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Netflix Fools San Francisco With Fake Homeless Encampment: Report

Many residents thought the set was a real homeless encampment and called the city's non-emergency line, according to SFGate.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A sprawling tent encampment that seemingly appeared overnight in San Francisco's Financial District sent concerned residents to the city's non-emergency phone line before discovering it was actually a movie set, according to multiple news reports.

The massive tent city that appeared along California and Battery streets caught everyone's attention on Friday was set up for a new Netflix film currently titled "2034," according to KTLA 5.

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The film, which is directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and features Rachel McAdams, Toni Collete and "Stranger Things
star Caleb McLaughlin, is described by IMDb as a sci-fi mystery thriller. Some reports suggest the film touches on AI in the future.

Some captured pictures of Gordon-Levitt on set and posted them on Reddit, asking what they were filming.

Although some people reported the encampment to the 311 line, thinking it was real, others thought it looked a bit too clean, according to SFGate.

Tents were empty, and items appeared strategically placed, according to the report.

"To the trained eye, somehow they don’t look like regular homeless encampments," Bryan Talmage, a former San Francisco resident who was in town for a wedding, told SFGate. "... A burn barrel? That was my first clue. Come on, this is like the movies."

Read more from SFGate and KTLA5.

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