News and Events

When David Salzberg’s friends called him “Hollywood” as he was growing up in Walpole and in the area, it was more-or-less a derogatory moniker. Nowadays, that has all changed. With the release of “The Perfect Game” earlier this month, Salzberg, a Hollywood mainstay, earned his first executive producer film credit.
Based on the true story written by W. William Winokur, “The Perfect Game” follows a group of poor young boys from Monterey, Mexico in 1957 who dreamed of playing baseball in uniform. With the help of a local priest (played by Cheech Marin) the boys realize that dream and much, much more.

Even as some states pull back from the Hollywood game, others are expanding in a big way. The Florida Legislature, for example, recently approved a $242-million film tax credit program. Massachusetts earlier this year fended off an effort to impose a cap on its program, while New York has proposed boosting its incentive to a whopping $420 million annually.

Boston Logan International Airport is celebrating the return of daily seasonal service between Boston and Paris on American Airlines by offering a three night stay for two in Paris — the City of Light — courtesy of American Airlines and the Hotel de Vigny located near the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées. To win this trip of a lifetime, contestants need to submit a short video–before May 20th–about what it means to be an American in Paris.

What summer-movie season is this, anyway? We’ve got an “Iron Man” movie, a “Twilight” (June 30), a “Robin Hood,” a “Shrek,” a “Sex and the City,” another “Karate Kid,” another “Toy Story” (June 18), a George Romero zombie movie (May 28) and, for crying out loud, “The A-Team.” Can you say: I pity the fools? Clearly, it’s deja vu 24/7 as the film industry sells only what has been sold before, even if it was only on television. No wonder indies sweep the awards.

The summer release schedule, which starts Friday, is light on both obvious blockbusters and post facto 3-D spectacles. This might turn out to be the sort of summer where audiences weary of schmucks go out in search of people. Here is a complete guide to your many options.

Throughout May, the Boston Public Library will welcome local filmmakers to its popular “Made in Massachusetts” film series. The yearlong series is the BPL’s most expansive film series ever, showcasing a wide range of movies filmed in the Bay State. Writers, producers, and directors will describe their works and take questions at each of the four Monday night film screenings planned in May.

Rhode Island’s tax credit for film and TV productions generated $8 in economic activity for every $1 invested between 2005 and 2009, according to a new study by Edward M. Mazze, economics professor at the University of Rhode Island, and former dean of URI’s business school. He found that the $57.6 million in film tax credits Rhode Island issued over the four-year period created a total of $465.51 million in economic activity. The credits also created and supported 4,184 new jobs, generated $181.7 million in direct wages and $152.6 million in indirect wages, and led to $34.1 million in state and local taxes, according to the report.

This picture-perfect Newton, Massachusetts homestead is one of several shooting sites around the Boston area for a CBS pilot called “Quinn-Tuplets”….just one of 80-plus scripted pilots in production across the country, and due to be evaluated soon by the five broadcast networks. Each is bucking for a berth on a fall prime-time schedule.

Local producer Sam Weisman’s hit reality show, “The Sing-Off,’’ is coming back to NBC, and casting begins next month.

Turbine Inc., one of the Boston area’s biggest video game companies, has been acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc. of Burbank, Calif., a business unit of media giant Time Warner Inc. “I view this as Hollywood coming to Boston,’’ said Turbine chief executive Jim Crowley, who said the deal underscores Greater Boston’s increasing prominence as a center for video game development

Kevin Bright, the Emmy-winning producer of the smash sitcom “Friends,’’ is involved in a groundbreaking partnership with the Perkins School for the Blind. An executive artist in residence at Emerson College, Bright has developed a filmmaking course for blind students, teaching them how to shoot, light, direct, and produce. His students just completed their first short film, “Seeing Through the Lens,’’ about the friendship between three teenage girls at Perkins.

This is all in good fun and will inevitably lead to can’t-miss train wreck moments once the show goes on the air. But it’s also a thin, cheap look at the state. Even if the show is a commercial success, the version of Massachusetts it depicts is getting less relevant by the day. And for the millions of Bay Staters who have no interest in muscle cahs or hair products, that’s not such a bad thing.

Among the movies in the pipeline is the Anna Faris-Chris Evans comedy, “What’s Your Number,” which starts shooting next month.

Come May, the Massachusetts Film Office will add Dennis to its list of six communities with film Web pages. “Dennis, MA. The Reel Deal” provides filmmakers with everything they need to know about the town as a location in which to film a major motion picture. At the 2009 Town Meeting, Dennis residents set aside $10,000 to promote the town as a destination. With the anticipated advent of Plymouth Rock Studios, Selectwoman Heidi Schadt saw an opportunity: promote Dennis as a film destination.

Brooke Shields and Brendan Fraser, stars of “Furry Vengeance,” know it’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature – and while filming the green-themed family flick in Massachusetts they didn’t! “We had a whole team of sergeants constantly following around people with soda cans,” said Shields, who was in town yesterday to promote the tree-huggin’ funny flick.

From one of the guys behind MTV’s “Jersey Shore” comes the next great reality TV sensation. Casting director Doron Ofir, the man credited with discovering the “Jersey Shore” cast, said his new project is not about Massholes – but it could be. “Everyone is labeling it as ‘Massholes.’ I find that to be derogatory,” Ofir told the Herald yesterday in a telephone interview. “I am looking at this as a love letter to the nation about (being from) Massachusetts.”

The Oscar-winning husband-and-wife art directors Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, who have worked with “Shutter Island’’ director Martin Scorsese on films such as “Gangs of New York’’ and “The Aviator,’’ selected four of Boucher’s barkcloth fabrics for “Shutter Island.’’ Their assistants called Boucher for samples while they were filming in Middleborough last year.

The Weymouth town council has voted 9-0 to urge local state representatives to keep the incentives for producers to make motion pictures in Massachusetts. Councilors approved a resolution by Vice President Patrick O’Connor that stated that the tax incentive is needed to encourage the construction of a $147 million movie production complex at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station. “We need economic growth in the state,” said O’Connor during an April 5 council session. “The project at SouthField will create up to 3,000 jobs.”

“We are seeing progress on a lot of different fronts that are very encouraging,” said Ken Droz, communications manager for the Michigan Film Office. Gov. Granholm cited this progress in her weekly radio address last Friday. “Michigan’s film incentive program has made our state one of the top three in the nation for the production of all types of media,” Granholm said. “An entire new industry is emerging in Michigan, one that’ll help keep our talented young people here.”

The Workshop covers a variety of skills including how to successfully plan, organize and manage a film or video production.