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On the heels of the movie “The Pretenders” with James Franco, Hollywood returns to Albany.
Albany International Airport has been chosen as one of several sites for the filming of the motion picture "Departures." The film features Hollywood headliner Maisie Williams best known for her role as Arya Stark in the HBO hit "Game of Thrones."
Director Peter Hutchings has local ties and says he is thrilled to be in Albany, “I live in the Hudson Valley and one of the Production Companies on this project is also based in the Hudson Valley and it’s really important to all of us to support the local upstate filmmaking and it has just been an absolute dream.”
Debby Goedeke serves as Albany Film Commissioner, a division of the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau. She says the number of films that have been coming to the area are also a great benefit to the city, “They need sleeping rooms, they need meals, they need catering, they need security, they need location fees, they may need permits…the Police Department, the Fire Department, City Clerks involved…all that adds up.”
Productions can also take advantage of New York State’s robust tax credit program. According to a recent study by Camoin Associates, the film industry created 70,000 jobs, $12.2 billion in production-related spending and approximately $4.1 billion in wages just between 2015 and 2016.
"Departures" is the story of a terminally ill teenager, played by Williams, who befriends a timid airport baggage handler, Calvin (Asa Butterfield) to help her carry out an eccentric bucket list of things to do before she dies.