George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg and Paramount Pictures transformed Yale and the surrounding New Haven community for the filming of the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series this summer. Filming began in early June.
According to The Daily Princetonian, Paramount Pictures employed more than 125 crew members from Connecticut and over 200 food vendors from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey for production of the film. Additionally, filming in New Haven reportedly cost the studio more than $10 million and lasted several weeks.
Production created complications in the community, namely traffic congestion caused by blocked and re-routed streets and pedestrians seeking a quick glance of the action. Students complained of confrontations with police and members of the production crew.
Yale was Spielberg’s first choice for filming, according to The Princetonian, which stated Spielberg’s opinion that Yale “was the most iconic looking Ivy League school in the United States.”
A plan by Columbia to expand into a 17-acre area of West Harlem was opposed strongly this past summer by a community board.
Conditions were set for the University, such as it must development affordable housing in and around the area.
The development plan, according to the Columbia Spectator, has become a contentious issue within the University and the surrounding community.
State officials and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg have expressed support for the expansion plan.
On June 1, Princeton lacrosse player Nicholas Hermandorfer ’08 and University of Virginia player Adam Fassnacht ’07 were involved in an incident that led to their arrest for aggravated assault.
A Princeton student was beaten severely, suffering a broken nose, cheekbone and orbital socket.
He was treated at the University Medical Center. The victim chose to remain anonymous.
Hermandorfer and Fassnacht were each released from the police on $50,000 bail.
Details about the altercation were not released, but a county prosecutor cited the option of bringing the case to a grand jury trial that would decide whether to indict the two attackers.