The barrage of film equipment and crew students may have seen around campus between Sept. 19 and Sept. 21 was due to a movie being filmed at Iona.

The film, “Listen Up Philip” is directed by Alex Ross Perry and stars Jason Schwartzman as a young writer. Schwartzman’s character is close to success, and the film focuses on relationships he builds and destroys along the way. Viewers may have seen Jason in films including “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and “Rushmore.” Another actor students may have seen on campus was Jonathon Pryce, who has starred in an assortment of films, including taking on the role of Gov. Weatherby Swann in “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Like most films, the crew was in need of extras, or people who would be in the background of the shots performing normal, everyday activities. A number of students and faculty stepped up and volunteered for the film. The film crew worked throughout each day, starting at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, 10:30 a.m. on Friday, and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Although the extras were only used for about six to seven hours, the crew was working all day. One of the crew members on campus said that the crew could be working up until 5:00 a.m. Saturday night, due to the fact that they wouldn’t have work on Sunday.

A number of students were lucky enough to participate during the filming. Junior Sean Lynch said, “It was a great experience to really be on set of a project like this. The crew was fantastic and very friendly. They were very polite and down to earth.”

Freshman Tommy McCellan was very excited about the filming. He said, “Jason and the rest of the cast and crew were very inviting and friendly. Both the actors and the crew looked very relaxed; there was no stress on tension on set, just good vibes coming from everyone.”

The crew expressed that the film will be finished in the springtime, and the film will come out some time during 2014. If you’re looking for a good indie film, make sure you check out “Listen Up Phillip” and see if you can spot your friends in the background.