The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Stars ‘save’ Christmas
Barbara Eden, Denise Richards among cast shooting film in Middletown area
MIDDLETOWN — A grand 232-yearold Colonial house in Westfield has been abuzz with activity for the past week as more than 60 cast and crew members mulled around the scene of a yet-to-be named children’s Christmas film produced by a Cromwell native.
From the outside, the 18th-century home looked like many others in the neighborhood except for the long line of vehicles parked on the street across the road. Inside, it was clear something important was about to occur Thursday afternoon was indicated by a paper affixed to one of the doors reading “Hot Set” in big, black block letters.
Indeed, this film is big — evidenced by the appearance of iconic “I Dream of Jeannie” actress Barbara Eden, 87, on the high-definition monitor downstairs. She was clad in a Mrs. Claus outfit, her long, wavy blonde hair gathered in a comely side braid.
Los Angeles director Brian Skiba, Cromwell native and movie producer David Gere and his Shadow Vale Productions partner Chelsea Vale and others spoke in hushed tones.
Skiba is known for Christmas films, including several for the Hallmark Channel.
The family adventure film, which will be rated PG, began shooting Oct. 15 at Champions Ice Rink, with 40 local parents and their children as extras. Tuesday, the set moved to a private house in Middletown. It also stars Denise Richards, Patrick Muldoon, Jamie Luner, Dante Scalia of Brooklyn, New York, and others. Producers drew some movie extras and crew members from a local talent pool.
The plot involves a family’s trip to the North Pole to help Santa save Christmas, which is threatened by an evil elf witch (Luner).
Connecticut’s generous film production tax credit cemented the deal to shoot in the Nutmeg state. “It really helps with the production and brings up the value of the show,” Skiba said, praising the quality of crew members in Connecticut. “The crews here are great. That’s the thing you’ve got to look for when you go to states is depth of crew, because a bigger show will come in and wipe out the crew and smaller shows like ours tend to suffer.”
Gere, 43, originally intended to attend law school. He began acting after his Providence College professor connected him with comedy screenwriter and director Peter Farrelly, known for his work on “Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “Shallow Hal.” In 2009, his big break came when he played Frank Meltzer on “Gossip Girl.”
A decade later, Gere said he realized “learning the business side, understanding how it works from behind the camera could probably elevate my acting career,” so he self-funded a couple of independent films.
“These are massive undertakings. It’s by no means a one-man operation,” Gere said. “It’s kind of an unexplainable feeling. You wish and work so hard for it to grow, and to have it be this big, and this special of a production with these people involved, and have it land in my hometown — it’s incredible.”
Vale was clad in an emerald green “good elf” costume with white trim, the tips of her prosthetic ears built into a point. When Gere pointed out the “diamond” stud in one ear, saying it must have hurt when she got it, Vale let out a hearty laugh.
Hollywood Media Bridge, which partnered with Gere and Vale, secured the financing and distribution deal. This is their second project together. The first was a Netflix Navy SEALS action film shot over the summer in Newington. Gere expects to continue with three to five other films set in Connecticut in the future.
The project was originally supposed to be set in LA. “I really fought to have it brought to classic, New England locations like we have here,” he said.
Vale marveled at the historic houses in the Middletown/Cromwell area. “It’s especially good for Christmas, because it’s got that Norman Rockwell kind of feel to it. You can’t get (that) in California. You can build it, but it’s never going to look the same.”
Catering is being done locally at Taphouse 150 in Cromwell and the cast is staying at a nearby hotel. In fact, Gere, Eden and others enjoyed a dinner at Baci Grill last week.
“Having Hollywood stars here is humbling for me,” Gere said. The web was alight a week ago as Muldoon and Richards shopped at Walmart in Cromwell. Richards, who Gere described as “very cool,” and “down to earth,” admitted she only visited the superstore once in her life.
He is particularly thrilled about working with Eden. “For all of use to have watched such an iconic television show with such a strong female lead, and to have Barbara Eden here, it’s almost unbelievable. She’s full of life and energy,” Gere said.
“Dave is a hometown boy. He always comes back to where he started, his roots. He learned that from his dad Jim. He’s a man of his word. He’s always done right. He could have shot in LA, but he said he wanted to bring it back home. To me, that says a lot about the man,” said Cromwell Councilman Frank C. Emanuele Jr.
This is the second project filmed in Connecticut for Hollywood Media Bridge producer Binh Dang, who is planning to make more films in the state. Crews here have an “amazing work ethic” and are “first class,” he said. “The people here are very unique to this part of the country. When something goes wrong, people don’t complain. They put their heads down and push through,” he said.
Eden was “Farrah Fawcett before there was Farrah Fawcett. She was the first female lead to show the midriff, and still won America’s heart. I would imagine it was much harder for an actor back in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, but she held her poise. She has class. She kept herself beyond reproach, and that is very, very hard to do,” Dang said.
Today, cast and crew head to LA Style Salon in Portland, owned by Douglas and Jaqui Cartelli. Wednesday, the set will move to the hillside of Cromwell Intermediate School.
The school will have a computer-generated effect, transforming it into Santa’s workshop. “That will be a special day for me, because my father (former Superintendent of Schools James Gere, who retired in 2000) ushered that project in (during his tenure),” Gere said.