The 2nd quarter of 2021 (April 1 - June 30) was the busiest for Film & TV Production that the Hudson Valley Film Commission has witnessed in twenty-one years. The region became home to more than 15 projects.
On location at Glynwood Farms
The 3rd quarter is off to a fast start with several production days already wrapped in Putnam County for the Untitled Nick Wootton/Jake Coburn Project directed by Justin Lin (Fast and Furious) for NBC Universal. Also making headlines is the announcement regarding new Film & TV soundstages at iPark84 in East Fishkill.
Early estimates for the 2nd quarter of 2021 indicate that production resulted in over 70 days of work, more than a thousand part time jobs, and twelve-thousand room nights. The Hudson Valley Film Commission is still waiting for data from several productions but is comfortable estimating that direct spending resulted in more than $25-million.
“We’ve never had this many productions in the region working simultaneously,” said Film Commission director Laurent Rejto. “On June 30, we had five productions filming in a 25-mile radius of Poughkeepsie, NY, including Crumb Catcher, Life & Beth, Redemption in Cherry Springs, The Sex Lives of College Girls, and The White House Plumbers. It’s been an incredible run and the fact that we are currently working with 30 potential productions for 2021-22 combined with news regarding new soundstages for the region, makes us optimistic that production companies understand how the Mid-Hudson Valley offers ideal locations, trained crew members, A-list actors, dayplayers, vendors, qualified production facilities, and more.”
Here’s a list of some of the projects that took place during the second quarter of 2021. (Listed alphabetically)
CRUMB CATCHER
On June 22, Glass Eye Pix started production on Chris Skotchdopole’s Crumb Catcher in Dutchess County.
On location in Wassaic
Crumb Catcher writer, director and producer Chris Skotchdopole has worked extensively with Glass Eye Pix, an independent production outfit led by producer, director, and actor, Larry Fessenden.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission has worked on more than ten Glass Eye Pix productions over the past two decades, including Bitter Feast, Stake Land, Stray Bullets, Foxhole. In addition to Fessenden, the production also includes producers James W. Skotchdopole, (Furlough, Birdman, Django Unchained), and Bonnie Timmermann (i Origins, The Insider).
Crumb Catcher focuses on a newlywed couple that is held captive in a remote lake house by a maniacally optimistic inventor and his sour wife who are desperate to finance his dream project with a half-baked blackmail plot. Actors include Lorraine Farris and John Speredakos.
A search for the ideal location started back in 2019. After a delay due to Covid-19, Skotchdopole settled on a “hero” location in May of 2021. The Film Commission made several referrals and helped with a last minute casting decision.
THE GREEN VEIL
Irene Bedard in Owen Clarke’s 1953 Lincoln
Several pickup days were added for The Green Veil, a TV mini series from Aram Rappaport with John Leguizamo, and Irene Bedard (Smoke Signals). The Hudson Valley Film Commission recommended ideal locations for the 1950s period series, including the Historic Village Diner and St. John’s Church in Red Hook. Filming also took place at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.
Hudson Valley Casting helped with local casting. Actors have included Wayne Pyle, Anni Krueger, Tim Miller, Samantha Jones, and Owen Clarke, who has supplied many classic picture cars for this production and others. Amy Hutchings handled background for the additional pickup days.
LIFE & BETH
On location in Staatsburgh
Written, directed, executive produced, and starring Amy Schumer, Life & Beth follows Beth (Schumer), on her journey toward building a more authentic life. Michael Rapaport (Atypical) and Michael Cera (Superbad) co-star in the half hour comedy series from Hulu, which received a 10-episode order in July 2019.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission was contacted in March of 2020 prior to the Covid pandemic outbreak which postponed production from fall of 2020 to summer of 2021. The Film Commission made several location referrals and also supported the production with crew, vendor referrals and casting notices on behalf of Roman Candle Casting. Mid Hudson Valley filming has taken place primarily in Dutchess and Putnam Counties. UPM duties were handled by Jamie Buckner (Driveways, The Green Veil, The Sixth Reel).
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
As was recently announced in Deadline Hollywood, filming on the HBO Max reboot Pretty Little Liars, will start late summer 2021. The Hudson Valley Film Commission has been supporting the pre-production team with location and crew referrals since November of 2020. For more, see Deadline Hollywood.
Titled Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, the reboot is set in modern time and centers around a group of disparate teen girls who are being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Taking place 20 years after a series of events rattled the fictional town of Millwood, the show will follow Tabby (Chandler Kinney), Noa (Maia Reficco), and other disparate teen girls who find themselves tormented by an unknown assailant. Upriver Studios in the town of Saugerties will be the base of operations for the show.
REDEMPTION IN CHERRY SPRINGS
Also filming in June 2021 was the Hallmark Mystery Redemption in Cherry Springs, directed by Letia Clouston, who has worked on nine features, airing internationally on Hallmark, Lifetime, Starz, Warner Bros. VOD, Disney Channel LA, UPtv, and NBC/Universal UK. Tony Glazer and Summer Crockett Moore produced through their company Choice Films. Local actors were hired through Hilary Greer Casting. Filming took place in Newburgh, Wappingers Falls, and other towns in the region.
A brief synopsis for Redemption in Cherry Springs reveals that investigative journalist, Melanie (Rochelle Aytes) returns to her hometown of Cherry Springs for a much-needed break. When she arrives, her Uncle Joe (Frankie Faison) welcomes her with open arms. However, her quiet retreat is disrupted when a childhood friend suddenly goes missing. This leads to Melanie having to use her investigative skills to uncover what is behind his sudden disappearance. For more info, visit Hallmark.
REMOTE
The art film Remote, was also produced in May and June, primarily in Tivoli and at SPAF, the Saugerties Performing Arts Factory. The film was directed by Argentina-born, New York-based artist Mika Rottenberg, who is devoted to a rigorous practice that combines film, architectural installation, and sculpture to explore ideas of labor and the production of value in our contemporary hyper-capitalist world.
On set in Tivoli with lead man Tim Bruno
As ART news reported, Remote was created with Mahyad Tousi and even has a narrative, though one that is something less than straightforward. “It’s about five women,” Rottenberg said. “It happens in the near future, in 2027—or 2032. We’re not exactly sure about the exact date, but now it is 2027. And it’s five women in different parts of the world, all quarantined still. But it’s a different pandemic. They all connect through a South Korean dog-grooming show that they’re all fans of. So they find this portal through the show that unleashes this ancient internet.” The dialogue is in Korean, and there will be an interactive online version and a cinematic version.
Remote, was line-produced by Dutchess County’s Jonathan Burkhart who has a remarkable ability to hire the best trained professionals in the region (because he knows them and understands how professional they are). Burkhart has worked on over a dozen local projects, including Higher Ground, Peace Love and Misunderstanding, I Dream Too Much, Furlough, Antarctica, and many more.
Other regional industry members working on Remote, included production manager John Hay, set dresser Leisah Swenson, lead man Tim Bruno and construction grip, Jack Bruno. Co-Producer Michael Goodin (from Canada) has worked locally before on Beyond the Night, After Party, A Different Sun, and Amy Makes Three.
The project is supported by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, and the London-based nonprofit Artangel. Both will screen it.
THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS
The Sex Lives of College Girls, Mindy Kaling’s HBO Max Series starring Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Reneé Rapp, and Alyah Chanelle Scott, follows the lives of four 18-year-old roommates at Essex College in Vermont, covering their sexually active lifestyle as they deal with different struggles and hardship that college brings.
Background actors on location at Vassar College
The series was first announced at the HBO Max presentation in October 2019, under the working title College Girls. It was given a straight-to-series order of 13 half-hour episodes with Mindy Kaling announced to create, write and executive produce the series under her overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. In May 2020, the series was confirmed to be launching the following year in 2021, under the new and expanded title The Sex Lives of College Girls.
The series began filming on November 20, 2020, in Los Angeles. Vassar College was recommended to serve as the location for the fictional Essex College, by the Hudson Valley Film Commission in September of 2020. Vassar College was used for prior Film & TV shows, including Master, Shirley, The Brass Teapot, and Frances Ha. The Film Commission also supported the project with crew, vendor, cast and permit support. Casting notices were also shared, on behalf of Roman Candle Casting. Filming took place in Poughkeepsie in June 2021 with director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, Red Oaks).
STAY AWAKE
Production wrapped on July 3 on the independent feature film Stay Awake, by Emmy-nominated director Jamie Sisley. Filming took place primarily in and around Saugerties. The Film Commission worked closely with line producer Rob Cristiano (The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and other crew members to help with location referrals and contacts, as well as crew, cast and vendor recommendations
As reported in Variety, "Emmy and two-time Golden Globe Award Nominee Chrissy Metz ('This is Us') plays Michelle, a loving and well-meaning mother of two whose struggle with prescription drug addiction is adversely affecting her entire family. Wyatt Oleff ('It,' 'I Am Not Okay with This') plays Ethan, the quick-witted younger brother about to leave the nest, and Fin Argus ('Clouds') plays Derek, the eldest sibling who’s desires to care for his family are keeping him from moving forward with his own life."
As has been the case with many recent productions, filming for Stay Awake, took several detours prior to kicking off in early June 2021. The Film Commission was initially contacted to help refer locations back in 2019. The feature film is based on the narrative short film of the same name, about two teenage brothers and their weekly routine of finding their wandering mother and taking her to the hospital to detox from a prescription drug addiction. The short premiered internationally at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival and won the Jury Prize at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival.
Sunny Edelman (president of UPWIFT) was responsible for hiring locals to fulfill background roles and Heidi Eklund (Hudson Valley Casting) supplemented cast members in dayplayer roles, including Rosemary Howard, Sierra Leanne Walter, Talha Ahmad Khan and Robert Vincent Smith.
THE WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS
Based in part on public records and the book Integrity by Egil “Bud” Krogh and Matthew Krogh, the five-part limited HBO series The White House Plumbers will tell the true story of how Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, accidentally toppled the presidency they were trying to protect.
Courtesy HBO
Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux star as Hunt and Liddy, respectively. Domhnall Gleeson (Run) will portray the brilliant, and ambitious White House Counsel, John Dean. Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) will play Hunt's wife, Dorothy, a CIA asset who tries to hold her family together. Part time Hudson Valley local Corbin Bernsen, best known for L.A. Law, recently appeared in the locally produced BCDF production The Hating Game, directed by Peter Hutching. According to Deadline, “Bernsen will play Richard Kleindienst, the Harvard-educated attorney general that is tainted by the ITT scandal and a contentious confirmation process. He refuses to use his power to shield the Plumbers from investigators.”
Along with appearing in the series, Harrelson and Theroux are executive producers. Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, who were writers and executive producers on Veep, created the series and will executive produce alongside Veep showrunner David Mandel, who is pulling double duty as director of all five episodes.
Frank Rich, executive producer of Veep and Succession, Paul Lee, Nne Ebong, Mark Roybal, Len Amato, and Gregg Fienberg (I Know This Much Is True, Big Little Lies) are also executive producers.
Crew includes many holdovers from I Know This Much is True, which spent 12 months in the region. The location team, led by Stephen Grivno, knows the region better than most. Following up on several key location referrals for I Know This Much is True, the Film Commission recommended several locations in December of 2020, including the former Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Newburgh, which was used for a key scene. Crew referrals and background support in conjunction with Grant Wilfley Casting have also kept HVFC busy.
This is Harrelson’s first visit to the region as a working actor. He previously visited to support his work on Ron Mann’s Go Further, (2003) and Oren Moverman’s The Messenger (2009). Theroux previously spent time in the Mid-Hudson Valley while working on Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Maniac.
G. Gordon Liddy spent much of his early career in Dutchess County as a prosecutor and assistant district attorney. Liddy’s funeral was actually held in Poughkeepsie, where he is buried, a few days before production started. Local lore surrounding Liddy goes back to the mid-sixties. According to Wikipedia, Liddy led a drug raid in 1966 on the Hitchcock Estate (then occupied by Timothy Leary) in Millbrook, New York, leading to an unsuccessful trial. Although the case generated much publicity, other lawyers complained that Liddy received credit for something in which he played a relatively small role. A Liddy-directed drug raid on Bard College in 1969 involved, among others, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who later formed the band Steely Dan and wrote the song My Old School about the raid. Liddy is referred to in the lyrics as Daddy Gee.
OTHER PROJECTS
Four other Film & TV projects that kept Mid-Hudson Valley cast and crew members employed nearby, included Mayim Bialik's As Sick as They Made Us, HBO’s The Gilded Age, Paint, and the Untitled Katie Holmes Project.
On location in Troy
The Gilded Age, a co-production between HBO and Universal Television, turned the clock back to 1882 in Troy, NY with stunning production design and costumes. The series was created by Julian Fellowes, best known for writing and executive producing Downton Abbey.
Featured actors include Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Morgan Spector (Boardwalk Empire), Denée Benton, Louisa Jacobson, Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson, Simon Jones, Harry Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel, Jack Gilpin and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love).
The Hudson Valley Film Commission helped get the word out for background extras through Grant Wilfley Casting. Additional employment included G&E and HMU crew members from the Mid-Hudson Valley region.
Mayim Bialik's As Sick as They Made Us, starring Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen worked with Hudson Valley Casting’s Heidi Eklund. Two young actors from Dutchess County were cast. Anastasia Veronica Lee played young Abigail, and Oliver Patnode played young Nathan Oliver appeared in a speaking role in the award-winning series I Know This Much Is True, which filmed in the Hudson Valley. Rhinebeck-based Amy Hutchings helped to fill out background roles and stand-ins. Filming took place in New Jersey. The production company, Yale Productions, has kept many ties to the region after filming more than ten films in the Hudson Valley.
Yale Productions was also responsible for the Untitled Katie Holmes Project, which was lensed in Connecticut. The film stars Katie Holmes (who also directed), and Hudson Valley Oscar Winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter). Also featured is Zosia Mamet, who has appeared in several Mid-Hudson Valley films including Rhymes with Banana and The Last Keepers. Mamet also produced Fabled in the region). Rhinebeck-based Amy Hutchings Casting was hired to fill background roles and stand-ins.
In April and May, Owen Wilson starred in Brit McAdams’s Paint, in Saratoga Springs. Heidi Eklund of Hudson Valley Casting handled local casting, which included many Mid Hudson Valley actors and dayplayers. Elisabeth Henry (Bread Factory) had a significant role, as did Denny Dillon, Vin Graig, Elizabeth Loyacano, Noa Graham, and Rob Figueroa.
Other local production work included series work from Remedy Television + Branded in Rhinebeck and Milton, a commercial for Land’s End, at Kaaterskill Falls, and a commercial for Nature Valley, at Minnewaska State Park. Lisa Thomas of Thin Edge Films shot her Graduate Thesis Film, Change of Scenery, in Catskill, NY during the month of May with the help of Hudson Valley Casting. HV local Samantha Walsh stars in the film as Julia. Many locals to Catskill were a part of this project which asked for participants from LGBTQ communities in the region.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that helps productions secure local crew, cast, locations, vendors, post production facilities, and more! Since 2000, the film commission has supported and worked on over 500 productions, helping to create thousands of jobs and over $275 million in regional economic development. Please support our continued efforts with a tax-deductible contribution at www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/support
Click to watch FOX 5 TV news report: Movie and TV production BOOMIN’ in Hudson Valley
SELECT Mid-Hudson Valley productions:
To view full list or to stream regional films, visit www.hudsonvalleyfilmcommission.org/streamfest
Untitled Nick Wootton/Jake Coburn Project (NBC Universal) • Pretty Little Liars (HBO) • Stay Awake • Redemption in Cherry Springs (Hallmark) • Crumb Catcher • Life & Beth (Hulu) • The Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO) • The White House Plumbers (HBO) • Remote • The Gilded Age (HBO) • Severance (Apple TV+) • The Whale (A24) • Old Man • Master (Amazon Studios) • Porcupine • The Hating Game (BCDF) • The Green Veil • Linoleum • The Sixth Reel • The Secret Diaries of an Exchange Student • Werewolves Within (Ubisoft/IFC Films) • Things Heard and Seen (Netflix) • Billions (Showtime) • Monsterland (Hulu) • The Plot Against America (HBO) • Silent Retreat (Miramax) • Black Bear • Lapsis • Foxhole • The Undoing (HBO) • I Know This Much Is True (HBO)• Save Yourselves • I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix) • Scare Me • A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount) • Can You Keep a Secret? (BCDF) • Depraved (IFC Films) • Panic (Amazon Prime) • High Maintenance (HBO) • Shirley (Killer Films) • Driveways • The Dead Don't Die (Focus Features) • Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios) • The Irishman (Netflix) • The Climb • Swallow (IFC Films) • Skin • The Mountain • A Quiet Place (Paramount) • Fabled • Then Came You (BCDF) • Furlough (IFC Films) • A Vigilante • Nancy • Diane (IFC Films) • The Miseducation of Cameron Post • La Devotee by Panic at the Disco! • It Comes at Night • Super Dark Times • The Seagull • HAPPYish (Showtime) • The Ticket • King Cobra (IFC Films) • Growing Up Smith • Cold in July (IFC Films) • Katie Fforde Films • True Story • The Sisterhood of Night • The Better Angels • We Are What We Are • The Bourne Legacy • Frances Ha • Our Idiot Brother • First Winter • The Last Keepers (BCDF) • Francine • Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding (IFC Films) • Martha Marcy May Marlene • Higher Ground • Rocksteady • Bitter Feast • Stake Land • Man on Wire • Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) • American Gangster (Imagine Entertainment) • Michael Clayton • The Human Footprint (National Geographic) • The Night Listener • Stephanie Daley • War of the Worlds (Dreamworks) • Down to the Bone • Personal Velocity