One of the new regular faces in Jefftown*, Bushwick these days is Ben Stiller. The actor is shooting a movie in the Cheap Storage loft building on 49 Wyckoff Ave where the film crew rented a loft on the top floor. The movie, When We Were Young, will be released in 2015 and will be about “an uptight documentary filmmaker and his wife who find their lives loosened up a bit after befriending a free-spirited younger couple,” according to IMDB.
And because the work on a film set is not only glamour and ballroom glow but also hard work, Ben Stiller needs to refill his vitamins and caffeine now and then. The Hollywood celebrity is no snob and he has gotten used to picking up a coffee every morning over at Owl Juice Pub, Letty Castillo, a co-owner of the cute coffee and juice spot, told us. Furthermore, yesterday he spent the afternoon there, drinking Evergreen Juice (which contains kale, spinach, ginger, pineapple and cucumber) chatting with a man who introduced himself as Chris, Carmen Valerio, the second of the duo of owners, added. “He came at around 12:30pm, and stayed for two-three hours,” said Carmen. “He ordered Evergreen Juice, which is our most popular juice, ” she smiled. Carmen didn’t want to disturb Ben too much, so she only introduced herself and asked if she could take a picture. Ben agreed, and complimented the ladies on their coffee shop: “This is a great place you guys have here,” he said to Carmen and Letty. (We will have to agree with you, Ben! Carmen and Letty are totally the best!)
Sahara Shrestha, arts editor at Impose Magazine was just getting her coffee yesterday afternoon when she noticed Ben chilling on one of the couches. “That’s Ben Stiller, I better pretend that I didn’t see him because I want him to like Bushwick and Bushwick people,” she thought to herself. So she grabbed her coffee, and left without even looking back, Sahara wrote us via email. See? You can show a celebrity to a Bushwick resident, and we don’t even wink!
Carmen and Letty both agree that the When We Were Young film crew has been a total blessing for their place. “They come every day, and they are the nicest people – Ben Stiller and the rest of the crew,” smiled Letty.
*And when we say Jefftown, we mean Jefftown as coined by Royal Chase on his blog!