‘Another Harvest Moon’ to Be Shot at Harrisburg State Hospital
By Rick Seltzer, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.
Jun. 4–The movie title: “Another Harvest Moon.”
The movie plot: Four elderly friends living in a nursing home struggle with the issues of quality of life versus quantity of life after one of the characters suffers a series of strokes.
The cast: Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine, Doris Roberts, Anne Meara, Piper Laurie and Cybill Shepherd.
The location: Harrisburg State Hospital.
An action-packed summer blockbuster in the making? Hardly.
“There’s not going to be a boat chase on the Susquehanna or any skydiving,” said Camp Hill native Greg Swartz, the director, who on Tuesday stood before a two-story brick building being primed for shooting. “This film sinks or swims on this cast more than anything else.”
“Another Harvest Moon,” to be filmed starting Monday, joins the growing roster of films being shot in Pennsylvania as movie producers take advantage of friendly tax laws.
In July, state legislators approved a tax credit for productions spending 60 percent of their budgets in-state. Those productions are eligible for a 25 percent refund.
“All of us that are doing this are really trying to bring films to where we’re from,” Swartz said. “This area is underrepresented in film. There are stories to be told here.”
“Another Harvest Moon” is not the first movie to be shot on the former state hospital grounds. The 1999 film, “Girl, Interrupted,” which starred Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder, Clea DuVall and Whoopi Goldberg, was filmed there. Jolie won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role.
This current production features a more experienced cast.
Borgnine, 91, has a lifetime of film and TV work that includes an Academy Award for his 1955 portrayal of the title character in “Marty.”
“The whole thing is sort of a study,” Swartz said. “I’d say it’s a comic drama. You don’t put Doris Roberts and Anne Meara in a movie without comic moments.”
Roberts is widely known for her role in CBS’ sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Anne Meara has appeared in television shows and movies, but is perhaps best known for her son, actor Ben Stiller, and her husband, Jerry Stiller, of CBS’ sitcom “The King of Queens.”
Laurie’s trademark role was as the mother in “Carrie,” and Shepherd, an award-winning TV actress, starred in “Cybill” and “Moonlighting.”
The actors begin filming in Harrisburg on June 14.
According to Michael Chapaloney, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Film Office, several films are currently being made in Pennsylvania: “My Bloody Valentine,”"Hollywood & Wine,”"Shannon’s Rainbow,”"Fleas,”"The Nail” and “Transformers 2.”
“Happy Tears,”"Marley & Me” and “Dare” are wrapping up production in the state, Chapaloney said.
“Another Harvest Moon” is being produced by Lancaster-based Aurora Films, which has produced one full-length film, “Home,” currently in post-production. Chad Taylor, who plays guitar for the band Live, is one of the partners of the company. Taylor, who lives in Lancaster, is a producer of “Another Harvest Moon.”
“One of my key roles will be to leverage my success in the entertainment industry to get the product out to a wider audience than it would otherwise,” he said.
Swartz and Taylor said neither the release date nor distribution details have been set.
“We’re certainly targeting theatrical releases, and we feel that our cast has put us in a good position to do that,” Swartz said. “This is a smaller film than a lot of them are used to. None of them are getting a new pool out of this.”
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