Lights, camera ... Port gets ready for Hollywood action

NEWBURYPORT — It will be Newburyport's turn under the bright lights of Hollywood next summer when an independent filmmaker with local ties starts shooting her latest production.

"Hickory Nation," a film produced by Newburyport- and New York-based Velveteen Films, is slated to begin filming next summer in several regional locations, including Newburyport, according to Rebecca Cook, the writer, director and producer.

The film will put Newburyport on the list of North Shore towns that have been backdrops for recent films. Two Hollywood productions have been shot locally already this year.

"I'm very inspired by Newburyport, Rockport and Gloucester," said Cook. "In Newburyport, it's the quaint streets and old historic homes with the ocean in the backdrop, but it all comes down to who wants to work with you and which businesses want to shut down to let the film in. I definitely want to include Newburyport though."

Cook, who co-founded the production company in 2000, is a graduate of Bates College. Growing up, she spent time in Newburyport and New Hampshire, before moving to Los Angeles to work with Disney and ZM productions after college.

After later working in Boston, she moved to New York to further her career in film.

Then, two and a half years ago, Cook's husband took a job at a biotechnology company in Charlestown, and the couple moved to Newburyport's Temple Street.

"Coming to the ocean from the city made the transition easier," Cook said. "As a writer, the area is very inspiring to me."

Written at her home — as well as Licorice & Sloe, the tea shop on Middle Street that Cook jokingly refers to as her office — "Hickory Nation" is a character-driven tale of a mysterious hit-and-run and its aftermath in a small coastal Maine town.

"A biracial couple loses their daughter in an accident, and the mother, also a teacher, finds a unique friendship with two students, one of which is a pageant queen and the other struggling to come out of the closet," Cook said. "They all take solace in how they are different and struggling with secrets and frustrations; they create a unique bond."

Much of the story line and characters resemble situations and people found in small towns across the country, Cook said.

Casting has begun. Molly Sims, the Revlon cover girl and star of the recently canceled television show "Las Vegas," has the lead role. Aimee Teegarden, the "Friday Night Lights" actress, will play the pageant queen. Peter Fonda is slated to play Simms' father, a Maine fisherman.

"The story comes full circle dealing with internal loss and recognizing self in order for each person to move forward," Cook said.

Movie crews have been spotted throughout the state recently, and "Hickory Nation" will join a long list of movies filmed North of Boston. In March, Matthew McConaughey and Michael Douglas stayed at the Country Garden Inn and Spa in Rowley while filming "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" at Castle Hill in Ipswich. In April, Disney shot scenes for "The Proposal," starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, at locations in Rockport, Gloucester and Manchester.

But along with the appeal of celebrity spotting in a hometown, movies help boost tourism, increase business and put a city or a place on the map, said Julie McConchie, executive director of the North of Boston Convention and Visitor Bureau.

"Movies are fabulous for tourism," McConchie said, listing films recently shot in Salem, Lowell, Andover and Gloucester. "I always use the anecdote from when "The Perfect Storm" was filming in Gloucester years ago. Mark Wahlberg wore a "Cape Pond Ice" T-shirt, and since then the company sells more T-shirts than ice."

Not only do the hundreds of cast and crew members attached to a movie that rolls into town bring in revenue, but tourists — especially foreigners — call McConchie for information about a city they saw on the big screen.

"A film picture is worth a thousand words," McConchie said. "People also want to stay where the stars did. I can't tell you how many people call asking where the Crow's Nest Bar and Inn in Gloucester is. Filming helps little local businesses get on the map."

Cook said she expects shooting will begin next summer in order to have the film ready to premiere by fall 2009, before the film festivals like Sundance or Tribeca.

The process for an independent film is a long and grueling, something Cook realized through her several years creating films such as "The Chester Story," later re-named "A Touch of Fate" starring Terri Hatcher, or "Shooting Livien," which stared Jason Behr among other leading actors.

"When you shoot an independent film, you want to make sure you have all your money in the bank and are prepared as much as possible," Cook said. "You don't want to waste a dime, and make sure all your ducks are in a row and prepared for any obstacles."

Part of this preparation will come in the months ahead while Cook works to raise money for the production, relying primarily on private donors, industry investors and agencies.

"It takes a long time to raise money, as investors hope to see the best producer, script and cast," Cook said. "It's a risk, and it takes someone willing to support the art."

Some of the movies filmed nearby include, "Title for Murder," which was filmed in Salisbury; "The Good Son," filmed partially in Annisquam, and "The Witches of Eastwick," filmed at the Crane Estate in Ipswich.

Photos

Aimee Teegarden Associated Press

Molly Sims Associated Press