Schenectady, N.Y., January 11, 2007 – Schenectady County officials today joined with the Chamber of Schenectady County to announce plans for a new movie to be filmed entirely on location in Schenectady County for five weeks starting in February.
Susan E. Savage, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature, “We are very pleased that Schenectady County was selected for this new and exciting film project. Our tourism promotion efforts funded by the County and carried out by the Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with our economic development team targets the attraction of TV and film production. We hope this success will lead to others as Upstate New York is considered for other film and TV production opportunities by the entertainment industry.”
Charles Steiner, President of the Chamber of Schenectady County said, “We want to thank the County Legislature led by Chair Susan Savage, Philip Morris from Proctors, Mayor Stratton and Chief Geraci from the City, Ray Gillen from Metroplex and Reza Mahoutchian owner of 108 Union Street for their outstanding help and support in working with the Chamber to land this movie shoot for Schenectady County. We look forward to landing additional films in the future.”
The film will star Thora Birch, featured in American Beauty where she played the daughter and won wide acclaim. Ms. Birch also was featured in Silver City, written and directed by Schenectady-native, John Sayles. Keith Carradine plays the male lead, Detective Lulling. Mr. Carradine has made over 100 film and television appearances and most recently played Wild Bill Hickok in the highly successful HBO series Deadwood.
The new film will be directed by Eric Mandelbaum, who has written thirty-five documentary films that have aired on either the Discovery Channel or PBS. He has also written two TV movies, three independent features, and one short film. Eric Mandelbaum’s directing skills were honored at the Stony Brook Film Festival where he received a special directing award for “Roberta.” “Roberta” was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, he directed “Uncertain Terms,” an independent feature that will be released later in 2007. Mr. Mandelbaum teaches screen writing at Purchase College and at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University.
“Winter of Frozen Dreams” is based on a book written by Karl Harter and published by McGraw Hill.
The film is produced by EM & ME Productions, a New York City based film production company featuring sisters Millie and Milka Stanisic. Their last film, “Satan’s Playground,” by cult horror director, Dante Tomaselli, was just released by Anchor Bay Entertainment. Milka has extensive experience in independent film, television production, and commercials. Millie has enjoyed an outstanding career in business including work for AT&T and Metromedia. She is skilled at helping business and production ventures raise capital. Co-producer, Anthony Vorhies, has seven independent feature films under this belt, and has established himself as a leading, hands-on producer in the independent film industry. Mr. Vorhies is a long-time professional collaborator of both Milka and Millie Stanisic.
The story is based on the first televised murder trial in US history. It involves the case of Barbara Hoffman and is a murder mystery and love story wrapped into one. The case helped launch the career of then District Attorney Jim Doyle, now Governor of Wisconsin. The defendant in the case, Barbara Hoffman, is still in jail serving a life sentence.
Schenectady was chosen for the film shoot based on its proximity to New York City and the ability to shoot scenes at a number of different locations including City Hall, Proctors, the Stockade, the former School District Building at 108 Union Street and Union College. The production will establish temporary offices at the Jay Studios complex in downtown Schenectady. Metroplex worked closely with the Chamber of Schenectady County to help identify locations for the filming in and around the County.
Director Eric Mandelbaum said, “The events that take place in Winter of Frozen Dreams are familiar to moviegoers. Men fall for a seductress and lose their lives. Insurance money is a motivator. The law snags the femme fatale, and the place in which she must live out the rest of her days is far from the mansion of her dreams. Today, audiences turn to independent film for their dose of dark authenticity, and it is our belief that Winter of Frozen Dreams will knock them dead.”