HBO crew excited to come to Monterey; filming starts Monday.

The actors and crew for the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies are coming to Monterey this weekend, and they are feeling lucky.

Lucky on account of the weather, which is forecast to be clear and sunny from Monday to Friday, the entire five-day span of the shoot.

But more than that, they're just excited to be coming here. 

"All anybody can say on the crew in the last two weeks is that they can’t wait to get up to Monterey," says Big Little Lies Executive Producer Gregg Fienberg. "People are really excited to come come to that part of world to shoot, to a man."

Big Little Lies, which will star Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, is based on a novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, which was set near Bondi Beach, Australia, one of the most spectacular peninsulas in that country. 

As to why the Monterey region was chosen for the setting, Fienberg says it has the same "seemingly idyllic" vibe and setting of its Australian counterpart, "along with it being one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and that is not shot enough." 

Fienberg adds the show is not meant to be set in Australia, and will very conspicuously feature Monterey and the region.

"We make some fictitious names of places," he says, "but it's unmistakably Monterey and the surrounding area."

Fienberg says the schedule for filming has changed from Jan. 26-Feb. 1 to Jan. 25-Jan.29. 

He won't disclose the filming locations or times—("We never publicize where we are going to be, especially with this level of talent")—but adds that "in a town like Monterey, our trucks will be visible and wont be that hard to find."

That said, if one happens upon a film shoot, don't expect to get too close—the shoot will have "closed" sets, meaning the public will have to keep a distance. 

"Part of the reason is the way that we shoot the scenes, we shoot in 360 degres at all times," Fienberg says. "We're shooting in one direction for one second, and we don’t use traditional film lighting. It's natural light only, it's fully fluid.

"The way we work, we can’t have public mixed in with us. We need the space to move around," he says. "We always have people come in and look, even in L.A., but they need to stay a certain distance. They can’t end up in the shot."

Fienberg adds that he believes all the extra positions are filled for the 5-day shoot, but that crews will be coming back in late April or early May to shoot for two more weeks and that fresh extras will be needed. 

"We always welcome people that want to be a part of it."

Fienberg says the show will be darkly comic, and centers around four women.

"They're all kind of women in competition. One has a ton of money, one has a bit of money, one is doing okay, and the fourth is a younger woman with hardly anything," he says. "It's really meant to reflect the community."

The show will span seven episodes, and Fienberg expects shooting to wrap at the end of May. Post-production will take about six months, he estimates, and the show should air sometime early 2017. 

Any locals interested in being cast as an extra should contact Rich King Casting at submitrichkingcasting@gmail.com.