What a busy summer for New England! The number of movies in production and on location is stupendous. Everyone is working including Silas, Jan Waldman’s amazing German Shepherd! Silas Archer Gustav is a “hot dog” on the set of THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT. Silas plays the part of young Calvin Barr’s Dog with a performance that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt the he has right stuff for this part. I love leading with a dog story.
I visited New England Studios and interviewed Castle Rock Producer Robin Sweet. The Hulu ordered ten episode TV series is being produced by Warner Bros and filling three of the NE Studios four stages. I’ll have the whole story for you in our next issue. SLENDER MAN was in the fourth studio. In production now is John Stimpson’s GHOST LIGHT, A dark comedy about a disgruntled summerstock
actor who contemptuously disregards the superstition surrounding Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. By doing so he unleashes the curse of The Scottish Play and wreaks havoc on the company. Hmmm.
EQUALIZER 2 brings Denzel Washington back to the Commonwealth. The film’s main locations are Brant Rock and Marshfield. SWEENEY KILLING SWEENEY will wrap this month after using film locations all over the greater Boston area including Quincy where there is a “grand experiment” underway for ten years totally geared to attracting studio movie production to the city by streamlining location finding, permitting and other necessities that City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce and participating businesses can provide. To that end I visited auto magnet Daniel J. Quirk to get his take. See our story in this issue.
Recently wrapped movies include Amy Schumer’s I FEEL PRETTY, SLENDER MAN, BURNING WOMAN, PROUD MARY, DADDY’S HOME 2 and John Stimpson’s THE SPRUCES AND THE PINES. All of which speaks to a very good year for our industry.
I get excited about the American Film Market (AFM) every year. This year it will be November 1 – 8 at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Resort Campus and also include a Location Expo, new this year. IMAGINE is a media partner with AFM. We dedicate our next edition to getting results for our local filmmakers at AFM, which is the largest gathering of Motion Picture professionals in the world.
We will assemble “pitch articles” for as many New England movie projects that make the cut and will fit in our magazine. What are you looking for? If you have a movie project in any stage of development from concept to completion, let me know so we can consider it for this issue, which will have a huge bonus distribution at AFM.
Whether you need a writer for an idea, a producer or a production company for a completed script, talent, a director, finishing funds, foreign sales and distribution, you may find it at AFM. AFM means unlimited possibilities.
When you experience AFM you get incredible access to more industry players in one week than you could see all year. It is one amazing beach front campus where over $3 billion in deals will be made
in eight days. Over 400 distribution companies, 1,000 production companies and 7,000 industry professionals from eighty different countries will attend among them the top studio, broadcast
and cable network and agency executives in the business.
You can, actually, make an elevator pitch at AFM This is one of IMAGINE’s great efforts that gets “the word” out – our outreach that puts what New England has to offer right in the hands of 7,000 decision makers from all over the world. We are displayed right next to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety and decision makers from all over the world pick our issues up like hotcakes.
Along with presenting selected projects from New England, we promote our film tax credits and incentive programs along with the riches of our region such as crew depth, talent pool, incredible locations, amazing architecture and scores of looks from the Revolutionary War, 1776, the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, to our awesome educational institutions and preserved neighborhoods of note and beautiful hills, forests, shoreline and mysterious fishing villages. We’ve got it all including a 25% Film Tax Credit that bests the rest, including above the line expenditures.
If you have a film project that you are taking to AFM or would like to be considered for our AFM edition, please let me know about your project. You can email me at [email protected]. If you have an advertising message for the attendees of this major industry event, place your advertising now and we’ll deliver your message right to your best target audience.
The summer was filled with special events, one was our IMAGINE day-trip to visit the Studios of special effects guru and movie pioneer Douglas Trumbull. I’ve written about it in this issue. It was an amazing experience, so much so that I’ve scheduled another trip. I can take up to sixty people, so if you missed our last one and would like to join our next on Wednesday October 11th, or want to go again, let me know. The leaves in the Berkshire should be spectacular. Email [email protected].
At the Woods Hole Film Festival I was attracted to a Special Panel of Women Filmmakers held at the fire station. where I had seen Elika Portnoy’s directorial debut earlier– THE SIXTH AMENDMENT for the first time. What a pleasure and the panel was terrific.
I was front and center for the Rhode Island International Film Festival’s Film Forum, co-sponsored by the Rhode Island Film Office. After an exciting conversation with and viewing of the Douglas Trumbull’s award winning work, he was presented with Rhode Island’s first Gilbert Stuart Artistic Vision Award by Steven Feinberg, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Film and Television Office.
Later that day more than one hundred local filmmakers made their way to Cape Cod for IMAGINE Magazine’s big summer bash at Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee. I hosted along with bestselling author and producer Casey Sherman (THE FINEST HOURS, PATRIOTS DAY) and Willowbend Country Club’s owner David Southworth. Casey spoke about two forthcoming projects and the release of his latest book THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE and his “12” being picked up for motion picture. It tells the story of the miraculous “come from behind” win of Super Bowl LI. What a treat in an absolutely exquisitely
beautiful setting.
Guests included BLACK MASS actress Erica McDermott, SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME actor Mike Southworth, Woods Hole Film Fest Executive Director Judy Laster and prolific filmmaker John Stimpson. And a very good time was had by all.
In late August I was invited to the Hope Music Festival in Hyannis, back on the Cape, where I connected with Producer Dennis Serpone (SWEENEY KILLING SWEENEY) IMAGINE Cover Girl, actor, writer, director Christy Cashman and Judy Laster. James Montgomery orchestrated an extraordinary evening of
such talented musicians everyone was toe tapping. The Hope Music Festival raised money for the healthcare industry on the Cape with a focus on fighting Opioid Addiction.
My Best Wishes for a Successful Fall,
Carol Patton
