Inqlings: Philly shrugs at a major film shoot

Plop a major Hollywood production in Philly, and watch film fans and paparazzi go gaga.

But shoot a major Bollywood movie here, and watch the fans and photogs ignore it. That's what has been happening for the last month, with a star-filled Indian action flick filming here and pretty much working under the radar - even one day last month when producers changed signs on the PNC Bank Center on Market Street to read "Federal Bureau of Investigation" and flatbeds out front unloaded "NYPD" cars.

Wary of tipping off the voracious Indian media, filmmakers have politely brushed off questions.

The film is backed by Mumbai's Yash Raj Films, which hit the trades for its deal with Disney on an animated film called Roadside Romeo.

With a working title of New York, the Kabir Khan-directed film stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, and newcomer Neil Nitin Mukesh.

Cash and crew will travel to New York next week to shoot exteriors for two weeks. Then it's back to Philly through November.

The company was spotted Thursday shooting a bar scene on Second Street in Northern Liberties. The production has created a bonanza for the Indian restaurant Tiffin, which got the catering concession.

Film business in town is brisk despite the threat of a Screen Actors Guild strike, says Film Office head Sharon Pinkenson. "We've been zeroing in on independent films that can start productions."

Speaking of which: Josh Hopkins (Pirates of Silicon Valley, Swingtown), Samantha Mathis (Lost), Mary Beth Hurt (The World According to Garp, The Age of Innocence), and Temple student Rachel Kitson are under the lights as writer-director Ben Hickernell shoots Lebanon here and in Lebanon, Pa. Hickernell, a Haverford College alum whose movie Cellar world-premiered at the Philadelphia Film Festival and won its Technical Achievement Award, is about an urbane guy from Philadelphia whose father dies, sending him back to his rural hometown, where drama ensues.

Green-lit for October is The Storyteller, a drama starring Wes Bentley (American Beauty), Anita Briem (Journey to the Center of the Earth), and American Idol star Katharine McPhee. Writer-director Robert Masciantonio (Cold Hearts) went to Episcopal Academy and Temple. Producers include Jason Loftus of Heery Casting, Feverpitch's Jeffrey D. Erb and Joe Nicolo, and Pat McDade. Locations have not been set.

Also up for an October start is the thriller Law Abiding Citizen from director Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption). One actor cast so far: Gerard Butler (P.S. I Love You). Rumors have Catherine Zeta-Jones on board, too. Locations will include City Hall and Holmesburg Prison.

Greater Media pulled smooth jazz off WJJZ (97.5) at dinnertime Friday. Assorted music will be played over the weekend, and the new format, to be announced, will launch at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Smooth jazz was heard at 106.1 for 13 years until Clear Channel dumped the format Aug. 10, 2006. Greater Media picked it up Nov. 17, 2006, at 97.5. The format was dogged by low ratings, even in its 35-plus demographic.

CBS3 reporter

Jamie Smith

, 33, saw luck in 8-8-08 as he proposed at sunset on a New Jersey beach to his girlfriend of two years,

Shanna Knight

. She's 29, a Bucks County native, and a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. No wedding date yet.

Action News noon anchor Sarah Bloomquist is adding some morning reporting to her repertoire, inspiring a panic that she is becoming a morning anchor. Not the case, I hear.

MYPHL17 tomorrow picks up Better Philly, a syndicated weekday lifestyle show (8 a.m.). Adding local fodder will be Renai Ellison, Megan Gunning and Joe Ceccola.

There's a

Bono

link to next Sunday's Fair Trade Live Concert in Media. Organizers will have a limited number of $15 commemorative T-shirts, which they created with EDUN Live, the do-good company founded by Bono and wife

Ali Hewson

. Afternoon festivities, including a performance by the African Children's Choir, will advertise the borough's status as America's first "Fair Trade Town," after the movement seeking fair wages for world farmers' harvests.

Hulk spawn Brooke Hogan, in Philly to cut a record, overnighted last week at the new Aloft Philadelphia near the airport. On Friday, the hotel will host a welcome-home event for Olympic gold-medal swimmer Brendan Hansen of Havertown; it'll be a fund-raiser for the Cancer Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Former 76ers general manager Billy King guest-bartended at Downey's at Front and South Streets on Thursday. His chosen charity, Alex's Lemonade Stand, got $1,400 in tips. Among those who showed up: Matt Cord, Joe Conklin and Alycia Lane.

Busy off-season for Flyers

Marty Biron

and

Mike Knuble

. Biron has been indulging the equestrian pursuits of his wife,

Anne Marie

, who added to her stable by acquiring a colt, Cimi's Avant-Guard, and a filly called Born in April - who happened to be born April 14, the same day as the couple's daughter

Emily Marie

. Anne Marie is an accomplished rider, but Marty is not. "I got on a couple of times," he says. "When it starts to trot and canter and gallop, I feel like I'm going to fall off."

As for Knuble, he joined his mother, Mara, and brother Steve last month on an emotional four-day trip to her homeland, Latvia. It was her first return since she was 4 when she, her mother and her grandmother fled with the Soviet occupation at the end of World War II. Memories of constant bombing had left her with claustrophobia and a fear of flying. Knuble says: "She is getting older, and we figured it's now or it's never. We kind of made her go."

Paul Levy

, head of the Center City District, lost his wallet. After he canceled his credit cards, an envelope arrived in the mail containing the wallet, all his credit cards, his SEPTA pass, his driver's license, and $110. Plus this note: "Mr Levy: I found your wallet on Market Street. Here it is. All the contents are still within, except for $20 which I used to pay for postage and my time. I'm just visiting Philly, and looking for a post office wasn't a part of my travel itinerary. Hope your day hasn't been too stressful. Cheers! Some tourist. P.S. Your wallet is falling apart. Perhaps it's time for a new one. :)"