Steamy flick shot here
Published Friday November 21st, 2008
His were the smouldering, dark good looks that almost went down with the Titanic. She'll play the siren who's as deadly as she is beautiful in the soon-to-be made Havana Heat.
Together, Billy Zane and Estella Warren are making Blue Seduction a reality in Fredericton. The made-for-television film has local film buffs excited as the celebrities use the capital city as the backdrop for their new thriller.
Choosing Fredericton for the 16 days of on-location filming has been a great choice, says Ben Martin, one of the movie's producers.
"The city and the people have been incredibly cooperative. People in New Brunswick are extremely supportive of the film industry," said Martin, who lives in Maugerville.
Jackelyn Giroux wrote the screenplay and Global Universal is developing the movie. The movie, which is being filmed for Super Channel in Canada and Starz in the United States, centres around a once-successful jazz and blues performer trying to make a comeback when his plans are derailed by an encounter with a seductress.
Zane, who played Caledon 'Cal' Hockley in the movie Titanic, stars in the lead role. Warren, who is originally from Peterborough, Ont., has appeared in such films as the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes.
The producers believe it's a great pairing.
"We've brought some great talent to Fredericton," Martin said.
But he said the most impressive thing is how bringing the project here is allowing New Brunswick's homegrown talent to shine.
Many of the crew members and actors are from the province.
"A lot of people don't realize the quality of talent we have right here.''
Martin said Fredericton has been an ideal location. Crews have filmed on School Street in Devon, downtown, at Oscar's Bar and Bistro and are now filming at a location outside the city.
That bodes well for the capital as the film community tries to develop its capacity to bring more projects here.
"The challenge for a lot of people who want to work in the film industry is to find enough work to do the job they trained to do," said Tony Merzetti, executive director of the New Brunswick Filmmakers Co-op.
Projects such as this can help develop the industry and retain New Brunswickers who have the expertise.
"It has to be produced somewhere, so why shouldn't we get our fair share?" Merzetti said.
Josh Linton, a local moviemaker and actor, has a part in Blue Seduction.
"It was a tremendous experience, and it was great to be able to do it here," he said.
"With my part as Officer Eddy, I got to work with both Billy and Estella. Both of them were great people to work with.''
David Seabrook, manager of Fredericton Tourism, said show business is good for local business.
"Having movies shot in Fredericton can really be a boon to the city's tourism industry. These people are staying in hotels, they hire caterers, and they hire local people for production staff."
David and Richard Wade, twin brothers known as The Singing Dentists, appear in the movie performing songs they wrote for the film.
"It was awesome. It was a great opportunity," said David.
Richard is just as enthralled by the whole experience.
"It's been fantastic, really exciting, really friendly people. With Billy Zane, you couldn't ask for a nicer gentleman. He's a genuinely nice, funny prince of a man."
Crews filmed at the brothers' homes in Douglas this week.
Astrid Wade, who is married to David Wade and appeared as an extra, said it's great that they chose Fredericton.
"You can't buy that kind of advertising."
Everyone did their best to make people involved with the production feel like they were at home, she said.
"We want them to come back."
That might be possible. Martin and Giroux are working on a number of other projects. Based on the experience filming here, some of those projects could come to New Brunswick and Fredericton.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (2)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.
To anyone who turns their nose up at the arts, think about the economic boost from a 3 week event. Think about the word of mouth that could bring more companies to the area.
We just need to be on a level tax playing field with Nova Scotia for film production incentives. Don't make our film crews move away for work!