Kevin James' 'The Zookeeper' filming at Franklin Park Zoo

Kevin James has been a busy man here in Massachusetts with the filming of both Grown-Ups and The Zookeeper, which just started this week at the Franklin Park Zoo.

As we said earlier, the movie is about a lonely zoo keeper (Kevin James) who tries to win over the girl of his dreams (Rosario Dawson). The animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help him gain her attention. James' friend and Grown-Ups costar Adam Sandler, will be the voice of a capuchin monkey. The rest of the cast will be filled out with Cher playing a giraffe, Jon Favreau playing a bear, Sylvester Stallone playing a lion, and Judd Apatow playing an elephant.

According to Loaded Gun Boston MGM has erected an elaborate mini-zoo set near the Giraffe Entrance. Filming will take place during regular park hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the next few weeks.

The Boston Globe says that the zoo received a “substantial’ location fee for their troubles. The zoo is in jeopardy of closing and even euthanizing the animals with Governor Deval Patrick's imposed budget cuts, so any new revenue for the zoo is much needed.

If you have any tips, let me know at npistorino@bostonmovietours.net.

'Paul Blart 2' is actually 'The Zookeeper'

We reported earlier that Kevin James was looking to film Paul Blart 2 here, but it turns out they are looking to shoot another movie all together called Zookeeper.

The movie is about a lonely zoo keeper (Kevin James) who tries to win over the girl of his dreams (Rosario Dawson). The animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help him gain her attention. Most of the filming will take place at Franklin Zoo in October.

According to the Boston Herald, James' friend Adam Sandler, who are both shooting Grown Ups a Woodman's in Essex this week, will be the voice of a capuchin monkey. The rest of the cast will be filled out with Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Jon Favreau and Judd Apatow. Cher will be a giraffe, Favreau will lend his voice to a bear, Stallone is a lion and Apatow is an elephant.

Adam Sandler's Grown Ups Filming at Woodman's this Week

Due to the unseasonal rain we've been getting, Adam Sandler's Grown Ups had to move filming to Woodman's of Essex all this week -- two months ahead of schedule. Those of you familiar with Woodman's will know that it's the best place on earth to get fried clams, and they are also the inventors of the seafood treat.

Woodman's website reveals that this is the first time in 95 years that they have ever closed their doors. A message on the site explains, "The torrential rain predicted for the next few days has caused many people, including Hollywood, to do some last minute rescheduling. Woodman's of Essex was contacted early this morning and asked by producers if they could start setting the stage tonight. Originally the restaurant had planned to close their doors in early August.

"They needed a spot to do some indoor shooting in order to stay on schedule. It was short notice for sure and we've been scrambling all morning," Maureen Woodman explained. "But we figure it is better to close on three rainy days in June than three nice days in August even if we don't have much lead time."

If you have any tips, pictures, or information about the shooting, feel free to shoot me an email at npistorino@bostonmovietours.net

Adam Sandler's "Grown Ups" Moves to Essex

After spending an extra day in Southborough, Adam Sandler's upcoming movie The Grown Ups will be moving to Essex, Ma this week. Since the last time we reported, they have changed the name of the movie, which used to be named "The Lake House."

The film also stars Kevin James, David Spade, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Rob Schneider, Selma Hayek, and Maria Bello from the other movie filming in MA, The Company Men. As previously mentioned the movie is a comedy about a group of friends who come back to their home town for a Fourth of July weekend.

There have already been sightings of Adam Sandler and Selma Hayek in the North Shore. SNL Alums Norm MacDonald and Colin Quinn (cowriter of Boston movie Celtic Pride) being seen around town shooting pool also have cameos in the movie.

The majority of the film will be shot at a lake house in Essex, MA. The Good Morning Gloucester Blog has pictures of the locations that will be in use for most of the filming. You can also see photos taken on set by Pop Sugar. Between Maya Rudolph, Adam Sandler, and Selma Hayek, there are a lot of kids running around on that set. If you want to get insider accounts on set, follow David Spade's Twitter which he updates daily.

If you have any tips, pictures, or information about the shooting, feel free to shoot me an email at npistorino@bostonmovietours.net