Stephen King movie may shoot in Maine (Portland, Paris: rentals, hotel)

[Mark S.]

Maine Daily News - Portland Maine News | Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

[Sunday1]

If I represented the tourism industry in Maine, I'd probably not want Bag of Bones filming there. The net impact is probably negative and the producers need Maine (book is based there) more than Maine needs a movie based on a Stephen King book. Seriously - I'd keep the tax incentives and perqs to a minimum. Nobody wants to stay at a hotel that looks like the one in The Shining. Not all publicity is good publicity when it comes to geographic fame.

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by Sunday1

...and the producers need Maine (book is based there) more than Maine needs a movie based on a Stephen King book.

In all honesty, this is not true. The Stephen King movie, The Mist, was shot here in Shreveport, LA, back in '06 or '07 and the movie was "set" in Maine. They can make the movie anywhere with today's 'movie magic' so they really don't need Maine as much as it needs them. When movies are made in your local community, the crew does spend a lot of money in your area on everything from home rentals for the stars, to hotel rentals for the other cast and crew, all the way down to the beer they drink on their own time when they're not filiming.

And regarding the hotel, The Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which is the hotel where The Shining was filmed, is an overwhelmingly popular place for people to stay. It's a confirmed haunted location, and it makes good money in tourism dollars each year. People do enjoy staying there for that purpose alone.

[Sunday1]

The Stanley fared well because most people think The Shining was filmed at The Homestead in West Virginia. Perception is everything.

[lrfox]

Eh, I don't think a fictional movie will have anything but positive impact on Maine. If it's successful, it might be REALLY positive. Cities and towns nationwide have industries that capitalize on movies being filmed in each location. In Boston, they have an entire company dedicated to giving tours of all of the locations where movies were filmed there. People know well enough to separate reality from fantasy and Stephen King is absolutely fantasy. Even if a certain location in Maine is home to a bloody massacre in the film, it'll profit from those wanting to see where the massacre was filmed.

If it were "based on a true story" of some terrible deed that took place in Maine and will put the spotlight on some aspect of a troubled past that everyone wants to go away, then no... it's not a good thing. But a fiction story by Stephen King would likely do very little damage to anyone anywhere in Maine.

Furthermore, it'll promote short term jobs in ways beyond imagination. Massachusetts has tax breaks for films and more movies than you might think are shot there every year. This past year alone, My Best Friend's Girl (Dane Cook, Kate Hudson), Bride Wars ("set" in NYC, filmed in Boston and starring Ann Hathaway and Kate Hudson), Paul Blart, Mall Cop (Kevin James, filmed at Burlington Mall and S. Shore Plaza), Pink Panther 2 (with Steve Martin, set in Paris filmed in Boston's Back Bay), and other still unreleased movies starring Bruce Willis, Meg Ryan and others have been filmed there. In fact, 3 Hollywood studios are in the process of building 3 major movie studios in the Bay State; when complete, it'll be the highest concentration of studio space in the nation outside of L.A. California. It's a dream come true to have these perspective jobs in such troubled economic times. These films create tour companies (as mentioned above), behind the scenes labor (moving sets, rigging lights, etc), crew positions, technological positions (editing, etc), and even paid extra positions. I know a girl in the Portland area who travels to Boston every weekend or so for work as a paid extra in films. Why not have some of the pie up here. There are a lot of people who could use the work no matter how temporary it is.

[Sunday1]

I guess that makes sense. My brother directs a state Visitors Bureau and says that not all movies are good for local business in the long term which is why tax incentives and perqs aren't determined until after (screenplay) review, plus I don't like Stephen King books- so my personal bias is probably over the top.

[Casper1212]

We get a lot of movies being shot down here, and the problem is that the movie companies have come to rely on a small group of people for their information. And those people direct the companies to the places they want them to go and pretty much control where the crew spends their money. Sometimes it is in an effort to keep the curious out who could get in the way or cause trouble. But sometimes, it's just selfishness and ego. The last two films made here both made it to the BAFTA and the Oscars last year--No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood.

[dramamama6685]

This would be so cool. The movie rights were optioned forever ago.. can't wait to see this finally brought to fruition. maybe I'll have to see about getting to be an extra for a day when we're up!!!

[ADSLubec]

There is absolutely no negative impact to shooting the movie in Maine. There will be a temporary influx of economic activity (directed or not). There is no research or study that shows a negative longterm impact on a state or location due to having a movie set in a specific place. In fact the impact is usually an increase in tourism.

Shoot the movie in Maine.

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by ADSLubec

There is absolutely no negative impact to shooting the movie in Maine. There will be a temporary influx of economic activity (directed or not). There is no research or study that shows a negative longterm impact on a state or location due to having a movie set in a specific place. In fact the impact is usually an increase in tourism.

Shoot the movie in Maine.

Agreed, excellent post. The state needs the money. We've had several other movies shot in Maine, never did it impact a community negatively.
Bring them in and welcome them with open arms.