Mildred Pierce remake to shoot in Peekskill

[Doctor Strange]

An HBO miniseries remake of Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet and directed by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) will be shooting "1930s" exteriors in Peekskill, NY next month.

There's an audition call out for local extras - and since I live ten minutes away, I suppose I'm going to go. I figured I'd post this in case any other NY-area folks are interested.

See this article from the Westchester Journal News for details:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103130349

I'm not sure that we really need another version of this story, but Winslet is always excellent, and Haynes seems an inspired choice for (again) revisiting an old "women's picture" plot from a new perspective...

 

[RBH]

Sounds neat to me.

 

[Fletch]

Looking at the reader comments I see the common sentiment that Peekskill is "a hellhole," and that looking like a 30s town is "hardly a compliment."

Now I don't agree that urban renewal should gut everything. And I suspect the movie may make the period look extra rundown for dramatic effect. But let's face facts - most places that could do so got rid of every trace of the 30s as soon as possible, rundown or not, and didn't much care what took their place - as long as it was new.

You probably couldn't shoot great prewar locations in any place that hasn't been rundown for decades - just for that very reason.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I was about to say "oooweeee," but with Winslet attatched to the project, it can't help but have some quality to it. But the "new perspective" does worry me a bit -- what, in this one the kid won't be a grasping, obnoxious spoiled brat who needs her face slapped? What's the fun in that?

 

[Doctor Strange]

Lizzie, I expect that Todd Haynes will find a way to see the story a bit differently, similarly to how Far From Heaven subverted the conventions of fifties melodrama.

But of course, I'm sure the daughter will still be a miserable brat - that's the heart of the story!

 

[Feraud]

But the "new perspective" does worry me a bit -- what, in this one the kid won't be a grasping, obnoxious spoiled brat who needs her face slapped? What's the fun in that?

No fun at all. All I wanted to do while reading the story was to slap that brat's face.

 

[dhermann1]

The last time I was in Peekskill it seemed like a pleasant, if sleepy, little town. I didn't see any areas with rampant urban decay or blight. There are nice old fashioned neighborhoods with nice old homes. There is a very nicely renovated old movie palace downtown (The Paramount, http://www.paramountcenter.org/ ), that has an excellent prgoram of concerts.
I must say, driving and walking around Peekskill, you can readily tell that its best days are behind it. The downtown is pretty moribund. But still, I thought it was very nice, all in all.

 

[Doctor Strange]

dhermann1, that closing parenthesis is causing your link to fail. It should be just:

http://www.paramountcenter.org/

I've been to many concerts and films there: it's a wonderful venue!

Peekskill has actually improved a lot in the twenty years I've lived in the area. Like all the old river towns that lost their manufacturing base during the last century, it's financially depressed and has some ugly areas, but it retains a lot of charm. It has nice parks, a beautiful location at the southern end of the Hudson Highlands, and a thriving arts community. Some of the older architecture has been lovingly restored, though some is pretty rundown. The schools are good (unlike say, Yonkers [*]), and many of the neighborhoods are still vital.

Anyway, Peekskill isn't a bad place at all...

[* Which is not to knock my old hometown: I was a product of those same schools back in the sixties/seventies!]

 

[dhermann1]

It could be a candidate for (drumroll please . . . . . . ) Our Own Vintage Town!!!!!

 

[moussemaker]

Picture of Kate in costume: