By Alana C’aacute;diz
It was 5:30 on a March morning and tons of actors were swarming a tent in the Burlington Mall parking lot. It was the beginning of their long work day – at least 12 hours, possibly 16.
For some, there was nothing novel about the scene. The regulars were catching up with old friends. But for many actors in the Northeast, being on a movie set is a new experience.
The crowd was waiting to hear an announcement from one of five production assistants. To pass the time, actors continued helping themselves to hot servings of eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage and dropping them on their paper plates.
Nick Crimaldi, 21, of Belmont sat with a Harry Potter-esque scarf wrapped around his neck. He was one of the 250 people waiting to be an extra for the Boston-made feature film, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” starring Kevin James.
Crimaldi said he was amazed – not by the amount of extras, but by the film buzz surrounding Boston and the outlying area. A native of Belmont, Crimaldi said he had recently moved back to the Massachusetts after living in San Diego to attend college.
“I can’t believe it. I feel like there are a lot more films being filmed here in Boston compared to where I was last year in California,” Crimaldi said. “Boston is definitely making its mark. … I can’t believe I’m so close to home and experiencing this whole process.”
Boston’s transformation from a city rarely used for filming to an entertainment hub has attracted many in the movie business within the past year.
A Nov. 17, 2007 New York Times article referred to Boston as “the new Toronto of the film industry,” and with plans to build a $200 million production facility in South Weymouth, a Feb. 24 Boston Herald article said the city is taking “a major step toward becoming Hollywood East.”
“This is a great time to be in New England,” said Neal Thomassen, a movie producer and editor based in Hartford, Conn. “It’s great to say that Massachusetts, as well as Connecticut and Rhode Island, are becoming this ‘Hollywood East.'”
According to the Massachusetts Film Office (MFO) website, 11 movies were filmed in Massachusetts in 2007. So far this year, seven have been filmed in the city, including “Ashecliffe” (Shutter Island), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Proposal,” starring Sandra Bullock, and “The Surrogates,” starring Bruce Willis.
Hours after waiting in the extras holding tent, a production assistant made an announcement for everyone to line up and enter the mall. Ten minutes later, Crimaldi was engulfed in the extravagant Christmas-themed set. Regular shoppers stopped to gaze at the commotion.
“Cameras up! Rolling … background, action!” shouted director Steve Carr. The set went quiet.
Much of Boston’s revved up film industry is due to the MFO’s tax incentive, which took effect in late 2006, according to the office’s website.
The original proposal had filmmakers limited to $7 million per film, which only applied to films with a budget of $250,000 or higher. In 2007 Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill lowering the budget to $50,000 and allowing income tax credit and sales tax exemptions.
The MFO website also states that any filmmaker who comes to Massachusetts will receive a 25 percent credit on all in-state spending and that there is no sales tax on production spending and no caps or limits.
New tax laws make Massachusetts a popular area for the movie-making business. According to a poll in the July 2007 issue of Production Guide Magazine, the Bay State is ranked No. 2 on the list of “Top 5 Places to Shoot in the U.S.” behind New Mexico.
“Massachusetts is one of the best, if not the best, incentive state in the country,” said Christine Peluso, principal of Tax Credits LLC, a tax credit company based in Piscataway, N.J. “It’s very producer-friendly.”
Peluso said Massachusetts is a threat to other states and that improved legislation is what’s been drawing filmmakers. And, in a May 9 Associated Press article California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said his state “…must increase tax incentives to movie and television studios as a way to keep them from moving their productions out of state.”
Chuck Slavin, a 28-year-old Pembrook native, said he’s happy with the film industry’s movement east. Slavin had moved to Los Angeles in 2002 to pursue his professional acting dream. With little happening around his hometown, he said he thought the move to Hollywood would ensure his goal of becoming an actor.
But Slavin said he couldn’t handle Los Angeles and, after six months, decided to move back to Boston.
“Little did I know, in a few years, everything would come here,” Slavin said.
Since then, Slavin has been used as a utility stand-in for “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.”
“I’ve been having the greatest experiences of my life on set,” Slavin said. “I’m used every day, and I’ve formed a great relationship with a lot of the crew members.”
A 52-year-old Screen Actors Guild Member and native of South Boston, Desiree Connelly said she made her bigscreen debut in 2006 during filming for the Oscar-winning movie “The Departed.”
Connelly said she was excited that she could put her genuine Southie accent to use.
“I went to the [casting] call for ‘The Departed’ and Boston Casting wanted people with a Boston accent,” Connelly said. “For weeks, I didn’t hear back from anyone. … I kept sending my picture to the casting agency and they probably felt sorry for me.”
Connelly said her persistence was rewarded when she was picked as an extra.
“I was 49 (years old) and I couldn’t believe I was doing it,” she said.
University of Connecticut alumnus Jonathan Miguel said he thinks it’s more than tax incentives that is driving the film industry east of Los Angeles.
“Boston is a place that screams New England with New York influences. It’s not dry like California. It has its own character,” Miguel said. “When filmmakers take something we see every day and romanticize it, it gives the audience a better insight on what we have and they can look at the silver screen and say, ‘Oh, that’s Quincy Market.'”
Boston Casting is also feeling the increase in work. Kevin Fennessy, a casting director at the company, has been in the business 10 years and said he has never been busier.
Fennessy’s most recent film, “My Best Friend’s Girl,” had him cast about 2,000 extras.
“The talent here in Boston is so diverse,” Fennessy said. “Like most of Hollywood coming to Boston, there’s this fear that we don’t know how to do it the way Hollywood does it. And there’s always an element of doubt that comes along.”
With Hollywood eyeing the South Weymouth Naval Air Station and an area in Plymouth as options to build two studios, Slavin said it looks like the Boston film movement isn’t a short-lived fad but something that is here to stay.
“I have seen many people go toward L.A. and New York into the film business and approach it blindfolded and it never had a happy or fruitful ending,” Miguel said. “If bringing the scene to Boston with a chance for a fresh start and [to] discover new talent is the direction of the future, we should only welcome it and only wait to see what comes of it.”
