This NY Times story reports on the culture shock that film directors Joel and Ethan Coen (“Raising Arizona,” ìFargo,î ìThe Big Lebowskiî and ìO Brother, Where Art Thou?î) and their Hollywood cast are experiencing in the far west Texas tourist enclave of Marfa while filming the Coen Brothers’ adaptation of Cormac McCarthyís 2005 novel No Country for Old Men. The Coen Brothers movie is one of two films currently being shot in Marfa, which is not exactly Palm Springs, if you know what I mean. The moviemakers are also discovering that folks in West Texas are not inclined to change their ways to accomodate a couple of film crews:

[I]n some ways Marfaís shrugging attitude baffled the film crews. There are only a handful of restaurants in town, and if youíre hungry past 9 p.m., you have to settle for the local gas stationsí dizzying array of fried food. Both crews asked local restaurants to either open earlier or stay open later, and most declined. ìThatís frustrating,î [one of the producers] acknowledged. ìWeíve been working six-day weeks, and on our one day off ó Sunday ó nothingís open. Everybodyís been very welcoming, but theyíre like, ëWeíre not going to change our ways.í î
Even though both crews brought in hundreds of people, many local business owners found their stay to be prohibitive to their businesses, since Marfaís economy is based on tourism. ìThe movies filled up all the hotels, and they work late and are fed through their caterer,î said Ms. [Maiya] Keck, [a Marfa] restaurateur. ìThis is the first week the hotels havenít been full of movie people, and weíve been so busy. Iím so glad itís back to normal. Now we can go to our coffee shop and not have to wait 45 minutes to get our cappuccino.î