Hudson Valley Film Commission Director Laurent Rejto said the availability of local sound stages are a game-changer for attracting productions, noting the East Fishkill proposal would be different from any other in the region. There s no question the area can use a state of the art soundstage with 40-foot ceilings and all the necessities that come with film and television production, he said.
The possible arrival of a studio is the latest step in the industry s rapid expansion into the Mid Hudson Valley in general, and Dutchess specifically.
The industry s economic impact for the region set records in 2019, which the industry is on pace to top this year, according to Rejto. The second quarter of this year, which officially ended Wednesday, is likely to be the biggest quarter in the commission s history once quantified totals are received, he said.
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The reach of the industry’s spending ranges from skilled tradesmen working on crews, to payment for location use, to local businesses providing services, to hotel use. Plus, there are hundreds of locals who are not only getting the experience of working as an extra on a film production, but are getting paid for it.
“After the dismal 2020, we knew the gates were going to open,” Rejto said. “We were always working behind the scenes. It all just opened up in June.”
The commission is working on 10 projects this month alone, highlighted by two HBO productions that have been highly visible in the Poughkeepsie area in recent weeks, “The White House Plumbers” and “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” Four HBO productions in all are in progress throughout the commission’s purview, which stretches south into Westchester and north into the Capitol Region.
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Crew members, actors and equipment filled the sidewalk outside the Juliet and nearby Collegeview businesses on Wednesday. Some, but not all, signs around the area were covered with props, such as one advertising the fictitious botanical gardens affixed to a light post. All Shook Up Café on Raymond Avenue was converted into Fox Hole Donuts. The shop s signs were replaced with the fictitious business name and a logo for an anthropomorphized doughnut mascot.
Several overhangs and umbrellas were in place, providing respite for workers, most of whom were wearing masks with little space to distance. A Town of Poughkeepsie police officer directed traffic.