Jun 28, 2013
(June 28th, 2013) Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Sandra Oh and Mark Duplass came to Niagara Falls last week to film the closing scenes of what should be the next classic road trip movie with Warner Brothers “TAMMY”. Directed by Ben Falcone, “TAMMY” took over Niagara Falls State Park for 2 days as over a hundred local and traveling crew members set the stage for scenes on the observation deck and the always torrential “Hurricane Deck” at the Cave of The Winds.
Melissa McCarthy(L) and husband/Director Ben Falcone(R) prepare for the next days shoot at the Cast and Crew Welcome Party
Melissa raved about the Falls in a press conference next to the observation deck “This has been amazing! I’ve never been to Niagara before, and for I can’t figure out for the life of me why? I called my parents after we were done shooting and asked them why haven’t we been here before? What’s wrong with you?”
“Tammy” also employed over 30 background extras. In addition to the movie production, the official movie poster still shoot with Sam Jones Pictures out of Los Angeles used Trish Phelan’s Bulldog Productions for local production coordination as set up at the Niagara Falls Event Center. Local spend for a 2 production days for a major studio production such of this is expected to exceed a half million dollars.
TAMMY PRESS COVERAGE:
Buffalo News – Mark Sommer
WGRZ – Including complete Melissa McCarthy Interview by David Harrington.
WIVB
YNN
May 31, 2013
(May 31st, 2013) A temporary conversion of Ralph Wilson Stadium to a fictional NY Giants Stadium, a multitude of stars descending on Buffalo, and production jobs and extra positions for over 1500 Western New York residents have all been part of the equation this week as The Best Man Holiday made the Buffalo Niagara region it’s home this week. Directed by Malcom Lee, The Best Man Holiday stars Terrence Howard, Harold Perrineau, Morris Chestnut, Rochester native Taye Diggs, and more. The Buffalo shoot included a special appearance by NFL Sportscaster Pam Oliver.
(Photo from the set – Center of Photo Pam Oliver as herself interviews Lance Sullivan played by Morris Chestnut)
The Ralph Wilson scene depicts Morris Chestnut as pro football player Lance Sullivan, and actual football hits featuring former pro and college football players choregraphed by football cooridinator Mark Robert Ellis, a veteran of many movie sports sequences including Any Given Sunday, Jerry Maguire, and The Replacements.
(Left to Right – City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Director Malcom Lee, and actor Morris Chestnut)
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown was on hand at Thursday nights shoot to present a proclamation declaring it Malcom D. Lee Day in Buffalo, which reflected his gratitude for The Best Man Holiday choosing Buffalo for this production, and the over 1.5 million dollars in added local economic impact that this production will provide in just 1 week.
Buffalo’s stellar hospitality has been on display and received enthusiastically by the out of town actors and crew members who have been overwhelmed by the outstanding reception they have received, as well as the quality and professionalism of our local crew base.
The Best Man Holiday is slated for a November 2013 release from Universal Pictures. (TRAILER)
May 6, 2013
(Monday, May 6th, 2013) Over 1800 people showed up for a Universal Pictures Casting call at the Ralph Wilson Stadium field house. This call was for background footage to be shot at the stadium at the end of May, as Universal Pictures comes to Buffalo to shoot key football related shots in a forthcoming feature film.
Apr 2, 2013
(Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013) Don’t miss Battledogs starring Dennis Haysbert, Craig Sheffer, Wes Studi, Ernie Hudson and more, airing throughout the month of April on the SyFy Network.
Shot primarily in Buffalo during September of 2012 featuring many local crew and extras, Battledogs is a Sci-Fi action film that shows what happens when a virus turns residents of Manhattan into werewolves and how a rogue army general tries to harness this virus as a weapon. Many familiar Buffalo landmarks double as New York City in this feature film.
Battledogs is yet another participant in Empire State Film Production Tax Credit Program.
Mar 26, 2013
(Tuesday, March, 26th, 2013)New York State Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) announced today that after weeks of negotiating, the final enacted state budget will include a provision to boost the film production industry in upstate New York.
Currently, New York State provides a tax incentive for up to 30 percent of certain production costs, but Gallivan has long argued that upstate and its unique cities need something more to attract significant studio interest. “It’s all about costs, and one of the most prohibitive costs for film productions is labor. In New York State, most of the high-skilled labor associated with film production in based in New York City. The further away from New York City a production takes place, the more expensive it is to film. A universally applied tax credit doesn’t necessarily do much for Upstate,” Gallivan said. “This reform will really level the playing field so Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and other upstate communities can attract bigger productions and the inherent jobs and economic benefit that come with them.”
The new tax credit creates a two-tiered system so that an additional 10 percent credit can be applied to the amount of wages or salaries paid to most individuals directly employed by a film production in the specified geographic area. This brings the total available credit in upstate counties to 40 percent without altering the total cost of the program for taxpayers.
“This is a very useful tool that will help upstate film commissions attract more production spending. It’s a direct response to people asking “why does more than $20 million dollars in production spending drive across state lines every year?” and “why did Draft Day choose Cleveland instead of Buffalo?,” said Nora Brown, Executive Director of the Rochester and Finger Lakes Film and Video Office.
“Upstate and Western New York miss out on some film opportunities because the current incentive structure doesn’t allow us to compete with neighboring states,” said Tim Clark, Commissioner of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission. “This new tiered film tax credit program rectifies this inequity and will really put our region on the map when studios are evaluating shoot locations.”
For the purposes of this legislation, upstate counties have been identified as the following: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Cortland, Delaware, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates.A final state budget is expected to be passed before the end of the week. The new film production tax credit is modeled after legislation (S.498) authored by Senator Gallivan.
Senator Patrick M. Gallivan represents all or parts of Erie, Wyoming, Livingston and Monroe Counties in the New York State Senate.
Mar 12, 2013
(Friday, March 8th, 2013) A lounge and social hall with a distinctive European flavor are all available for your next film in Buffalo with the Dnipro Ukranian Center just outside of Downtown on the East Side. Built in 1914 by German Businessmen, the club evolved to it’s current style in 1955 when it was converted to a Ukranian American Community Center.
More Photos and History of the Dnipro at ForgottenBuffalo.com
