Aug 9, 2007
Hollywood comes to Redding
Town employees tour movie set
|
by MAGGIE CALDWELL
mcaldwell@thereddingpilot.com
Redding was transformed into Hollywood East last week when film crews rolled into town to shoot scenes for the new Disney movie “Old Dogs,” starring Robin Williams and John Travolta.
As part of the deal struck by First Selectman Natalie Ketcham for Disney’s use of community buildings and roads, town employees were given a tour of one of the sets last Friday at the Redding Community Center.
Just after town hall locked its doors for the weekend, a group of about a dozen was ushered past Redding police officers who were guarding the closed shoot. The community center parking lot was bustling as grips rigged lighting and cameras and caterers scurried around offering sandwiches and snacks to anyone interested.
One of the production crew members led the tour into the Community Center, which had been dramatically altered to look like a fictional Vermont prison. A high chain-link fence topped with fake barbed-wire ringed the outside of the entrance to the building. Inside the lobby, the employees were met with a shock as they ran smack into Mr. Williams and actress Kelly Preston practicing their lines for the upcoming scene.
“I was completely starstruck. I still am,” said Ms. Ketcham on Monday morning. “I introduced myself to them and welcomed them to town. They were very friendly, natural and very accommodating to requests for photos. They couldn’t have been more gracious.”
Many of the other town hall employees were also left in a state of disbelief. Meredith Sanford, assistant tax collector, was still beaming from the experience when asked about it earlier this week.
“It was incredible,” she said. “I was not expecting that at all, to run into Robin Williams. I walked in and saw him and my jaw just dropped. I didn’t know what to do. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He is not just an actor, he’s a superstar.”
When she went to take a picture with him, Ms. Sanford said she was shaking so hard Mr. Williams noticed.
“He put his arm around me and he asked me if I was OK. I said, ‘I think I’m going to cry’ and he said, ‘No, don’t cry. It will ruin the picture,’” Ms. Sanford said.
Michelle Grande, town clerk, said that Mr. Williams “was very sweet and looks fantastic.”
 |
“I didn’t think they were going to be as available as they were. They were very respectful,” she said.
Filming in Redding
In the film, Mr. Williams and Mr. Travolta play old friends and “business partners who find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead to them being placed in the care of seven-year-old twins,” according to the entertainment Web site IMDB.com. One of the twins is being played by Ella Bleu Travolta, Mr. Travolta’s daughter. Actors Seth Green and Matthew Dillon also are slated to appear in the film, as is Kelly Preston, Mr. Travolta’s wife.
John Pisani, Disney’s publicist for the film, could not be reached for comment.
Shooting for Old Dogs began in mid-July in New York City with additional scenes set to be shot around Fairfield County, including other spots in Redding, said Ellen Woolf, project manager with the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, Film Division. The Redding Country Club and Putnam Park are among the locations chosen for scenes.
“What is particular about the town of Redding is that it had all of the requirements to really make this film shine,” said Ms. Woolf. “Many of the funny parts of the movie are to be filmed here in town... Redding provided the beautiful location the script was calling for. The town officials were incredibly film friendly and helpful and the town had many of the locations that were pivotal to the film’s look.”
After finishing up the scenes at the Community Center, the film crews moved out onto Lonetown Road to shoot a driving sequence. Redding police provided an escort to the crew, which made six passes up and down the road to get the right shot.
“There was a caravan of about eight cars doing the rolling shoot, including police cars,” said Police Chief Douglas Fuchs. “We had no lanes closed, but allowed the crew to drive at about 20 miles per hour unobstructed.”
Police will also be involved in the future shooting of scenes around town. Chief Fuchs said it was a “very positive experience” working with the Disney crew.
“The producers and managers were extremely cooperative. They let us know what their needs were and, in turn, we let them know what our abilities to accommodate them were. It was very exciting for all who witnessed it,” he said.
“I also got to meet Robin Williams, probably my favorite actor of all time,” he added.
Tax incentives
Connecticut has been booming this summer with a number of films being shot around the state. The new Indiana Jones movie is being filmed in New Haven. Another Disney flick, College Road Trip, starring Martin Lawrence and Raven Simone, has scenes being filmed in Ridgefield. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 just wrapped shooting in various locations around Fairfield and New Haven counties. Revolutionary Road, the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet pairing, was recently being shot in Darien.
“Connecticut is absolutely a prime filming location now due to the tax incentive program which makes the state very appealing,” said Ms. Woolf, referring to legislation enacted in July 2006, which was recently expanded to include even more tax breaks for production companies.
“Now we have a terrific opportunity for Hollywood to take advantage of all of the striking locations Connecticut has to offer. What is so unique about Connecticut is we have so many landscapes within a small period of space. We have farm land, urban settings, gorgeous areas, the coast... We offer so much to a film production company that if we don’t have something, many companies are willing to change their script so that we can accommodate them,” she said.
Before the tax legislation in 2006, the state saw between $3 million and $6 million in revenue from filming every year in Connecticut. This year, “we’ll probably be hitting the $300-million mark,” said Ms. Woolf.
“If the job of the tax credit legislation was to lure filmmakers to Connecticut, it has been brilliantly successful,” she added.
The town of Redding is receiving $5,000 for use of the Community Center and parking lot, said Ms. Ketcham. The other scenes set to be shot around town will be done so at various times throughout the remainder of the month.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
|
