DeWITT — Producers of the upcoming feature film, “The Opium War,” will shoot it in upstate New York, with post-production work scheduled at The Film House in DeWitt.
Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney; Alain Kaloyeros, CEO of the State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY CNSE); and Ryan Johnson, CEO of The Film House, made the announcement in a joint news release distributed today.
The officials estimate the project will create 500 permanent and temporary jobs and contribute $10 million in direct investment.
“The Opium War” represents the first project in Central New York for The Film House, a Los Angeles–based film and television company that’s moving its headquarters and production and distribution operations to the upcoming 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 “rapidly growing” film and television industry, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a March 4 news release.
Construction will begin on the 52,000-square-foot building by April 1 with completion by October. Work will then begin on an additional 52,000-square-foot building for additional tenants with completion expected by spring 2015.
The movie’s producers are scouting locations in Upstate and Central New York, including the city of Syracuse, for an anticipated seven to eight week filming schedule at the end of the summer, today’s news release said.
The Film House will then handle an additional six to seven months of post-production, special effects work in DeWitt.
The film’s producers chose Central New York for the production because of its vicinity to the nanotechnology cluster that New York is developing in partnership with SUNY CNSE in DeWitt, along with the state’s “attractive” business environment for the film and entertainment industry, according to the release.
“The Opium War” is a story about a female astronaut who crash lands and is offered a smuggling job that will pay for repairs to her ship.
Actress Gina Carano, known for her work in “Fast & Furious 6,” and actor Stephen Lang, who was part of the cast of “Avatar,” will star in the movie. They’re currently in contract negotiations with The Film House, the news release said.
The movie’s production team also includes director Justin Steele; producer Ross Otterman and his team at HTN Productions; and Jeremy Levy, who wrote the screenplay, according to the news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com