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SCHENECTADY
Mayor approves official city film commission
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    Two more movies may be fi lmed here next year — and the mayor is helping to persuade them by creating an official city film commission.
    The new group, which formalizes the organization that was until now called the Schenectady Film Alliance, was approved by the mayor Tuesday.
    The Schenectady Film Commission has the power to arrange road closures, negotiate security and smooth the way for any Hollywood producers who want to shoot a scene in the county.
    “They want to be able to go to a place and basically have everything in line,” said county Historian Don Rittner, who runs the commission. “They don’t want to spend a lot of time getting permission to close off streets and fi nd a home with a certain look to it. The commission facilitates that.”
    He’s hoping the new group will impress two film companies scouting for sites here. One company needs locations for a movie about the 1960s space race. Another company recently expressed interest in filming part of a World War II movie here.
    The commission will also set up a Web site and travel to fi lm festivals to advertise the benefi ts of filming in Schenectady County. Among the top advantages: it’s cheaper than New York City but close enough for easy travel; has architecture suitable for many eras; and it qualifies the company for a 30 percent state tax credit, which is offered for any movies filmed in the state.
    Rittner thinks the best selling point is the wide variety of backdrops, as he calls the county’s architecture, historic districts, farms and parks.
    “Here’s what makes our areas so different from anywhere else in the country. We have 400 years of backdrop,” he said. “So even though Schenectady County is a small county, the fact that we have 400 years of human history and natural history makes us very unique. The problem is, most filmmakers don’t know that.” ................>>>>..................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01104&AppName=1

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One company needs locations for a movie about the 1960s space race. Another company recently expressed interest in filming part of a World War II movie here.

So, one choice for filming a movie downtown is due to the fact that the city hasn't moved on in the past 50 years and seems the same as when it was built back that long ago.  The other choice is that they want to film in the city as a part of a WWII movie.  Why?  Maybe because parts of it look as though they've been through the war, bombed back a few years?  Or just as depressed as it was back then?

Good thing there's nobody looking to have a movie shot in current or future times.