Hollywood on Hudson: Film conference offers a chance to work on movies
John W. Barry | Poughkeepsie Journal
In the last two months, nearly 20,000 tickets have been sold for a movie that highlights scenic settings in Dutchess County.
The region's film industry has boomed in the last year, with the worldwide release of "A Quiet Place," and dozens of other productions that have injected money into the local economy and provided jobs for residents.
The possibility for an area resident to break into the film industry is one of several topics that will be discussed on Tuesday, when the Hudson Valley Film Industry Conference is held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.
With its emphasis on networking, this event is geared toward those working in the film industry and those hoping to learn more about it.
The conference is being held as Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley are enjoying robust attention from filmmakers.
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The Woodstock-based Hudson Valley Film Commission is currently working with 20 films, three of which have combined budgets of more than $35 million.
“There is a lot of excitement about the film industry,” said Dutchess Tourism President Mary Kay Vrba.
“A Quiet Place,” which stars John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, was filmed in Dutchess and Ulster with a budget of $17 million and opened in April. As of the end of May, the film had sold an estimated 19,812,200 tickets and earned $181.7 million in the United States, according to www.boxofficemojo.com.
The movie was filmed in Pawling, Beacon and New Paltz from May through November 2017. “A Quiet Place” that year generated $21 million for the local economy, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. In 2016, all film production in the Hudson Valley generated nearly $9 million in spending. Hudson Valley Film Commission Director Laurent Rejto called "A Quiet Place," “the largest production we’ve ever hosted.”
Film Dutchess, which operates under Dutchess Tourism, is one of the conference sponsors. Film Dutchess handles inquiries from production companies looking to film in the county; and then works with those crews that choose to make their movies here.
The other conference sponsors are the Hudson Valley Film Commission; Stockade Works, the film production facility that actress and Dutchess resident Mary Stuart Masterson is working to open in Kingston; and the Orange County NY Film Office. This conference was held last year in Orange County.
The event is open to the public and will feature panels, roundtable discussions and industry professionals, including Masterson.
Objectives of the conference include bringing the regional film industry together; and assessing what skills and services are available in the Hudson Valley so the promotion and marketing of the region to the film industry can be expanded.
Speaking of the conference, Rejto said, “We’ll be there to give our regional message, which benefits everyone; and to push the fact that we’ve created thousands of jobs.”
In addition to Krasinski and Blunt, a long list of notable names — including Whoopi Goldberg, Emma Stone, Jonah Hill and Maisie Williams from “Game of Thrones” — have recently traveled to the Hudson Valley recently for filming.
Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Lena Dunham and Matthew Broderick are among the stars who filmed in the region previously.
And there are plenty of other examples that underscore how the Hudson Valley has established a firm foothold in the movie industry:
If you go
The Hudson Valley Film Industry Conference is set for Tuesday, from 12:30 to 7 p.m. at the Culinary Institute of America, Marriott Pavilion, Hyde Park.
Visit www.dutchesstourism.com for information.
“A Quiet Place:” An Economic Impact
More than $4.5 million spent on local rentals and purchases for set decoration, production, and other supplies
More than $1.3 million spent on lodging
More than $560,000 on local wardrobe, including dry cleaning
More than $460,000 spent on transportation, including truck and car rentals
More than $380,000 spent on local catering and other food items for cast and crew