Jeff Preval, WGRZ 5:07 PM. EST June 22, 2016
BUFFALO, NY – Filming of a big Hollywood movie in Buffalo has now moved to a key downtown. Crews took over an empty courthouse building in Niagara Square Wednesday.
They’ve been working the past two days inside the Dillon courthouse. This was once a busy federal courthouse downtown.
And the building’s interior hasn’t changed a bit.
That’s what filmmakers of the Thurgood Marshall movie really liked about it, when they decided to come to Buffalo. Filming began last month. And the entire movie is being shot in Western New York. The film crew has been all over, Akron and Batavia, Niagara Falls and the Central Terminal, among other places.
But, it was the Dillon Courthouse that offered a unique, vintage courtroom setting that movie makers fell in love with.
“The fixtures are there the jury chairs are there the jury boxes the judges box, all of that stuff remains so it looks really perfect and period and perfect for this movie in the end this is really where the big drama happens in the courtroom so you’re going to see a lot of our courtroom in the movie,” said Tim Clark of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.
As for the big stars in the movie, Chadwick Boseman who played Jackie Robinson in the movie “42” plays Thurgood Marshall. And Kate Hudson also stars in the movie.
Filming should wrap up early next month. A release date for the movie hasn’t been announced yet.
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By Evan Anstey, News 4 Digital Producer Published: June 17, 2016, 6:59 am
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Kate Hudson is getting ready to start filming her part in the upcoming “Marshall” movie being shot in Buffalo.
The Oscar-nominated actress was seen taking pictures and Snapchat videos in Niagara Falls while viewing the local sights and riding the Maid of the Mist.
Later on, a new video appeared with Hudson in the hair-and-makeup chair getting ready to go on set. The caption on the video read “First Day on Marshall.”
In the movie about Thurgood Marshall, the U.S. Supreme Court’s first African-American justice, Hudson plays wealthy socialite Eleanor Strubing.
The movie will be released later this year.
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June 24, 2016
AMHERST, N.Y. – Filming in the Buffalo Niagara region for “Marshall,” a legal thriller starring Chadwick Boseman as a young Thurgood Marshall, a future Supreme Court justice, was recently on location at Daemen College’s presidential residence, where scenes were shot for the new movie.
“We are thrilled and honored to have Daemen House selected as a location for a major motion picture that will bring national attention to the Western New York region,” said President Gary A. Olson. “To be a part of a production of this magnitude was a unique opportunity to showcase the college.”
Cast and crew members from “Marshall” were at Daemen House in Amherst in June to film scenes for the residence of wealthy socialite Eleanor Strubing, being played by star Kate Hudson. Furniture and other early 1940s era modifications were temporarily made to the first and second floors for interior scenes filmed with Hudson and Sterling K. Brown, who recently starred in the series “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
The movie was inspired by a notorious trial early in the career of Thurgood Marshall. As a brilliant young attorney for the NAACP, Marshall traveled across the nation defending black men unjustly accused of crimes. In 1940 on the eve of World War II, Marshall partnered with Sam Friedman, a Jewish lawyer from Bridgeport, Conn., to defend Joseph Spell, a black chauffeur accused of sexually assaulting his employer, socialite Eleanor Strubing. Marshall later became the first African American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Daemen House was chosen as the Strubing residence for its historical look and feel that reflects the film’s period, explained Tim Clark, film commissioner of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.
“The beautiful architecture and other details in Daemen House bring a historical authenticity to the scenes that were filmed there,” said Clark. “When production designer Richard Hoover first saw the residence, he was very impressed with it and knew the location would fit perfectly with the period continuity needed in the movie.”
While most filming was done inside the residence, the home’s exterior was also captured in an important scene of the film. Crews are expected to be in the Buffalo area through July.
“Vintage elements are critical to a period movie like this so having access to Daemen House was helpful to enhancing the film’s historical setting,” said Clark.
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on July 1, 2016 – 12:01 AM
I was in a movie!
Of course, so were at least 100 other people who were hired as extras or background actors in the filming of “Marshall.” The film is being shot here in Western New York this summer and tells of the trial that launched the career of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Like the other background actors, I submitted my headshot and bio to the film company and three days later I got a call to report for a wardrobe fitting.
Over the years, I have been involved as an actor in community theater and have been involved in broadcasting, but making a movie – this was something new and exciting.
At the wardrobe fitting, I met some delightful people who took their time finding just the right costumes for the two scenes I was to be in. They took pictures of me in costume to use as a reference on the day of the actual shoot.
About a week later, I received a call to report to the set at 9 a.m. When I arrived, I was met by a crew member who made sure that I had the necessary paperwork filled out.
This film is a period piece and takes place in the early ’40s. We were taken to the makeup and hair styling studios, where I was given a haircut reminiscent of that era. When they finished, I was awestruck. The actors, both male and female, around me looked as if they had just stepped out of some time machine. We were from the ’40s.
Background actors are an integral part of making any film. They are the canvas on which the primary actors work their magic. The background actors’ job is to react to what is playing out in front of them without being obvious.
We were escorted to the set and given our instructions by the associate director. A movie set is sometimes organized chaos as all of the elements of making the film must come together precisely.
After a few run-throughs using doubles (the second team), the principal actors (the first team) came on the set and did their thing. A scene that will last about two minutes on the screen takes hours to film. The action is recorded using different camera angles and can take hours to get just right.
We all were part of this major film. The associate director silenced the set as he shouted, “Rolling … camera … action!” Wow, we’re making a movie and I’m really in it.
I thought that perhaps we background actors would be treated as peons during the filming because we were not professional movie actors. I couldn’t be more wrong. The film crew treated us all with great respect. We were made to feel special.
A school friend from years ago wrote to me to say that she had taught ninth-grade English to Josh Gad, one of the stars of the movie, and she asked if I could say hello for her. He was delighted and asked if I would pose for a picture with him to send to his former teacher. Gad is a very down-to-earth guy.
I came away from my days making a movie with a tremendous amount of respect for the men and women of the film industry who work very hard to bring their collective efforts to the screen.
So, as I say farewell to my two days in the movie biz, I say thanks, and I’ll see you in the movies!
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