BESSEMER’S
BURGEONING FILM INDUSTRY
July 6, 2005,
-from the Alabama Film Office
BESSEMER, Ala.
It may not be Hollywood East, but
Bessemer is feeling the impact of the film and motion picture
industry. In recent months, independent film company Lucid Pictures
has moved into the renovated Historic Bradley Building on 4th Avenue
North in downtown Bessemer. According to spokesperson Kevin Wayne
(no relation to John), the downtown area offered affordable space
and close proximity to services used by the company and its
partners. [And, the block away location from the
open-seven-days-a-week Bright Star Restaurant didn’t hurt.] Lucid
Pictures produces television commercials, and has also produced
three full length films.
To encourage similar development, the
Bessemer Development Board has worked closely with the Alabama Film
Office in recent months to secure location shoots for commercials
and independent movie projects. In the fall of 2004, the Bessemer
Development Board’s efforts in this regard received national
notice in the trade magazine, Production Update.
To assist local filmmakers, the Board
has made application to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
for funding help in the formation of a Bessemer-based film incubator
center. The facility would make available – at reduced user fees
– a variety of film production and editing equipment, expensive
items for beginning or developing independent film companies to
acquire and use. For more information about this project, please
contact Jeff Traywick at 205.481.4963. |
