Will Beantown soon become the next Tinseltown ?

Greg White

16 years ago

Well I love that dirty water Oh, Boston, you’re my home

— the Standells, “Dirty Water”

I’m heading back to my old stomping grounds this coming
weekend. The state of Massachusetts, to be specific. Where – on Sunday, March 8^th
– Greg White Comics will be setting up
shop at the Boston Comic Book & Toy Collector’s Spectacular at the Radisson.

And while it will be nice to meet once more with my fellow
collectors and maybe move a little product … To be honest, what I’m most
looking forward to is the chance to slip away from my booth and then get out &
explore the city. Once again experience some authentic Boston.

Okay. I know. Beantown pops up in a lot of movies & TV
shows these days. “Boston Legal” …

… and “Fever Pitch” …

… are two productions that immediately come to mind. But
this wasn’t always the case.

You see, Boston hasn’t always been known as a film friendly
town. And – no – that wasn’t because of that notorious New England weather. Back in the day, the
unions that worked in this city were infamous for shaking down production crews
that came into Boston so that they could shoot on location. I remember the
stories that crew members who worked on “The Brink’s Job” …

… used to tell. How William Friedkin had persuaded Universal
Studios to let him fly out to the East Coast and shoot a comedy caper version
of the biggest heist in Boston history right in & around the places where the Brinks robbery actually
happen. Only to then find – that once they got on the ground — that the
criminals weren’t in front of the camera. But – rather – right on the periphery
of “The Brinks Job” set. Where city regulatory offices would repeatedly slap the
production with fines for shooting too late and/or making too much noise, while
local officials would continually come around with their hands out, looking to
collect fees for shooting permits.

This is why a lot of studios in the late 1970s / early 1980s
– including Walt Disney Productions – rather than actually come into the city
to shoot any scenes that were supposed to be shot in Boston would then just
find another location elsewhere that could double for Beantown. I remember the
stories associated with “Splash” …

… how Ron Howard & Co. were given carte blanche to shoot
scenes at dozens of locations in and around Manhattan for this Tom Hanks /
Darryl Hannah romantic fantasy. But when it came time to film those parts of
this script that were supposedly set on Cape Cod (i.e. this was where Allen
& Madison first met as children. More importantly, where they’d then rekindle
their romance some 20 years later), Disney wouldn’t okay the additional funds
necessary to shoot on location in Massachusetts. Which is why these scenes were
then shot in the Bahamas, where most of “Splash” ’s underwater sequences were
shot.

Mind you, Massachusetts eventually got the message and then worked
extremely hard to try & turn around its reputation of being an expensive
place to shoot a motion picture. State officials began wooing the studios out
west big-time. More importantly, offering tax breaks. And eventually companies like
Disney did start coming around.

Which is why the Mouse shot a number of movies in & around
Boston in the 1990s, most notably “Celtic Pride” …

… and “A Civil Action
.”

But over the past three years, Disney seems to have become really
enamored with Beantown. “The Game Plan” was shot all over the city back in
2007.

While just last summer, two Mouse House productions did
extensive filming in Boston. Touchstone Pictures’ upcoming romantic comedy, “The
Proposal” …

… which stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, as well as
Bruce Willis’ new sci-fi thriller, “Surrogates” …

… which will be based on Robert Venditti’s graphic novel.

And given that former Disney Studios head David Kirkpatrick is
planning on now building a state-of-the-art film production facility out among
the scrub pines & the sand dunes that can be found in Plymouth, MA … I can’t imagine that this will be the last
time that Mickey will ever be make a movie in Massachusetts.

Which means that – once I get back home to Kissimmee and
find myself, while I’m processing orders for Greg White Comics, missing Boston yet
again – that I no longer have to settle for the faux version of the city that I
find in “Johnny Tremain
.”

That someday soon there’ll be lots of made-in-Massachusetts
movies speeding through Plymouth’s production pipeline. Which will then give those
of us who genuinely miss the Charles River and its used-to-be “Dirty Water” a
little taste of home.

Anyway … If you happen to be in the City this Sunday and can
come by the Boston Comic Book & Toy Collector’s Spectacular at the Radisson, be
sure and drop by my booth. I’d be happy to talk with Disneyana fans about those
Mouse House movies that featured scenes that were set in Beantown, like the
original version of “The Parent Trap” …

… and “The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin.”

… but were actually shot on the Burbank lot.