2017 was a turning point thanks to additional film tax credits that were finally passed for the region in late 2016. Overall, the State of New York broke film and television production records in all areas, by hosting 225 productions that generated nearly $4 billion in New York spend and nearly a quarter of a million hires.
We also broke records! Based on early data we have received, we are predicting a 300 percent increase in local direct spending, which supports jobs, lodging and the hiring of local vendors. 2017 brought bigger productions and more jobs to the region than ever before, from major companies including Paramount, Netflix, Amazon Studios and more.
The Hudson Valley Film Commission worked closely with all these films on many levels, continuing to advance job opportunities, general prosperity and long-term economic vitality in the region. For 2018, we are already working on a dozen film productions.
Looking back at 2017, there were many highlights.
The year kicked off with films starring four amazing women – Melissa Leo, Anna Paquin, Whoopi Goldberg, Marissa Tomei – who had one thing in common. You guessed it, they have all won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Another point of interest was the fact that over a third of the movies produced, were directed by women, including Sarah Daggar-Nickson, Laurie Collyer, Christina Choe, Jennifer Morrison, Sarah Pirozek, Jenn Wexler, Anja Murmann.
January through March brought other sensational projects, and actors to the region, including Mary Kay Place (DIANE) and Olivia Wilde (A VIGILANTE). Steve Buscemi, John Leguizamo, and Andrea Riseborough co-starred in Christina Choe's NANCY, which will world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018.
March also brought Tessa Thompson (WESTWORLD) and La La Anthony (POWER), when they joined Melissa Leo, Anna Paquin, and Whoopi Goldberg in FURLOUGH, which was directed by Laurie Collyer. The film commission worked closely with the production to refer key crew members and we worked with Amy Hutchings Casting to find 50 female inmates for the jail scenes. We received over 800 resumes! FURLOUGH was recently picked up for distribution by IFC Films.
Producer Claude Dal Farra, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein and Maisie Williams
In April, Maisie Williams from GAME OF THRONES and Asa Butterfield (HUGO) both starred in Peter Hutchings DEPARTURES. Back in March 2016, when the film commission had asked Peter to write a letter that could be forwarded to Governor Cuomo regarding the need for additional incentives for the mid-Hudson Valley, he wrote: “I am currently developing a new film, and it would be perfect to shoot in the Hudson Valley, but the tax incentive is not enough to keep us here. It can’t shoot anywhere near NYC, so we are looking elsewhere Believe me, I would greatly prefer to keep these millions of dollars in New York State, but without a greater incentive in the Hudson Valley it won’t be possible.” Thanks to those letters and the spearheading of politicians, especially County Executive Mike Hein, films like DEPARTURES and many others ended up filming in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Summer brought more exceptional projects, including UNINTENDED, GREEN DOLPHIN (with Seann William Scott), TWELVE, and THE BURIED GIRL. Fall followed with BIG DOGS, DO UNTO OTHERS, #LIKE, NORMAN, SARA, Amazon Studios’ UPLOAD, THE MOUNTAIN (with Jeff Goldblum), MANIAC (with Emma Stone), FABLED (directed by ONCE star Jennifer Morrison) and THE ESCAPE OF PRISONER 614, directed by local director Zach Golden, and starring Ron Pearlman and Martin Starr.
The biggest film of the year was Paramount’s A QUIET PLACE, directed by John Krasinski, who co-stars with Emily Blunt in the supernatural horror film. The Film Commission started work back in 2016 referring farms for the project which settled into the region in the beginning in May, when they started renovations on an old farmhouse and barn. The production also converted a horse arena into and astounding indoor stage, which housed 3 different parts of a silo, a flood room and green screens to simulate driving scenes. Production also worked with local farmers to provide kernels and fresh corn for use in the film. We were proud to receive a kind thank you note from the production, including the following: “On behalf of our director, producers and the entire cast and crew we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to you for being a part of our production. Our work in the Hudson Valley was a tremendous success, and we couldn't have done it without your support.”
On set with A QUIET PLACE
As our certificate of incorporation from April 2000 states, we want to provide local residents of all ages with job, work and volunteer opportunities. We are extremely proud of what we've accomplished over the past 18 years but we need your continued support to provide those opportunities throughout our communities.
As we continue to prepare our 2017 reports and prep work on 2018 productions, we want to take a moment to thank everyone who supported the Hudson Valley Film Commission in 2017, specifically the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency, Ulster County Office of Economic Development, Dutchess County Tourism and the Orange County IDA.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE and see you on set in 2018!
