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Scenes for Disney film will be shot here
Jul 27, 2007
The center of Ridgefield may take on the look of a Hollywood studio in late August when busloads of moviemakers arrive to shoot scenes for a new Disney film.
Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone will be starring in “College Road Trip.” Rolling into town with them will be their 100-member crew and at least four buses for Mr. Lawrence alone.
“They’re going to be filming Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 at the Ridgefield Community Center, and they’re looking at a couple of other places, but it’s not definite,” said Allison Stockel, who heads Ridgefield’s Film Commission.
“College Road Trip” stars Raven-Symone of “That’s So Raven” fame as a young woman with public-defender dreams who goes to visit potential universities with her overprotective cop father, played by Martin Lawrence, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Walt Disney Pictures plans to release the movie next year. Many of the scenes will be shot around Connecticut this summer, including in Bridgeport, Norwalk and possibly Wilton, Ms. Stockel said.
She said she is pleased Ridgefield was chosen as a movie location.
“I’ve driven around with three different location scouts for this movie,” she said. “There’s a lot of competition for every movie.”
Eric Myers of Disney Pictures said the Ridgefield Community Center was chosen because “it suited our script needs best.”
He said there will not be a chance for locals to come down and be “extras.”
Also, the set will be “closed,” meaning people can’t come watch the filming inside the Community Center. But some of the filming will be outside, Mr. Myers said.
“When they’re outside, people can watch,” Ms. Stockel said.
Mr. Myers said the Community Center will be “a country inn” in the movie.
‘Huge production’
Ms. Stockel is now working on logistics, she said.
“It’s a huge production,” she said. “There are equipment trucks, the four tour buses for Mr. Lawrence.”
The initial plan was to use the East Ridge Middle School parking lot, but “that didn’t work out,” she said.
“It looks like they’re going to park their tour stuff at the Christian Scientist Church,” she said. “They were also talking to Ridgefield Academy, but that’s much further. If they fit into the Christian Scientist and Aldrich lots that would be perfect.”
Besides the parking problem, there’s lunch to worry about.
“They have about 100 crew members, so we need to find a place to cater for 100,” Ms. Stockel said. “We’re still in the process of figuring that out. Then we have to find a place for them to eat, too. When we thought they were going to park at East Ridge they were going to use the cafeteria. Now we need to find another place. There are all these little last minute things that need to get done,” she said.
“It’s a lot of fun, it’s not difficult,” she added.
She said the Walt Disney Production people have been “very good about working with the town.”
Main Street will remain open to traffic during the filming, Ms. Stockel said.
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