Major movie studio films scenes at Boonville, Stillwater, Raquette Lake

A crew from major movie studio Warner Bros. was in the area from March 4 to 6 to film scenes for an upcoming movie, Winter’s Tale.

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Ximena Gardner with the Ultimate Arm on Porsche on Raquette Lake with members of the Warner Brothers crew in the background. Photo by Wende Carr

The crew teamed with Kurt and Ximena Gardner of Adirondack Mountain Productions to film winter scenes at Raquette Lake, Stillwater and Boonville.

Warner Bros. cinematography and visual effects crews came to the Adirondacks to film scenery which will be dropped in, or layered over, the green screen of footage which has already been produced by actors at another location.

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Rich Nelson, Kurt Gardner and Scott Liddle at the Raquette Lake filming suit. Wende photo

Winter’s Tale, which was adapted for the screen by Director Akiva Goldsman, tells the story of an orphan-turned-thief, who falls in love with a dying girl. The time period is the late-1800’s and present time.

The story is set in New York City as well as a site on the Hudson River. Scenes representing the Hudson River region were shot in the Adirondacks.

According to Sean Fergusen, assistant director of the film, the area’s vistas with frozen lakes were just what the production team was looking for.

A chase scene in which the film’s antagonist and protagonist, Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe, fight a battle takes place on mysterious Lake of the Coheeries. Though the Lake of the Coheeries is an actual lake located in New Castle, NY, the footage was shot at Stillwater.

Footage that was shot at Raquette Lake will appear in a scene leading up to the battle. 

A team of five cinematographers was hired by Warner Bros. to film with an Ultimate Arm, a device on which a camera is mounted to film at 360 degrees.

The arm was mounted atop a Porsche Cayenne which traveled on the ice road across Raquette Lake.

The cinematographers worked with a Warner Bros. visual effects team to capture the shoot.

The New York State Film Commission is responsible for linking the Warner Bros. crew with Adirondack Mountain Productions.

Ximena Gardner said it is typical for film directors to head to Canada or even Yugoslavia to film winter scenes.

“Our clients and we are all pleased that their needs can be accommodated so close to New York City—here in the Adirondacks,” she said.

The Gardners brought in some local individuals and resources to provide services to the Warner Bros. staff during the filming.

Walt Parent provided a truck and boom, and on-site were medic Danielle Hoepfl and logistics assistants Scott Liddle and Rich Nelson.

The film’s all-star cast includes Crowe and Farrell, Will Smith, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt and Eva Marie Saint, who previously filmed their scenes in New York City.

The film is scheduled to hit movie theaters sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013.

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