Actor Ron Perlman to locate film-production firm in DeWitt

DeWITT — The man who played “Vincent” in the CBS-TV drama “Beauty and the Beast,” and most recently co-starred in the FX series “Sons of Anarchy,” will move his film-production company to Central New York.

Actor Ron Perlman on Monday visited and toured the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries. The DeWitt facility will specialize in providing advanced visual-production research and education to support upstate New York’s film and television industry.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and Alain Kaloyeros, president and CEO of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly), accompanied Perlman on the tour.

Several news organizations, including BJNN, also joined in the tour.

Perlman, 65, will locate his film-production company, called Wing and a Prayer Pictures, to the DeWitt facility, which remains under construction.

The company will make at least five films in upstate New York “over the next several years,” including post production work at the new facility, according to a SUNY Poly news release announcing Perlman’s company as an upcoming tenant.

Depending on various stages of production, direct and indirect jobs “at any given time could vary from several dozen to several hundred or more,” the school said.

Initial projects could begin as early as this summer.

As previously announced, Wing and a Prayer Pictures joins The Film House in locating at the hub.

All Hub-based film projects may be eligible for the New York State film tax credit, and companies that locate on-site may be eligible for START UP NY benefits, SUNY Poly said.

“Producers are only going to the places where they get the best deal … so that they can put as much money as they possibly can onto the screen … so that they can lower their risk … on the funds they have to expose in order to make a film,” Perlman said in speaking with reporters on the tour.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

PHOTO CAPTION:  Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney (left) and actor Ron Perlman tour the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries, which remains under construction. Perlman plans to locate his film-production company, Wing and a Prayer Pictures, at the facility in DeWitt. (Eric Reinhardt / BJNN)