Inwood home has colorful décor and past

Two years after placing a photo of their home on a website used by the movie industry to find set locations, Valerie and Steve Hooper received a call in 2010 from some producers about using their Waterfront Boulevard home in Inwood as the set for, “The Archaeology of a Woman,” starring Sally Kirkland.

When the producers and directors descended on the Hooper’s house, they stripped the once multicolored shutters and pink and purple porch railings to reflect the 1950s themed set. Though Hooper was upset to see her once multihued home full of dull colors, she and her husband were excited to be able to stay in the three-story home to watch the action unfold. “They wanted this location because the woman in the movie was supposed to live in Connecticut and they wanted to be by the water,” she said.

The home, which overlooks Motts Basin of Jamaica Bay and the Manhattan skyline, also has a history of being the base for bootleggers in the 1920s and Al Capone is rumored to have stayed at the house. The waterfront home was the perfect setting for the movie about a mother’s dementia that reignites a past of crime and lust, forcing her daughter to make difficult decisions and compels the audience to wonder if the mother truly suffers from dementia.

During July and August 2010, Inwood residents flocked to the Hooper’s home to see Kirkland, the star of The Sting, a classic 1973 film set in 1930s Chicago, and Victoria Clark, an actress in the Broadway musical, “The Light in the Piazza,” and frequent guest star on Law & Order. "It was a lot of fun,” Hooper said. “They closed the street and it was an amazing time. The extras got a huge kick out of being in a movie.”

Many of the film’s extras were from Inwood, including Alexis and Alexandra Acosta, the Hooper’s 7-year-old granddaughters. “It was such a wonderful experience,” said Sasha Young, the Hooper’s daughter. “They did their makeup which was very exciting for all the young ladies and they ran lines which was unbelievable. The girls have acted in a play before but this is completely different with the camera and all the people. It was very interesting and I’m really glad they were apart of it.”

Filming during the early morning hours until the middle of the night didn’t bother Hooper’s neighbor, Tom Caracciolo, a 61-year Inwood resident, whose kitchen and garden were also used in the film. “They filmed a murder scene in the night [in Hooper’s driveway] and I jumped up when I heard screaming and I’m hard of hearing,” he said. “Filming brings money to the area and business to local stores. It’s also the perfect block to film on because there’s no traffic around here.”

Hooper thinks the Five Towns is a great location for movie sets. This is a cheaper area than the five boroughs and a lot of people are hurting for money,” she said. “It’s a great way to make extra money.”

“The Archaeology of a Woman” won a Gold Remi Award at the 45th Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival in April but has yet to be released to the general public. The Hoopers plan on hosting a premiere party at their home when the film comes out. “It gave us life and energy,” Hooper said about the production. “There was never a dull moment.”