Moviemaker likes look of Amsterdam, plus county subsidy
By Amy Biancolli
Published 9:54 pm, Friday, August 1, 2014 at timesunion.com
"Kill for Me," an independent thriller tracking an ex-con's race to save his son, is filming in Amsterdam now through Aug. 10.
According to producer Benjamin Bickham,
the film is set in present-day New York state — though not Amsterdam
specifically — and features a cast that includes television actor Bailey Chase of "Saving Grace" and film, stage and TV presence Dylan Baker of "Happiness," "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" and an Emmy-winning guest stint on "The Good Wife."
In
"Kill for Me," Chase plays Charlie, who is at the tail end of a 20-year
sentence. Baker plays Hank, a correction officer whose life Charlie
saves during an altercation with another prisoner. On the day of
Charlie's release, Bickham explained, the other inmate issues a threat.
"He says, 'Don't you have a son on the outside?' And he says, 'Well, I
have people on the outside, too.' And he says, 'You'd better find him
first, or he's gonna be dead.'" After that, "It's basically a ticking
clock. Gotta find him first."
Written by Raymond Kwok, the film is being directed by Tim McCann,
whom Bickham described as "a very dark, gritty, thriller-genre
director." Among the other films the pair have worked on together is
"The Aftermath," which follows an addict who risks his life trying to
return a necklace to his estranged wife.
On Thursday, the
shooting was at Sweet's East End Repair at 196 West Main St. and Herk's
Tavern at 65 Bridge St. The filmmakers chose to shoot in and around
Amsterdam "for a couple reasons," Bickham said. For starters: Montgomery
County offers an additional 10 percent tax credit for film productions
beyond the state's 30 percent.
They also liked the older, grungier
look of some of its buildings, he said. "Amsterdam has some great
industrial sites, and, you know, you can spend millions of dollars
trying to build things that look that way. And we're here, and
they're free."
Aside from locations in Amsterdam, "Kill for Me"
will also shoot scenes in Schenectady and Albany. The movie, budgeted at
"just under half a million dollars," will likely spend from eight
months to a year in post-production. The filmmakers are working on
distribution plans, Bickham said.
abiancolli@timesunion.com • 518-454-5439 • @AmyBiancolli
Fake Blood. Fake Tats. Real shaved head. It's getting goofy on the set of #KillForMe pic.twitter.com/GwpRg1uGDw
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