Milford Meets Hollywood for New Duchovny Movie

Correction: The Corner Restaurant did not run out of food, they only ran out of duck at 8:30am. Original Story:

There were a lot of interested observers outside City Hall yesterday: Hollywood had come to Milford, as the independent film 'After the Fall' commenced a day of filming in the City Hall Auditorium and Mayor Ben Blake's office (check out this week's 'Minute with the Mayor' to hear the Mayor's take on the day).

Throughout the morning and afternoon, actors like David Duchovny (star of 'The X-Files' and the excellent, overlooked 'Goats', which is now available On Demand) could be seen hanging out on the steps of City Hall.

Timothy Hutton (Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actor for 'Ordinary People') spent time between camera set-ups in the auditorium, relaxing on his cell phone or chatting with Mayor Blake about Connecticut.

What This Means for Milford

Mayor Blake called the film crew's presence in Milford "good business and good exposure." Blake noted that the film brought in over "200 people frequenting" shops and eateries. "It's good for the local economy," the Mayor added.

Economic and Community Development Director Bob Gregory noted that the "Corner Restaurant ran out of food and stayed open late just for [the film crew]."

Gregory reminded us that a few years ago, the Robert DeNiro/Al Pacino/50 Cent movie 'Righteous Kill' filmed at the Star Cafe in Milford.

Speaking of this new film shooting in town, Gregory said it was "some economic stimulus for us, aside from being a lot of fun."

A Look at the Production

The film's producer, Anthony Mastromauro (who also produced 'As Cool As I Am' starring Claire Danes, which is scheduled for a 2013 release), noted that the production came to Milford because they were looking for a "seedy motel" and chose the Mayflower Motel as a location, where they will be filming on Friday.

Production chose to shoot in City Hall because of the auditorium, as well as the Mayor's office, which doubled as a "Congressional-type office" in the film.

A synopsis on IMDb describes 'After the Fall':

Inspired by true events, [it] tells the poignant story of grieving parents who used the unexpected death of their young daughter as inspiration to build a world class children's hospital. The hospital not only keeps their daughter's memory alive, but has also gone on to help thousands of children and their families, eventually becoming the template for all children's hospitals built thereafter.

Mastromauro said that 'After the Fall' is expected to be ready for fall of 2013, when they are looking to screen the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival.

The film is in its second week of production with three more weeks to go.