6/30/00 Dark Horizons:
Hannibal: 'Lucifuge' was on hand in Richmond this past week and drops in a little spy report:
"I was on the set of Hannibal in Richmond Tuesday and thought I would let you know what I saw. The set was in the Shockoe Bottom section of Richmond under highway bridges, and was a parking lot converted to a local produce market for the opening scene of the film. It is a lot of rundown looking produce stands and piles of watermelons and old tires.
I came in after they had a huge gunfight, which featured a lot of fish that was being sold getting shot up by machine guns, so the place smelled pretty bad, the heat didn't help either. What I saw was a pale green undercover FBI van pulling up behind an old maroon sedan filled with thug-type guys with machine guns. They almost have a collision and the van turns sharp and stops and FBI guys pour out the back doors and roll into positions while the thugs start shooting at them. The background has a bunch of people running after they hear gunfire.
That scene took about 3 hours to set up, Julianne Moore was on set, but not in the shot. The rumor going around was that this is one of the few action scenes in the film, and that it is mostly psychological. There is one set of a luxurious ballroom that is possibly going to be "inside" Hannibal's head (questionable rumor I'd say).
From Coming Attractions:
June 12, 2000... Looks like Scott and his crew were filming yesterday, where our latest scooper caught sight of and grabbed an autograph from one of the film's stars.
"Hey gang, I happened to be at Union Station in D.C. today when they were filming Hannibal. It was a very surreal experience, I have to say. I could see that Anthony Hopkins, Ridley Scott, and Julianne Moore were all there. Most of the filming, as far as I could tell, centered around Moore's character, Clarice Starling: shots of her walking into the train station, walking around it, etc.
"It was weird to see Moore walking through the crowd of people like nothing at all, but it was even weirder that no one in the crowds seemed to notice her. She's incredibly short and looks very pale for this film, but it looks like has the Starling role down. Sir Anthony, however, was just hanging out, talking with people and giving autographs, it seemed. And Ridley Scott was just walking around, looking very angry.
"I'm guessing the parts of the story that they were filming take place after Starling gets kicked out of the FBI because Moore was wearing greenish khaki pants, a black tank top, and a denim jacket. She was really cool and I got an autograph from her for a friend of mine." ['Big Sam' was the eyewitness.]
The production is back again today to film inside Union Square, and we have another scooper who's promised to check out the scene. Last Friday's edition of The Washington Post noted the film was using 300 extras for this key scene and that the rest of the public "..is definitely not invited." [Yeah, but we're betting our man Chris can get in there.]
From the 6/13/00 Dark Horizons:
Hannibal: Here's two reports from 'anon' and 'The Finder' from the Washington D.C. set of the serial killer sequel:
"I have been an avid reader for a while, but never had anything to contribute. Until now that is. Hannibal is being filmed in Washington, DC. The crew spent all of Sunday at Union Station, (a very clean and ornate train station/shopping complex,) filming what the newspaper called a "chase" scene. I did not witness any chase, but did watch them film Julianne Moore entering and walking through the train station. Most of those in the station were extras, while the PA's tried hard to keep the inquisitive public out of the frame. I must say, the PA's were very friendly and patient, trying hard to do their job and at the same time not to inconvenience the public. The only thing I felt was a little odd was Julianne Moore's wardrobe. She was wearing a currently "in style" jean jacket, green cargo pants, and sneakers. I must admit that I have not read the book, but the "look" seems to significantly depart from Clarice's appearance in the last film. Also Moore appeared quite friendly and gracious."
""Hannibal" is currently shooting on location in and around Washington DC, and is supposed to be throughout the week. I haven't been able to get anywhere near the proceedings, but WRC (NBC 4) local news carried a short segment on the filming tonight. They were over at Union Station today, filming pieces of what they described as a 'game of cat and mouse' between Clarice and Lecter at the station. Julianne Moore was seen being filmed in a photo booth erected for the shoot at one entrance to the station; she's looking at something (photos, I'd presume, since she's standing in the booth) and apparently doesn't like what she sees, because she hurriedly reaches for her gun as she exits . WRC also reported that Anthony Hopkins has been sighted around DC off and on in the last couple of days. This has been a big deal in DC, with one local radio station (WBIG, Oldies 100) giving away two spots as extras in the film."