Filming Movies and TV Shows on Long Island.

Lights, Camera, Action: Heading East Out of New York City to Some Popular Long Island Film and TV Production Locations

Walking on the lower East Side of New York City one evening, I came across a common site...a movie shoot. In this case, it was the Julia Roberts film, 'Eat, Pay, Love.'

Driving on the upper West Side, one can pass by-and visit-Tom's Restaurant, the 112^th Street diner where Jerry Seinfeld and the Seinfeld cast members symbolically gathered on a regular basis.

The fact is, New York City is and has been the location to countless numbers of films, TV and commercial productions. But head east out of the city-specifically Long Island--and a whole new world of film and broadcast production locations can be found.

Films with actress Jennifer Aniston have been shot on Long Island. The same can be said for actress Kate Winslet and actor Ben Stiller.

Cinematically speaking, the number of films and TV programs that have been shot and taken advantage of the Long Island scenery could fill a film festival in itself.

Not surprisingly to area residents, Long Island offers a number of film locations that location talent scouts seek out. Fact is, there are location agencies that just might welcome the opportunity to list your property, your apartment, and your business-maybe even your antique automobile for an upcoming cinematic production. If your home is selected, for example, you could be paid $1,000, $2,000 or more...per day.

Huntington's Oheka Castle is a popular film location site. The production "Royal Pains" is currently filming there. Not surprisingly, glamorous Southampton and other Hampton's locales are on the list for film locations.

The grounds of the Sands Point Preserve including the former Guggenheim Mansion were used for filming The Godfather. Louie's Oyster Bar and Grill is right on the water in Port Washington and was a producer's pick for filming scenes featuring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in the comedy hit Meet the Parents. The Woolworth estate in Glen Cove hosted an HBO shoot.

Visit beautiful Old Westbury Gardens today and you'll understand why this peaceful location has served as such a popular hit for such classic films as North by Northwest, The Manchurian Candidate and even Love Story.

Hollywood, Long Island style, offers many opportunities for film producers and location scouts to get the exact visual look that they demand.

Lights, camera, action. Perhaps your home or business could make a perfect location for an upcoming feature.

By the way, everyone knows about the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. While through the years, there have been film festivals on Long Island including in the Hamptons and even an upcoming one on the Gold Coast, maybe it's time to showcase and help the marketing of the Long Island film industry by focusing on productions that have been shot on the Island.

Imagine an upcoming Long Island Location Film Festival. Just an editorial thought. What do you think?

Today Show Generates A lot of Noise and Marketing Excitement

Shhhh! Today Show Generates a Lot of Noise and Marketing Excitement Around Those Loud Bags of Frito-Lay's Sun Chips Snacks

The noisiest bag in the snack food aisle is generating the kind of marketing buzz that most companies would give anything to get.

Although remember the New Coke marketing fiasco?

Awhile back, while watching the Today Show with hosts including Matt Lauer, weatherman Al Roker and newscaster Natalie Morales, you would have thought that Sun Chips Snacks had bought a thirty minute informercial on the program.

The four Today Show interviewers were gathered alongside a table filled with Sun Chip bags.

Corporate giant Frito-Lay came out with a marketing concept that its Sun Chip snacks are "green" and have made the bag the snacks come in out of a biodegradable plant material. Sounds delicious!

Turns out the crackling noise level that the bags make can be bad for your hearing health. Loud is an understatement. People eating the chips are complaining about the noise level-comparing it to everything from a vroooming race car and motorcycle to a jet engine.

So the Today Show not only had fun with the product and the noise level, they had a sound measuring device as well. What's more, they all laughed and played with the product making it seem that you couldn't wait for your neighborhood supermarket to open so you could run in and no doubt play with the Sun Chips bag yourself-and probably even buy one or two or three to show how you can be the noisiest Sun Chips bag squeezer wherever you are.

Yes, people are complaining. The Today Show mentioned a Facebook page titled "Sorry I Can't Hear You Over This Sun Chips Bag." The Wall Street Journal reported that when a student in a school in Alaska brought a bag of Sun Chips to an end of term party, the teacher reprimanded the student by saying, "Please try to open that bag quieter."

Sounds like the Frito-Lay Sun Chips corporate publicity and marketing machine will be making a lot of noise for the foreseeable future.

What a Deal: Groupon Takes the Scissors out of Coupon Savings.

What a Deal! Your Daily Groupon E-mail/App Delivers an Offer with Huge Savings from a Business Near You -- One Big Deal a Day

Groupon Emails You One Daily 'coupon-like' Deal a Day for a Local Business Including Retailers, Restaurants, Garden Centers, Photo Centers, Comedy Clubs and More. No Scissors Needed

Coupon marketing has come a long way.

Once upon a time, coupon-packed circulars and advertising were included as part of your Sunday newspaper with, for example, loud, hard-sell messages shouting that you could "Save 7 cents off on a package of Blue Bonnet Margarine"

Yes, couponing today is still hugely popular. Offers of savings are still delivered to you in newspapers, magazines, direct mail, websites and e-mail blasts.

But if you're like me, you just may enjoy the single daily deal sent from Groupon.

Sure, the name 'Groupon' sounds like the word 'coupon.' The fact is, like a coupon, a Groupon deal does save you big bucks. But a Groupon has the element of surprise. You don't know what the offer will be in advance. But whatever the deal of the day is, it will more than likely be a great offer from a local business that will sound pretty good.

Check it out. Today, for example, I got a Groupon that saved me over 60% at a popular local restaurant. I got $50 worth of restaurant food and drink for only $20.

The other day, I received an offer for a local garden supply center-this time $25 worth of Groupon dollars to spend and it all only cost me $10. Earlier in the week, if I wanted to get 3 games of bowling-including shoes-I would have saved over 50%. A 50% savings at a nearby Comedy Club sounded inviting, too.

But there's more to a Groupon than just your daily deal. It's the way the offer is presented to you. As an advertising copywriter, I appreciate good writing and I actually enjoy the writing style of the talented Groupon writers who seem to present their daily offers in a most entertaining way. The information is included of course, but in a style that makes it quite pleasant to read.

By the way, there's also the element of occasionally pushing other people to join you and getting the deal. Every Groupon offer requires a minimum number of people to buy it before it can become effective. But I've yet to see an offer that didn't go way beyond the minimum (there's a running count on the website that alerts you as to how many Groupons have been sold for that particular deal).

Once you decide that you want to get the Groupon daily deal, you sign in with your credit card information. If you have any questions, just ask online and the Groupon staff will quickly respond. Fellow Groupon users can add their own comments as well.

Since Groupon is national, you can select the city or area where you live-or where you may be traveling to-and start receiving daily deals. So for example, here in the New York Metro area, there are Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, and New York City daily Groupons. Keep a watch out for the business side of Groupon.

It has already become successful to the point that the company is working out "Groupon arrangements" with newspapers. There's even an app available that allows you to check out the daily deal and order your Groupon deal right on your iPhone.

So if easily saving loads of money from a variety of local area businesses sounds terrific have I got a deal for you!

Check out Groupon.com  and start saving big.

Thanks to Groupon, you may never want to clip and use an ordinary coupon again.

Remember Planters Cheez Balls?

Having a Ball: Cheez Doodles Versus Planter's Cheez Balls. The Doodle Crunches On.

Remembering How Those Finger-shaped Cheez Doodles Compared to Those Circular-shaped Cheez Balls Made by Planter's

There are Cheez Doodles, there are Cheez Puffs, there are Cheez Balls... and then there are the one and only Planter's Cheez Balls.

According to a decade's old multi-media and TV advertising campaign "if you want to have a snack that's crunchier and cheesier, have a ball... with Planter's Cheez Balls."

Unfortunately for Planter's Cheez Balls fans, Mr. Peanut's crunchy circular cheesier yellow snack has departed the earth. I was reminded of the passing of Planter's Cheez Balls as I read about the recent passing of the creator of Cheez Doodles. New York's Kings Point, Long Islander Morrie Yohai was known as the man responsible for those yellow finger-shaped snacks that yellowed tens of millions of fingers while being devoured. Apparently everywhere Morrie Yohai went, his Cheez Doodle reputation followed as people would ask if he was the man behind their favorite snack. He was always proud to admit to being the father of, or should I say, the Dad of the Doodle.

So I guess Cheez Doodles have beaten Planter's Cheez Balls in the marketing competition because Wise Cheez Doodles as they are now called are still stocked at probably every supermarket. But alas, while there are Cheez Balls manufactured and sold by Utz and others, sadly, there's no original and official Planter's branded Cheez Ball anymore.

Thinking back to that TV commercial referenced earlier...it took place at a backyard bar-b-que party. A woman was looking forward to having one terrific party. A guy was eating what could have been Cheez Doodles. Shaking his head, he said the party wouldn't be so good with his snacks. His friend "saved" the day by showing him Planter's Cheez Balls, a snack that "runs circles around other snacks." Lo and behold, now everyone was gathered around and admitting to "having a ball" claiming that Planter's Cheez Balls were indeed crunchier and cheesier. Everybody lived happily ever after with Planter's Cheez Balls.

"Have a Ball" was the Planter's slogan that ended the commercial.

So where oh where did my little favorite Planter's Cheez Balls go? While the popular Planter's Mr. Peanut product name and logo is still around, the Planter's Cheez Balls product and name have been retired. A while back, an online petition sprung up with the words, "We, The Undersigned, are outraged and frustrated at the news of the discontinuation of Planter's Cheez Balls."

Sounds like a lot of people today are just not 'Having a Ball" anymore."

Down with Doodles. Up with Balls.

The Olive Garden Brings Back the $9.95 Never Ending Pasta Bowl Feast.

The Return of the $9.95 Never-Ending Pasta Bowl Feast at the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

A Delicious Limited-time Promotion Means All You Can Eat Portions of Pasta, Salad and Breadsticks

Get ready to stuff yourself.

Because it's baaaaack!

Last time you could feast at the Olive Garden for $9.95, it meant that you could devour all you can eat pasta, plus all you can eat salad and breadsticks.

It was one delicious never ending dining experience, which just happens to be the corporate trademark name again.

The Olive Garden marketing machine is running full time promoting this Never Ending Pasta Bowl dining bonanza.

Perhaps the last time you were planning on going, for example, to one of the national Olive Garden restaurants it was because you heard about the all you can eat concept, only to discover that the never ending promotion had finally came to an unceremonious end.

Well if you go to that Olive Garden right now, you'll be just in time to experience this financially appealing dining treat. By the way, there are loads of Olive Garden locations nationwide-from New York City's Times Square and Sixth Avenue to Long Island to California. Prices may vary at different locations so you may want to double-check on the promotion being offered. But hopefully, the Olive Garden you visit will be featuring the $9.95 Never Ending Pasta Bowl special.

As you'll see from the inviting menu, there are 42 pasta combinations to choose from including creamy Portobello with Spaghetti or Angel Hair with Meat sauce. From whole wheat linguine to penne and more, you can try as many of the pasta combinations as you and your stomach can handle. It's served up to you one pasta dish at a time.

Enjoy unlimited salad and unlimited breadsticks and you'll definitely end up with an unlimited feeling of being full.

In these financially difficult times, an $9.95 per person tab is just what your wallet ordered.

By the way, if you want to "splurge", you can add roasted chicken to your unlimited pasta order for an additional $2.95.

A bit of advice: come hungry. Head over to the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant for their never-ending pasta bowl feast because before you know it, this limited time promotion definitely will end.

Zsa Zsa Gabor and Merv Griffin: Perfect Together

Accent on Entertainment: Remembering Zsa Zsa Garbor and Her Merv Griffin TV Talk-Show Connection

A Look Back at How Zsa Zsa Gabor and Merv Griffin Talked Their Way to TV Success

The thick Hungarian accent of Zsa Zsa Gabor was her vocal trademark.

If you were a regular viewer of Merv Griffin's entertaining TV talk show in the 1960s and 70s, you can remember watching just how well the guest Gabor and the host Griffin worked as a TV team. Together, they seem to thoroughly enjoy each other's company, bringing viewer's one entertaining segment after another. Bottom line, they creatively bounced off each other beautifully.

Not surprisingly, an entertaining guest like Zsa Zsa quickly became one of the more popular TV talk stars-regularly appearing on the Merv Griffin Show was a production decision which no doubt helped to maintain the show's long-running popularity. Watching Zsa Zsa and Merv interact, you could see how well the chemistry worked between them. You could understand how each worked off the other for the benefit of the viewing audience. Zsa Zsa was a fan of Merv's and vice versa.

After his talk show, Merv Griffin went on to multi-business successes; perhaps most notably as the creator of TV game shows, including everyone's favorite answer and question game, Jeopardy. Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor continued to merchandise her talents and vocal trademark in various TV and film roles throughout her active career.

You can just imagine the continued respect that Zsa Zsa had for Merv Griffin. So perhaps it was not surprising to hear that last month, the very ill 93-year old Zsa Zsa Gabor was watching the Griffin-created show Jeopardy on her TV when she fell out of her bed and broke her hip, a life-threatening serious injury which has no doubt led to current sad prognosis.

We don't know if the name "Zsa Zsa Gabor" was ever a game show answer on Jeopardy. But perhaps it could be now.
Can't you just imagine that one day in the future you're watching an episode and hearing the following question given by a contestant: "Who was the Hungarian-accented actress who entertained millions of her fans by simply sitting on a couch, talking, and helping to make her friend Merv Griffin's TV talk show the success that it was?"

Wouldn't a Jeopardy answer and question just be a fitting testimonial to help remember Zsa Zsa by?

Happy Birthday to that Little 'ol Potato Pie.

The Knish--Celebrating the 100th Birthday of that Little 'ol Potato Pie

On New York City's Lower East Side, the Original Master Knish Bakery of Yonah Schimmel Turns 100

Do you wish for a knish?

Take your pick of knish flavors: potato, sweet potato, kasha, broccoli, cabbage, mushroom and vegetable. Then perhaps wash it down with a bottle of Dr. Brown soda-flavors include cream, black cherry, root beer and Cel-Ray).

Is there a better way to remember the century anniversary-the 100^th birthday of Yonah Schimmel's Knishery located on Orchard Street in New York City's lower east side neighborhood?

Historians claim that the knish was created by Eastern European Jews. They wanted to add some innovation to their basic inexpensive staple of potato. So they creatively wrapped dough around it. (Does that concept remind you of how the Japanese may have come up with sushi to creatively work with their staple of rice?)

Anyway, a rabbi from Romania by the name of Yonah Schimmel started selling his knishes (potato and kasha) to New York immigrants on the beach in Coney Island. He also sold them in a pushcart on the Lower East Side before opening his store on Houston Street back in 1910 where it still serves up this treat today.

Visit and you'll learn that there's still a Schimmel family member running the business. A great-grandson is still overseeing the delicious recipe. The original store itself looks like it has been stopped in time. You can just imagine feeling that the old black and white photos on the wall were taken yesterday instead of decades ago. But of course, you go to Yonah Schimmel's place for one thing. The knish. The king of the potato pie. It's a tough menu choice - one knish can fill you up so if you can, and you're with a group, vary the choices so you can nosh/eat on a variety. At only $3.50 per full-sized knish, it makes an inexpensive meal.

Rabbi Schimmel would be proud that even today his potato pie is still a staple of the Lower East Side, still freshly made in the back and below the store. There's even a dumbwaiter chute to bring the freshly baked knishes up from below.

Of course Rabbi Schimmel never could have imagined that you could now even order his knishes over the Internet! But that's just not the same as experiencing dining at his original location with its entire delicious atmosphere.

By the way, just like there's no substitute for an original New York freshly made bagel (sorry Lender's and all the other so-called bagel manufacturers) there's really no substitute for a good old fashioned Yonah Schimmel round knish. Yes, we can debate the merits of others who make knishes including the so-called Coney Island square knishes made by Gabila-they're now made in Copiague Long Island and even sold in supermarkets!

No, the four-star winner is sill Rabbi Schimmel's original--one hundred fresh years and still the knish champ by a mouthful.