When a famous Hollywood director and his assistant walked into Luther’s Garage this winter, owner John Landry said he got a high-five and a shot at his first vacation in five years.
Landry said his 2,500 square-foot garage has been chosen as one of the filming locations for Antoine Fuqua-directed thriller “Prisoners.”
“It’s definite,” Landry said Monday afternoon. “Sometime this week they’re going to come down and negotiate and lay out all the details.”
Landry said Fuqua himself visited the White Street garage twice. Fuqua is best known for guiding Denzel Washington to a best actor Academy Award in “Training Day.”
Landry said all his communication on the deal has been through a site manager, who gave him the notice of approval with a high five the week before Christmas.
“He decided he liked the looks of this garage, the setting,” Landry said. “You’ve gotta figure, out of all the millions of garages, we got picked. We call it good karma.”
Landry and his wife, Debi, announced the deal in the garage’s January 2010 newsletter.
Landry said he expects to close the shop during the filming and take his first vacation since he and Debi opened the garage five years ago.
The Movie
“Prisoners” is about two families who live across the street from each other, and are “thrust into turmoil when their two youngest daughters go missing,” according to a letter to Derby officials from the movie’s executive director, John Starke.
Landry said the production officials he has spoken with said they need the garage for a scene where a motor home is evaluated for forensic clues to the girls’ disappearance.
Other scenes that might include local extras include a community search and angry mobs, said Derby’s economic development director, Sheila O’Malley.
Production is expected to start the first week of February in Derby and Shelton.
Derby officials have authorized the production company to use the city name, police department and road signs as long as its residents won’t be depicted in a negative light in the film.
And the production teams have said they will need up to 750 extras to be in the film.
Extra-Excitement
O’Malley said if the film needs 750 people, she’s got them.
The aspiring extras have flooded her office with calls, letters and in-person visits since news of the movie broke.
O’Malley said she gets about 50 to 75 letters a day, many with head shots. About 10 people a day stop by her office. The Valley Independent, meanwhile, receives several e‑mails a day about casting extras.
“There’s quite a bit of excitement and interest,” O’Malley said.
But it’s not up to her who gets picked.
The producers will hire a casting company to sort through the potential extras, O’Malley said.
They expect to be in town the week of Jan. 18, and to post announcements for casting calls around that time.
In the meantime, O’Malley said interested parties can visit Derby’s Web site or the state film industry Web site for updated information.
