Last week, Demetri Martin, Ang Lee and Emile Hirsch brought Taking Woodstock, which was filmed in upstate NY, to the Cannes Film Festival. The movie follows a down-on-his-luck interior designer who moves upstate and inadvertently helps stage Woodstock on the grounds of his neighbor’s farm in White Lake, NY.
Even though movie locations have less to do with the actual place and more to do with logistics and tax incentives, upstate new York has hundreds of sites just waiting for their close up on the big screen. One of our favorites is the Utica State Hospital. Though the state won’t actually let anyone in the hospital for safety reasons, we think it would be perfect for exteriors, especially for a period piece.
The hospital has a fascinating history too. Read more about it here.
Bills’ receiver Terrell Owens is looking for a new home in Buffalo and a film crew is following his every move for a new reality show. “The T.O. Show,” will premiere on VH-1, July 27.
Good Morning America is filming a segment at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse today. Dinosaur was voted one of The Top 4 BBQ joints in the U.S. by Good Morning America viewers. The segment should air on Saturday and the winner of the best BBQ in America will be announced Sunday.
Since 1996, Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, NY has welcomed visitors to the Lucy-Desi Museum. The exhibit features “costumes, awards, photographs, and other vintage memorabilia on display from the estates of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.” On Friday, May 22nd, Jamestown kicks off Lucy-Desi Days, a three day celebration of TV’s most beloved couple. This year, their daughter, Lucie Arnaz, will make a special appearance at the event to discuss her parents legacy. Weekend Guest Passes start at $25 and can be purchased online.
For those of you who caught the end of SNL on Saturday night and couldn’t figure out what Jimmy Fallon was holding up to the camera, it was his B.A. from the College of St. Rose. Fallon was the commencement speaker at St. Rose’s Graduation at SPAC on Saturday along with Utica native and pollster, John Zogby. Fallon kept the crowd laughing while giving the students a hard dose of reality.
“I’m not going to lie to you: The real world is freakin’ terrifying,” Fallon said. “The real world is really expensive and sometimes it’s hard to find a job, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t use your Golden Knights cash card to buy toilet paper,” he joked, referring to the school’s mascot.
Fallon left St. Rose to pursue a career in comedy in the mid 90s with only 15 credits left to complete. The college awarded him a bachelor’s degree on Saturday after he presented Saint Rose officials with a portfolio proving that he had mastered the skills for a communications degree.
Congrats to Jimmy who is proof its never to late to graduate!
Tonight, Lake Placid was mentioned in the TV dramady, The Unusuals. The show is about a group of misfit cops in New York City. Tonight Detective Banks asked Detective Delahoy, “You really grew up in Lake Placid?” To which Delahoy replied, “My dad moved us there when we were like 10. My dad was sick of the city and wanted to live off the land”.
You can watch The Unusuals on ABC Wednesday nights at 10 PM EST.
In 2007, the AMC Film Critic compiled a list of the Ten Best Upstate New York Movies. The list includes Buffalo 66, Ironweed and X-Men. I have a feeling that the revised list will include the upcoming Angelina Jolie movie Salt and Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock.
