Will New Jersey become the Hollywood of the East?
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – A film being shot mostly in Atlantic City moved to what was once called South Atlantic City Wednesday.
Filming for “People Not Places,” a movie being directed by Brad Furman, with a script written by his mother Ellen Brown Furman, moved to Dino’s Sub Shop and Jagielky’s Homemade Candy shop in downtown Margate, where Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine, 90, joined co-star Stephen Dorff to record a few scenes.
Wikimedia Miami Film Festival/Shirley McLaine
The film is about a “sprightly woman in her twilight years who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a local homeless man, while struggling to mend a troubled relationship with her son,” MacLaine said about the film on her social media.
Spectators milled about trying to catch a glimpse of the stars in action. According to a post on the city’s social media, filming was halted a few times due to loud noise coming from leaf blowers that landscapers were operating at neighborhood homes.
Furman noted that MacLaine commented on the well-kept homes in the area.
Sub-shop owner Tara Wainwright said the director, who said he loves Dino’s subs, contacted her husband Tim about filming at the store, and they arranged to make it happen.
“We were just so thankful for the opportunity,” Carol Wainwright said.
Social media sites were abuzz with activity Wednesday, with subscribers posting photos taken from a distance away trying to capture the magic normally reserved for Hollywood movie sets.
The Margate City Police were on site controlling traffic and moving along gawking motorists trying to catch a glimpse of the star.
The State of New Jersey is encouraging development of the film industry and hopes to become the Hollywood of the East by offering financial incentives for filmmakers to set up studios and encourage towns to allow filming in downtown areas.
We’re wondering where the filming will pop up next. Lucy the Elephant, perhaps?
Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine is filming a movie in Atlantic City.
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