Film to premiere in 2005
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WATERVILLE — The movie everyone in Maine is waiting to see will be shown on HBO in 2005, according to HBO officials.
A crew member shuts the clapper during the shooting of the HBO film "Empire Falls" in Waterville. click to enlarge
"Empire Falls," based on Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a struggling Maine mill town, is expected to be three hours long. And while HBO officials are not planning to release it in movie theaters, they acknowledge things can change.
"The decision isn't going to be made until the film is finished," an HBO official in New York, who asked not to be named, said Friday. "Right now, this is scheduled for HBO and not for the theaters."
HBO, the cable television network that features the popular "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under" and "Sex and the City" series, just last year started releasing movies in theaters.
The first one released in theaters was "Real Women Have Curves," a film about a young Mexican-American woman who wants to break free of her family constraints and culture and find her own way in the world.
Locally, the film was shown at Railroad Square Cinema, and is scheduled to premiere on HBO at 8 tonight.
Over the last year, HBO Films has received prestigious awards in film and television competitions. The company took top prizes in its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Palme d'Or for director Gus Van Sant's "Elephant." Van Sant also was honored as best director. HBO Films took the International Federation of Film Critics prize for "American Splendor," which also received the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
"Empire Falls," being filmed this fall mostly in and around Skowhegan and Waterville, has a cast packed with big name actors including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright Penn and Aidan Quinn.
Filming is scheduled to wrap up Nov. 20, although schedules can change, HBO officials say. But one thing is certain — the movie people are pleased with the progress so far.
"The shooting in Waterville is going splendidly," said Lynn "Kip" Kippax, location manager for Falls Films Inc. "We're on schedule. We couldn't be happier."
On Friday afternoon, Kippax and Skowhegan police Chief Butch Asselin were going door-to-door in that town, visiting downtown merchants and listening to their concerns to try to ease the impact of downtown street closures on businesses. Kippax said he was hearing a lot of positive feedback.
"Many, if not most, have been enthusiastic about this," he said.
Asselin, he said, has worked very hard on the project.
"He's taken a lot of his personal time to make this project successful," Kippax said.
Filming was expected to continue through early this morning at the Bob-In and then the crew was going to take the weekend off.
"The crew needs a rest," Kippax said.
Filming on Monday will be at the First Baptist Church and an adjacent house owned by Catherine Rancourt on Water Street in Waterville's South End, the setting of St. Catherine's Roman Catholic Church and rectory, respectively. The crew then will move to the Empire Grill in Skowhegan for Tuesday through Thursday next week, and then return to the Bob-In Friday and Saturday, according to Kippax.
A football game featuring 650 extras will be filmed at Skowhegan Area High School Oct. 13 and 14, he said.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com