There’s always something satisfying about seeing your hometown and the Hudson Valley region on the big screen, or any screen, for that matter. You can expect to get that feeling a lot more, thanks to the Hudson Valley Film Commission (HVFC), which has helped Beacon, Pawling, Kingston, and more Valley locations earn “supporting roles” in upcoming productions.
Last year, the HVFC worked with more than 30 film production companies and representatives on a variety of projects including feature films, TV shows, music videos, shorts, and commercials, according to HVFC Commissioner Laurent Rejto, who says they are drawn to the Valley because of its beauty and proximity to New York City.
Another incentive is the NY Film Production (and Post-Production) Tax Credit program: Companies may be eligible to receive a fully refundable credit of 30 percent of qualified production costs and post-production costs incurred in the state. And the Hudson Valley is particularly attractive because an additional 10% credit is available for labor costs incurred in upstate New York until 2022.
The HVFC focuses on Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. It provides guidance in pre-production, location scouting, casting, production, and post-production. Projects are both big and small-budget: Productions that were filmed here in 2017 “featured at least five Academy-Award winners, and other major A-list industry members, including Martin Scorsese,” says Rejto.
Here are some films to look forward to this year:
- A Quiet Place, shot in Pawling and Beacon, stars John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. IFC Films will distribute in April.
- The upcoming road-trip comedy, Furlough, starring Tessa Thompson, La La Anthony, and Oscar-winners Whoopi Goldberg, Stone Ridge’s Melissa Leo, and Anna Paquin; Goldberg filmed in Kingston, and other scenes were filmed in Pine Plains, the Town of Ulster, and Port Ewen.
- Christina Choe’s Nancy, co-starring Steve Buscemi, John Leguizamo, and Andrea Riseborough; its world premiere was at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
By The Numbers: The Oscars
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The 90th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. Here are some facts about Oscar statuettes, which have been made at Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry in Walden, Orange County, since 2016:
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Scans of a classic Oscar from 1928 and a modern Oscar used in 2015 were blended to make the new design. This new design was then 3-D printed in wax.
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The waxes are each dipped in a ceramic shell slurry, covering them with 10 coats.
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Once the shell is cured, it is fired in a 1600° F. oven. Bronze at 1860° F is then poured into the hot ceramic shell and allowed to cool overnight.
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The castings are sanded to a mirror polish finish and electroplated with 24-karat gold.
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The gold-plated statuette on its base is 13.5 inches tall and weighs 8.5 pounds.
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Production time for 50 statuettes is about three months.
