A TOUCH of Hollywood came to Newport this week as a coffee shop was used as a location for a new HBO drama.
Coffee Thirst in Commercial Street was taken over by film crews and set designers to film scenes for a new eight-part series, Industry, directed by Lena Dunham, best known as creator of Girls.
Price lists were replaced within the café, and the décor given a vintage urban feel to fit in with the aesthetics and high prices of London.
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Industry is a character-driven drama examining the lives of six graduates as they enter professional life and Pierpoint, a bank in the city of London.
The camera crew filming outside Coffee Thirst in the early hours of yesterday morning
The owner of Coffee Thirst, Younis Ahmed, said he was approached by scouts personally.
Around two weeks ago, he had not long closed his coffee shop for refurbishments and was startled when a passer-by knocked on the window while he was inside and asked if they could use it as a location for a series as they liked the look of the café.
Inside the coffee shop, designed to look like one in London
“It’s not a normal thing to happen," he said. "I thought it was a prank but then I got a call from the location manager."
He described the experience as a “touch of Hollywood” and was enthused that Wales was being used by the film and television industry.
Ms Dunham announced on Instagram back in June that she had temporarily moved to Wales while the series was being shot, describing it as "a dreamy place with fairytale gardens, super sweet humans, and dragon mythology".
Coffee Thirst reopened on Friday, December 13 after a refurbish to make way for a bigger kitchen due to an increase in customer demand.
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