Yahoo Lifestyle 'Gilmore Girls' Filming Secrets From THAT Luke & Jess Lake Scene
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When it comes to Gilmore Girls, there are plenty of iconic scenes. But is there anything more memorable than watching Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) push his nephew Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) into the lake? We certainly don't think so — and we recently learned surprising new details about how that moment came to be.
The season 2 episode 5 scene from the WB dramedy is well-loved by many, and former Gilmore Girls key set costumer Valerie Campbell decided she'd clue viewers into the process of filming it back in the day. Posting a video clip on TikTok on December 8, 2024, she began by mentioning how "Milo would always ask props for a book" for his character, pointing out the unique way Jess often stuffed a paperback into his back pocket.
She went on to share details about the Gilmore Girls set, and how the crew filmed this specific scene featuring Luke and Jess. While it looks pretty seamless onscreen, it actually took place in multiple locations.
"The way Stars Hollow works is there are two parts of the backlot. There is this part, where the school is, and if you were to round this corner, you'd end up at Weston's Bakery... Pay careful attention to the wall of green behind them. Very similar, but just slightly different. We are now in the jungle on the east side of the lot," Valerie revealed.
Turns out, there was a unique way the crew made it look like a continuous shot. "There is a very large giant rolling cart of greenery that the greens people could put in any place that they needed to block. They'll often use this right outside of Luke's Diner as well," Valerie explained.
And that wasn't all she detailed. Not only was the scene filmed over the course of two days, but they had to film the moments leading up to Jess being pushed into the water many, many times.
"So far, we are up to two oner-type shots shot on two different days," she continued. "This probably took I don't know, I would say the boys would probably have had to have done this at least anywhere from 14 to 25 times. Now, normally when you shoot a shot you start at the beginning and you go to the end. But we continued to do the coverage until they got it perfect, so that they could get this part [on the pier] in one take."
Upon learning this new information from behind the scenes of Gilmore Girls, folks took to the comments to weigh in on how it all came together.
"This was worth all the effort because this is, to this day, a very satisfying scene despite having seen it too many times to count," one person wrote on TikTok. "Luke pushing Jess in the lake is one of my favorite scenes. I always rewind it a couple of times 🤣," another laughed. "I love this so much - and truly such an awesome scene 🙌," a different follower added.
Now that we know so much more about this truly memorable Gilmore Girls moment, we need to watch it again in full!
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