The success of the recent indoor filming of Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds at the former Military Ocean Terminal studios has prompted some call to keep the studios as part of the future redevelopment plans.
Joseph Friedman, Executive Director of the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission said the filming of this high profile film only emphasized how important the studios in Bayonne are to helping the local economy.
Commission figures show that small production films around the state accounted for more than $70 million added annually to the local economy, with often more than 800 films being partly filmed in New Jersey.
War of the Worlds, not only paid $8,000 to the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority for use of the studio space, but also paid residents and others in the area for use of their homes and to make up for inconvenience of closed streets and other disruptions. Staff and other workers from the film shoot also used several eateries and other facilities in the city.
Friedman, who said he was very impressed with the coverage of the Spielberg movie by the Bayonne Community News, said New Jersey has become a destination for films for several reasons including easy access to New York City and the diversity of locations.
“Most local people really like coming into our state to film,” he said.
This positive reception may explain why Spielberg picked Bayonne, Newark and other parts of urban New Jersey for War of the Worlds when he could have used parts of New York City the way he did in 1986 when filming his science fiction flick “Batteries not included.”
Spielberg’s efforts to film on the Lower East Side of Manhattan were greeted by hostile locals who saw his construction of a whole building in the center of the deprived neighborhood as an intrusion.
“We hated his coming to our neighborhoods,” said one resident, of the area at the time. Although Spielberg is considered one of the politically progressive modern filmmakers, residents of the rather radical neighborhood criticized him for supposedly exploiting the neighborhood. The residents of the New York City neighborhood wanted Spielberg to do more than just pay for the use and construction of buildings, and sought to have him provide social relief as well. This resulted in some residents actually protesting the shoot. War of the Worlds received no such protest even though Spielberg used some streets in economically deprived sections of Newark, and his filming received nearly complete praise from residents and from public officials in Bayonne.
“He (Spielberg) was a real gentleman,” said Henry Sanchez, whose home was used for several critical scenes in the new film. “And his staff treated me with the utmost respect.”
Bayonne, too, according to Friedman, has become known as a film-friendly city, partly because of the studio space, partly because of Mayor Joe Doria.
“Mayor Doria is a friend of the film industry in the state,” Friedman said. “This sense that our staff if film-friendly is an important perception that keeps film makers coming back.”
Bayonne studios, he said, provides a key piece to the overall attractiveness of the state.
Industry people are extremely impressed with the level of security at the studios, not just for maintaining the secrecy of Spielberg scripts, but also protecting some of the stars that are involved in the productions.
“Every star seems to have a stalker,” said Nancy Kist, executive director of the BLRA. “One star had to be protected by the FBI.”
Russell Crowe, who filmed here last year had faced kidnapping threats and the studios in Bayonne were seen as among the most secure in the area.
Some movie media have even predicted that Bayonne might become the next movie-making Mecca similar to Toronto and Austin.
Although Spielberg’s film is the largest budget film so far to use the Bayonne studios, the space has seen consistent use by other filmmakers and television programs, as well as for use for filming television advertising.
Films like “The Forgotten,” “Beautiful Mind,” “Oz,” and “The Jury,” all used the studios in Bayonne.
Some of the people involved in those films helped steer Spielberg to Bayonne.
“Our dealings with Paramount were made easier by having people who dealt with us before,” Kist said. “They brought business to us, and we have a good reputation for being someone they can do business with. This is not just with the military base. The city helped a lot in getting the use of the area near First Street. The Mayor (Joe Doria) and law department also worked out logistics with the Port Authority (of New York and New Jersey) for use of the area near the Bayonne Bridge.”
Also contributing to this sense of New Jersey as film friendly is the state Friedman state’s filming incentive program that offers support for small filmmakers to film most of their projects in New Jersey.
“While someone like Spielberg won’t benefit from the program, we help generate interest in the state and that brings people like Spielberg to New Jersey, too,” he said. In this regard, Friedman said he hoped the studios in Bayonne would become part of the future redevelopment plans.
“Those studios are a valuable addition to our state’s filming industry,” he said. Kist insisted that the movie studios made up a vital part of the redevelopment plan, although for a short time, the plan did not reflect their continued presence.
“It was one of the ut-oh moments,” she said. “But since then we have amended the plans to include them in most if not all the districts.”
Contact Al Sullivan at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com