2 Photos
Film crews on the set of "Alter Ego
" a film about a superhero going through an identity crisis
Up, up and in production!
For the remainder of April, Hampton Bays will have its own superheroes—or, at least, actors who will portray them in an upcoming movie.
For the next two weeks, the Hampton Maid on Montauk Highway will be the main shooting site for “Alter Egos,” an independent film written by New York filmmaker Jordan Galland that focuses on superheroes as everyday people.
Co-producer Carlos Velazquez, of the film company C Plus Pictures, described the project, which has been filming at the East Montauk Highway hotel since last Monday, April 11, as a comedy about superheroes. Crews plan on shooting additional scenes on the East End, with that work expected to be completed over the next two weeks. Additional scenes will be shot in Manhattan.
“It basically examines the lives of superheroes as regular people, letting us see what’s behind the mask,” Mr. Velazquez said.
The movie stars Kris Lemche from “Final Destination 3,” Joey Kern of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead,” Danny Masterson from “That ’70s Show,” John Ventimiglia from “The Sopranos,” and Brooke Nevin of “Breakout Kings.”
Mr. Lemche, in the lead role, plays The Fridge, a superhero struggling to find himself while suffering an identity crisis and also dealing with a new romance—all the while fending off a government conspiracy against him.
Other scenes from the film have also been shot in other areas of Hampton Bays, including on Channing Cross and inside the Hampton Bays Diner.
Help from the local community has been crucial in making the low-budget film, said co-producer Milan Chakraborty of Attic Light Films, who flew in from Los Angeles to work on the movie. “It’s amazing how the local community has come together to be supportive of this project,” he said. “It’s a low-budget project that has great ambitions and a great cast.”
Members of the film crew hope those ambitions will lead to success as they plan to show the film on the independent film festival circuit, particularly during the 19th annual Hamptons International Film Festival in October. Producers, however, said on Friday that they do not know how long filming would take, or when the movie would be released.
Mr. Galland, whose family owns a home on Channing Cross in Hampton Bays, said he was inspired to use the Hampton Maid, which opened in 1959, as the backdrop for the film after eating breakfast there roughly a year ago. “I just loved this place—it had so much calm,” he said of the local business. “It was a visual thing. I needed something with a lot of green nature.”
Mr. Velazquez agreed, stating that the entire Hampton Bays area “exceeded our wildest expectations” in terms of serving as the backdrop for the movie.
Local business leaders are thrilled to have the extra attention. Hank Beck, a member of the Hamptons Visitors Council, said this week that movie projects like “Alter Egos” help infuse money into the East End’s economy during the challenging winter months. He said that’s one reason why local officials need to focus on attracting more movie production companies to the Hamptons.
Mr. Beck, who also serves as co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee-West, said those efforts could be boosted if cousins Gregg and Mitchell Rechler follow through on their plans to lease space at the business and technology park that they intend to build at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton to a film development company.
“That could be a major component for creating a year-round resource here on the East End,” Mr. Beck said, adding that Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has been anxious to attract more film production firms to the East End. “We view this as a big step forward to having people coming here year-round,” Mr. Beck said.
