Leo DiCaprio movie films again in downtown Sacramento. ‘We couldn’t be more lucky,’ fan says

Even gloomy skies and a biting 40-degree breeze won’t stop fans from staking out in downtown Sacramento, in the hope of seeing Hollywood stars.

Warner Bros. resumed shooting for filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest project early Tuesday morning from the corner of I and Sixth streets across the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel.

The movie is tentatively called “BC Project,” confirmed by a sign on the sidewalk near the film set, and has an all-star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn and Regina Hall.

Warner Bros. film crews placed a sign on the sidewalk at Sixth and J streets, as shooting for filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie, “BC Project,” continues in downtown Sacramento. It advises people that anyone near the premise of the movie set is giving consent to the production to include their photos and likeness. Hanh Truong/htruong@sacbee.com

Spectators corralled in on the sidewalk — some hoping to catch a glimpse of DiCaprio and others wondering what the fuss was all about.

“What’s happening?” a driver yelled out, as traffic on J Street built up to a stop. The Sixth Street block was closed off with police cars and orange cones, allowing vehicles to funnel through only one way.

But even from the corner, the large professional cinema cameras, trailers, crowd of onlookers and man gliding on a camera dolly are hard to miss.

DiCaprio fans Corinne Almberg and her son were leaving the nearby Kaiser Permanente when they stumbled by the set.

“(We’re) hoping to see Leo, but we’re pretty excited that Teyana Taylor is out here,” Almberg said. “I love her in ‘Coming to America.’”

Her son, 17-year-old Max Almberg, said he’s a fan of DiCaprio’s western movies, including “The Quick and the Dead” and “Django Unchained.”

“I think it’s just cool to see Sacramento getting a little bit more time on the big screen,” he said.

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DiCaprio wasn’t spotted at the downtown set by The Sacramento Bee, as of Tuesday afternoon. But one onlooker was said to have seen the actor near J Street.

Crews were filming a scene with the actors, including Taylor, racing to a blue getaway SUV. Between sets, Taylor was seen in an all-black outfit, walking to and from a Mercedes Maybach. Each time, Taylor waved to the spectators, blowing kisses and saying “hi.”

Actor Teyana Taylor walks to a vehicle as she takes part in the production of a Warner Bros. movie on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 in downtown Sacramento. Hector Amezcua/hamezcua@sacbee.com
Actor Teyana Taylor walks to a vehicle as she takes part in the production of a Warner Bros. movie on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 in downtown Sacramento. Hector Amezcua/hamezcua@sacbee.com

Actress Regina Hall was also spotted at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel.

Gabe Agsalon said he lives nearby and headed over to the set after seeing all the commotion.

“I heard Leo and Teyana were shooting a movie so might as well just check it out,” he said.

Agsalon was scoping the scene for more than 20 minutes. He said the most exciting thing he’d seen so far was witnessing the set unfold.

“Seeing Teyana up close is pretty cool,” he added.

Throughout the morning, new strings of people continued to watch and take pictures of the action.

Drisha Leggitt, her husband Mark and golden retriever, Watson, came out to the site.

“Watson is a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan,” Leggitt said, “so we were hoping that we could catch a glimpse.”

Aside from spotting a star, Leggitt said they are thrilled to see Hollywood notice the city.

“We’re just big fans of anything that supports Sacramento and its community and its brilliant city,” she said. “... We couldn’t be more lucky to have Hollywood recognize that this is the place for them to be filming. We’re here to support that and we’re here to welcome them and hopefully, they’ll come back as we’re building up the downtown.”

Extras are filmed leaving the Sacramento County Courthouse in downtown Sacramento in a scene for a new Paul Thomas Anderson movie on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Nathaniel Levine/nlevine@sacbee.com
Extras are filmed leaving the Sacramento County Courthouse in downtown Sacramento in a scene for a new Paul Thomas Anderson movie on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Nathaniel Levine/nlevine@sacbee.com

Warner Bros. has been filming the project across Northern California. Crews previously shot scenes in Eureka in Humboldt County and were in Sacramento on Saturday, too, filming near the County Courthouse and the county’s Administration Building in downtown.

The film is reportedly based on the Thomas Pynchon novel “Vineland.”

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