Earlier this week, when Jerry Seinfeld met up with Jason Alexander and Seinfeld’s co-creator Larry David at the sitcom’s iconic diner location of Monk’s, the filmmaker directing a real documentary about the real Tom’s Restaurant also was on the scene in New York City’s Morningside Heights.
Gian Franco Morini, director of Tom’s Restaurant – A Documentary About Everything, told The Comic’s Comic that Seinfeld, Alexander and David were filming a TV commercial to air during the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, 2014.
Morini has shared five minutes of his footage outside of Tom’s from Monday afternoon’s Seinfeld reunion. David, walking out to his car afterward, rebuffs TV reporters asking him if this was the “huge, gigantic” project Seinfeld had teased just a week earlier on Reddit, and denied shooting new scenes for Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld was even more coy when he left Tom’s. But Morini stayed behind and also watched as Seinfeld’s crew captured B-roll footage of fake snow falling outside. Just perfect for a normal winter in New York City. And as Morini suggests: “Evidence that should rule out the possibility of the shoot being an episode of “Comedian In Car Getting Coffee.”
Roll the clip.
Morini recently completed his documentary about Tom’s, which in addition to its frequent pop-ups in exterior shots for Seinfeld, also inspired a hit song by Suzanne Vega.
“My documentary explores all the pop culture references and the owners and clientele, made of people from all walks of life: from the philosopher Cornel West and the students and professors from Columbia University (such as the deeply lovable David Sidorsky PHD – who taught at CU for more than 50 years), to musicians and artist such as the singer/songwriter/photographer/veteran marine Shon or the visual artist Patricia Maldonado, to colorful characters such as the self-proclaimed “grand-father of rap” Burton Crane (made famous by his appearance on America’s Got Talent), to recovering crack addict Cristopher Olivier, and many many more.”
Oh, and Morini also interviewed comedians Josh Gondelman and Jack Moore, creators of Modern Seinfeld @SeinfeldToday.
Roll the documentary trailer!