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Paramount Pictures bringing production to Lumber City
By David Yarger
Tribune Editor
It’s going to be lights, camera, action in North Tonawanda soon.
Tuesday night, the North Tonawanda Common Council approved a location agreement with Paramount Pictures Corp. for the production of “A Quiet Place 2.”
The movie, directed by John Krasinski, is an American horror film starring Emily Blunt, Brian Tyree Henry, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe.
According to the movie’s Wikipedia page, it said, “Two years after the events of the original film, the Abbot family is now led by Evelyn (Blunt) following Lee’s (Krasinski) sacrifice. And now, she and her children (Simmonds and Jupe) have the mission to find new survivors, while still being hunted by the creatures from the first film.”
IMDb lists the movie’s release date as March 20, 2020.
With representatives from Paramount Pictures in the audience, the Common Council said it was ecstatic to have the film produced in the city.
Alderman Bob Pecoraro said, “We appreciate you coming to North Tonawanda and helping make it the destination city we so desire.”
With certain NT houses, Paramount Pictures will likely contact residents to address some necessities of the film.
“There are certain homes and locations bordering the film location that we’ll have to run some set dressing, cables or park a generator in some driveways,” location manager Joe Mullaney said. “We’ll be going around individually to work out deals with those residents to have certain items out of the way on theirproperty. … We’re gonna go around with letters.”
So, why shoot some scenes of a movie in North Tonawanda?
“I think, aesthetically, it’s what we’re looking for; creatively it’s perfect. I can’t say much about it; I can’t really give anything away,” Mullaney said.
The scenes will be filmed in September at the Stenzil Street baseball field. Paramount will pay $5,000 for use of the field, according to the agreement.
The full agreement can be read at http://www.northtonawanda.org/file-library/100127/8.6.2019_CC_agenda.pdf by scrolling to pages 4-8.
Praise for Paramount continued during closing comments.
Pecoraro said, “ ‘A Quiet Place,’ we’re really excited. We’ve always told people North Tonawanda is a destination and it’s going to go international with you being here now, so we are thrilled to be a part of that, overall.”
Alderwoman Donna Braun remarked, “It’s very exciting. … It’ll bring attention to our city. Our city is growing and this is just one exciting event that’s coming, and I can’t wait for all of us to cooperate with you and have that happen.”
Mayor Arthur Pappas added, “Paramount Pictures, we’re glad you’re here. When I first got that call a couple months ago, I thought ‘What is this? What is this?’ I was skeptical, because I didn’t know if this was on the level or what this was all about. We turned it over to our very capable city attorney (Luke Brown) to look into the details. We’re very proud and happy to have you be here. I think we’re all pretty excited about what’s about to take place.”
Council President Eric Zadzilka noted, “I want to thank Paramount. I want to echo the sentiments of my colleagues. We’re glad to have you here. Let’s make this so successful, there’s ‘A Quiet Place 3, 4, 5 and 6.’ You know, let’s make ‘Star Wars’ go for a run for its money. … But thank you for selecting us. It does prove that, each time an offer like that comes in, we have more here to showcase, for people to see and become a destination, as Bob said.”
According to the Wikipedia page, filming began June 20. The movie has also filmed in several other locations around Western New York.