'Finestkind' Filming: New Bedford Woman Has Front-Row Seat

FinestKind, the New Bedford-based Paramount+ movie, brought production to a New Bedford neighborhood this week and residents got a glimpse of the action.

First, let's state the obvious: Having our city as the backdrop to a movie is pretty cool as it is, never mind when the movie set happens to be your literal backyard.

I'm by no means a celebrity chaser, but I'd totally geek out if Little Rascals and Iron Man 3 star Jenna Ortega were just chilling on my street for a day.

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If you happen to live on Briggs Street in New Bedford's West End, then you got a front-row seat to Ortega and some of the filming of the buzzed-about drama.

Jessica Dacruz woke up to lots of action earlier this week when the production took over her neighborhood. Boxes, wires and equipment were strewn everywhere.

Dacruz got a pretty awesome glimpse of Ortega, one of her favorite big-screen actresses.

While I would be too excited to remember to take pictures, Dacruz waited patiently and documented the scene.

You can tell how excited DaCruz was by the video she shot and posted to Facebook.

Finestkind, written and directed by Academy Award-winning New Bedford native Brian Helgeland, had been in the works for 20 years when filming began this spring. In addition to New Bedford, scenes are being filmed in Fairhaven, including at Rasputin's Tavern last week. Little Village Cafe on Fairhaven's Center Street supplied food for the cast and crew.

Aside from Ortega, the cast of the crime thriller includes Tommy Lee Jones, Tim Daly and Ben Foster.

To some, having all this action happening in your neighborhood is a pretty major inconvenience but, come on, something like this doesn't happen every day, especially on the SouthCoast.

Check out these pictures that Dacruz captured from the comfort of her living room. No denying this is pretty cool.