TV crews set to arrive Monday

By Kaitlin Melanson
Thursday, March 30, 2006

The streets of Marblehead will soon be alive with camera crews once again as television producers pay the town a visit next week.

Jeff MacLean, Boston location manager for CBS' new series pilot "The Way," came before the selectmen last week seeking permission to proceed with filming on State Street, Washington Street, the streets behind Abbot Hall to the waterfront and the causeway on April 3.

"The show is about a powerful Boston family that uses superpowers in its day-to-day life," MacLean said.

Many may have seen MacLean around town at the beginning of this month snapping photos of the aforementioned areas to share with CBS directors and producers his vision of the best locales for their scene. Though they have chosen Marblehead, they will actually be using the town to portray one of its neighbors.

"We are actually planning to lead the viewers to believe that this is Salem," MacLean said.

MacLean said crews are hoping to wrap up the scene fairly quickly in hopes to move along to other towns for additional footage.

The duration of the filming will be far shorter than when Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and company took over a stretch of Washington Street storefronts for several days in 2001 to film scenes from a movie then known as "Baby's in Black," later renamed "Moonlight Mile." Filming for "The Way" is expected to start and end Monday, with a rain date set for Tuesday. The scene shot will be of a funeral procession. MacLean said it will involve about 10 people getting in and out of several nice cars as well as two Salem police cars.

"The Way," which director Rob Holcomb is hoping will evolve from a pilot into a full-blown series, has a current cast which includes Boston native and Emmy winner Jane Alexander, Will Patton, who has appeared in movies such as "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "The Mothman Prophecies," and Jason Behr, a young television actor who is the former lead star of the television sci-fi drama "Roswell."

The selectmen gave the green light to the filming, provided CBS hires a police detail and has all the proper insurance in place by the time cameras roll.
From: Jason behr.com

That would be wonderful! Let's cross our fingers!