Stonington Borough Approves Great Hope Springs Movie Application

Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell have approval from the Stonington Borough Board of Warden and Burgesses to film a movie in the borough.

Representatives from , the movie Streep, Jones and Carell are set to star in, presented an application to film in the borough and answered questions from the board and the public on Monday evening. The board approved the application with stipulations amid applause and also concerns.

“There are various locations we like here and we think would look fantastic,” said GHS Productions Location Manager Ronnie Kupferwasser.

Those locations include Water Street, a house on Church Street, , , the and the . Stonington would serve as the town of Great Hope Springs in the movie, which in the movie is a small town in Maine.

Great Hope Springs, according to a press release from Mandate Pictures, follows a woman named Maeve (Streep) seeking to spice up her marriage. Maeve and her husband (Jones) go to the town of Great Hope Springs to meet a relationship guru (Carell) for “an intense week of marriage and sex therapy.”

Kupferwasser said if a decision is made to film in the borough the production company would work closely with town and borough officials and the to have an advance schedule in place and a map of the streets where filming would take place and where streets would need to be closed.

“We prefer to know what problems you have so we can solve them in advance,” Assistant Location Manager Daniel Tresca said.

The board and residents raised concerns about parking, street closures, the hours of filming and also the number of people in the village.

Burgess Edward McCreary pointed out that 68 percent of borough residents are thrilled with the possibility of the filming, but others worry about making Stonington Borough too well-known.

“It’s a great idea but you have to be careful...,” McCreary said.

“We’re guests in your town,” Kupferwasser responded, explaining that between cast and crew the borough could expect 80 to 100 people involved in the filming. According to Kupferwasser, filming could begin by Sept. 26 and would end no later than Oct. 11. The production company expects filming to last between eight and 10 days, beginning between 6 and 7 a.m. and ending between 9 and 10 p.m.

“You’re a pain in the ass, but we’re glad you’re here,” McCreary said, adding that he just wanted to clear the waters.

The board and residents acknowledged the potential for the filming to help out local business during the slower season of the year as well as the educational value.

“A lot of the kids are very into movies and they got to see the process of making a movie,” said Borough resident and businessman Michael Blair of the fliming of Mystic Pizza. Blair was Borough Warden when the filming of Mystic Pizza took place and said his experience then was very positive.

Many residents had the chance to be extras in Mystic Pizza something Kupferwasser said that could be a possibility in Great Hope Springs. Once the production company finalizes filming locations they will release information about casting for extras if needed.

“There are a lot more details to work out,” Warden Paul Burgess said. The board approved the application with the stipulations that the production company continues to work with Burgess and the police department.

GHS Productions is considering several other towns for filming, but Tresca said that one of the incentives to film in Connecticut is the tax credit. Tresca and Kupferwasser will be back in a few weeks at which time a final decision on filming is expected.