NORTHAMPTON - One would think that, short of Ireland, the best place to find an Irish pub would be Boston. But even Bean Town wasn't good enough for the film crew behind "Edge of Darkness." They had to have Paradise City.
Executive Producer Bennett Walsh said this morning that Tully O'Reilly's Pub, where star Mel Gibson spent the morning Monday, had exactly the ambiance the movie team was looking for.
"We tried to find that in Boston, but it didn't have the texture, it didn't have the flavor," Walsh said.
Filming continued Tuesday at the Hampshire County Courthouse. The morning was taken up shooting a courtroom scene that included, among other extras, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Susan Loehn.
Outside the First Churches nearby, about 70 spectators gathered for a glimpse of the star. They'll get their chance later this afternoon, when Gibson is expected to film a scene in which he leaves the courthouse and walks to a parking lot behind the church.
Though locations like Tully's and the courthouse have proved well suited to the story of "Edge of Darkness," Walsh said the main draw in the Pioneer Valley is Mount Sugarloaf in Deerfield. Filming will begin there Thursday, at a special set built around the summit overlook tower. Walsh said the set is a research station where the daughter of Gibson's character worked before her mysterious murder.