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Though the announcement that made headlines this week was that Sony was building a new animation studio at Albuquerque Studios, it seems most at Monday’s groundbreaking didn’t care.
It was, after all, old news.
Most were instead talking about the Albuquerque Studios’ work with the new TV show “In Plain Sight.” USA Network picked up the show for 11 episodes, said Jeremy Hariton, executive director of Albuquerque Studios.
“In Plain Sight” is based on a woman in the witness protection program. Where did the FBI pick to send her so nobody would know her? Albuquerque, of course.
The show will star Mary McCormack, who played Howard Stern’s wife in “Private Parts” and was in “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.” Most of us will recognize her, though, from her work in TV, such as stints on “ER” and “The West Wing.”
She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her time as Kate Harper on “The West Wing.”
The TV-movie pilot for “In Plain Sight” was shot several months ago in Albuquerque. Hariton said the crew will start building sets in August, and filming will take place from September through December.
HOT OFF THE PRESS:
Speaking of Albuquerque Studios, the giant Mesa del Sol complex was featured on the cover of Daily Variety on Monday.
The daily film and show-biz publication featured seven stories on New Mexico’s film business. Well, OK, six. One talked about that Home Shopping Network guy Esteban buying a gallery in Santa Fe. Besides Esteban, the dude who sells those teach-yourself-to-play guitar videos in that bolero hat, Variety wrote stories about the new Sony Pictures Imageworks studios in Albuquerque, two stories on the state’s film incentives and more.
Unless you’re new to the business, or know nothing about New Mexico, the stories didn’t bring any new information to light. Regardless, Daily Variety is the trade-news bible of the entertainment industry, and it’s nice to see that finally, only six years after the state passed landmark laws to encourage film production, Variety noticed — even if it did keep calling it “U. of New Mexico.”
‘HAMLET’ NEXT?:
“Transformers,” the giant robot film that opens Tuesday, is shaping up to have quite the cast of New Mexicans.
Television news reporter Jeremy Jojola from KOBTV, Channel 4, plays a, well, television reporter in the new movie.
“What happened, it was about this time last year, the casting company sent out a request to the local stations to submit material for a position in the movie,” Jojola said.
Being a child of the ’80s who grew up with the Transformers toys, Jojola knew he had to get the part.
“All the stuff I put on my tape was breaking news, scenes with stuff going on behind me,” he said.
It worked. He was cast as Reporter No. 2. Reporter No. 1 is former KOB-TV reporter Jessica Kartalija.
Both report on the scene as giant meteorites strike a TV repair shop and an urban setting. When was the last time you saw a TV repair shop? But I digress.
“They had it set up on Second Street near the old railyards. We got there, and it was just crazy. They made the railyards look like a TV repair shop that got blown apart by a meteorite,” Jojola said. “Jessica went first, and Michael Bay (the director) would yell ‘action,’ and they dug a hole, there was fire in it, and she reported on it.
“When I went, these people would be running behind the camera as if something fell out of the sky,” he said.
The pair, Jojola said, were expecting scripts, but instead were asked to ad-lib their parts — like they were real TV reporters.
“I’ve always been drawn to journalism,” Jojola said. “I wanted to be a newspaper reporter, then I got an internship at a TV station and loved it. I stayed in TV ever since.”
That slacker.
SHOOTING IN N.M.:
“Conspiracy,” starring Val Kilmer, shooting in Santa Fe, Galisteo, Madrid and Pecos through today; “Afterwards,” starring John Malkovich and Evangeline Lilly, shooting in Albuquerque, Alamogordo, Jemez and Tularosa through today; “Linewatch,” starring Cuba Gooding Jr., shooting in and around Albuquerque starting July 5; “Swing Vote,” starring Kevin Costner, shooting in Albuquerque and Belen starting July 23.
And then there’s that film that those in the know say is the fourth “Indiana Jones” picture, which is supposedly filming in Ghost Ranch and Deming.
SEND YOUR TIPS: If you know of a film shooting in the state, or are curious about one, e-mail film@abqjournal.com .
