The TV show “Everwood” often uses the U campus to film, and many students have found that “Everwood” interferes with their daily routine.
“Everwood” is set in the fictional town of Everwood, Colo., and this season the two main characters, Amy Abbot and Ephraim Brown, entered college.
This means that “Everwood” films on campus for almost every episode; the U serves as a backdrop for two different fictional colleges, Colorado A&M and Everwood Community College.
“Everwood” signed a legal contract with the U that states that it will try not to interfere with the activities of students and faculty while filming.
“We absolutely recognize that student learning is first,” said Liz Johnson of the scheduling office.
However, some students say that the “Everwood” crew has been in the way, especially around the Heritage Center, which represents Everwood Community College.
Ashley Prymek, a freshman in business management, said that she was walking to the Heritage Center when a member of the “Everwood” crew physically stopped her.
He told her that she “couldn’t go through right now.”
Prymek told him that she had a class, and he stood between her and the door.
Later that night, Prymek was driving with a friend on lower campus. She said that she had to wait in traffic for about 10 minutes while “Everwood” filmed a shot in the road.
Erin Burns, a junior in exercise and sports medicine, was late for a midterm one day and was trying to hurry to class. She was outside the Heritage Center, trying to catch a shuttle, when she ran into the “Everwood” crew setting up.
“They just yelled at me, they wanted me to go the long way around the building,” Burns said.
Tom Luse, unit production manager of “Everwood,” said that filming around students can be difficult.
He cited the example of filming a Christmas scene for “Everwood” early in the school year when students were all wearing shorts and tank tops. No students could be in that scene because their clothing did not match.
But Luse also said that he and “Everwood” try to film with the least amount of intrusion.
“We also regularly remind our cast and crew that we are guests on the U campus and to act accordingly,” Luse said.
Peter Green, a freshman with an undecided major, said that his French class had to stay after class for about 15 minutes because “Everwood” was filming in the hallway.
He said that all the other classes in the hall also had to wait.
When Luse was informed of the incident, he expressed doubt that the event occurred, explaining that Andy Lankton, “Everwood’s” production scheduler, tries to inform professors beforehand about filming.
Luse said, “Sometimes communication slips, but we do the best we can to be thorough.”
Johnson said that if “Everwood” breaches its contract, it may have to stop filming at the U. But because she is not usually with the “Everwood” crew when it is shooting scenes, Johnson is not always aware of how the crew treats students.
“Everwood” has not been the first TV series to film at the university; other shows, including “Touched by an Angel,” have used the campus for filming.
Many film companies put a strain on the University Scheduling Office.
“It’s the nature of film-companies change their requests frequently,” Johnson said.
Sometimes companies call in and ask to shoot in a certain location, but they often change their minds, and Johnson is responsible for accommodating last-minute demands.
Film companies pay a standard fee to be on campus-$1,200 per shoot. They also have to pay for their parking spaces and for campus security.
“It’s great that they’re up here filming. It’s just kind of like, you don’t have to be so snotty and rude,” Prymek said.