Photo Courtesy of Westchester County Tourism and Film/Flickr
The iconic phrase “lights, camera, action” is often associated with films shot in Hollywood studios or perhaps with actors featured against a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline but Westchester County is starting to get its fair share of film production thanks to efforts from County Executive George Latimer and Westchester County Tourism & Film (WCTF). Despite industry-wide challenges in 2022 and 2023, film production in Westchester still yielded $2 billion in economic activity, 6,796 jobs and $656 million in wages during those two years. The Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild strikes in 2023 and lingering effects from the COVID pandemic significantly halted film and television production activity across the nation and unfortunately in our county but WCTF’s Senior Marketing Manager Sarah Marshall is optimistic about the industry’s future here in Westchester. “This year’s economic impact research showed resilience amidst the strikes and competitive pressures,” she noted.
WCTF provides location guidance, offers technical site visits, and facilitates the permit process for those wanting to film anywhere throughout the county’s 500 square miles. Westchester has actually had a long history with film production – dating back over 100 years to the silent film era. “We have film-friendly, camera-ready communities in Westchester that are receptive to production and welcoming to the industry. They appreciate the economic benefits and the excitement that filming brings. It’s a point of pride for communities,” notes Marshall. In addition to movies, episodic TV shows, music videos, fashion photography and commercials are all shot throughout Westchester. “We get hundreds of inquiries a year,” notes WCTF’s Director Natasha Caputo. Many of the episodic shows have renewed their contracts for the following year and have multiple episodes in a season such as FBI: Most Wanted offering a steady revenue stream for the county.
Film professionals are attracted to Northern Westchester for a variety of reasons. Scenic landscapes abound in Northern Westchester. With rolling hills, forests, and rivers, locations like Muscoot Farm, Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard and Hilltop Hanover Farm provide stunning backdrops for various types of scenes. Northern Westchester towns offer many filming locations including farms, parks, lakes, and small-town settings. This versatility can reduce the need and expense of extensive set building. A mix of historic homes, estates, quaint villages, and modern architecture allows for a wide range of filming possibilities, from period pieces like The Gilded Age to contemporary stories. Northern Westchester’s proximity to NYC means access to experienced crew members, equipment rental companies, and post-production facilities without the high costs associated with filming in the city itself.
Director of the The Gilded Age (HBO), Michael Engler noted: “It’s all about location, location, location. [Westchester has] these magnificent homes and estates which bear the unmistakable imprint of The Gilded Age. We also shoot up there because of the space – land, big parking lots, parks, and pathways. People were extremely friendly and gracious. We all love shooting in Westchester.” Many of the scenes were shot at Lyndhurst Castle in Tarrytown.
Recent award-winning and popular productions that filmed in Westchester in 2022 and 2023 included The Crowded Room (Apple TV+); FBI: Most Wanted (CBS); Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX, Hulu); The Gilded Age (HBO); The Girls on the Bus (HBO); Leave the World Behind (Netflix); Life and Beth (Hulu); Maestro (Netflix); Poker Face (Peacock); Succession (HBO); Severance (Apple TV+); and The White House Plumbers (HBO). This past summer, the county earned 32 Emmy nominations for films and television shows filmed throughout Westchester during the past year.
Caputo and her team act as the facilitators for each municipality. Each municipality often has their own town liaison and often it is the town clerk who handles the permit process for filming. Her team however provides permits for all county-owned property – trailways, jails, morgue, parks etc. “A lot of times it is vistas and views here in Westchester but sometimes it can be something more mundane like a garage. We want to increase film activity for the economic benefits here. Filming supports jobs and wages,” Caputo says.
For example, lodging-related tax revenue (sales and occupancy tax) associated with film industry activity contributed $2.9 million to the County and municipalities in 2022.
Filming also can provide a different revenue stream for local businesses. One such example is Pleasantville’s Pace University which has a very modern facility and a lot of acreage. “Pace University is a sought-after filming spot due to its versatile 200-acre campus, modern facilities, and proximity to New York City. The campus offers ample green space and diverse facilities that can accommodate wardrobe, makeup, and craft services,” explains Marshall. Additionally, Pace provides an on-site liaison to assist productions from start to finish. With plenty of room for parking and ancillary production space, the university has also been used as a base camp for HBO productions, including The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Gilded Age, and a not-yet-released film limited series starring Robert DeNiro, called Zero Day and a Netflix film starring Brie Larson that is not titled as of press time.
Another example is Pleasantville’s Club Infinity, a private nightclub style event space that is often used to celebrate Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, fundraisers, corporate functions and birthdays. “We have been involved in a number of television productions through the years including The Blacklist (NBC), Divorce (HBO), the Netflix movie Leave the World Behind and most recently a new series on Apple TV called The Savant. They all used the club as the location to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner for both cast and crew. For Divorce, they were filming in a mansion in Armonk, but they needed to do their cast readings in our Bose Club. “So that’s how I got to chat with Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church and it was pretty cool,” exclaimed Ed Gaynor of Club Infinity.
“The film industry is a very fluid business and a lot goes into filming a live scene,” notes Caputo. Script changes, timing of events and weather can all impact the set.
“There are a lot of freelancers in this business and it is so important to be film-friendly. It’s great when they recall doing a base camp at Pleasantville and they remember that they were flexible, accommodating and were solution-oriented for any challenges that arose because they will [hopefully] remember that for their next project,” Caputo remarks.
Some films or TV shows filmed over the years in local towns include:
Pleasantville
Elementary – Pleasantville Diner
A Netflix film starring Brie Larson (title TBD) – Pace University
The university has also been used as a base camp for HBO productions, including The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Gilded Age, and a not-yet-released film limited series starring Robert DeNiro, called Zero Day
Briarcliff Manor
Greatest Showman, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, Gotham, The Blacklist – Sleepy Hollow Country Club
The Sinner – St. Theresa’s Church
Chappaqua
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies – private home on Haights Cross Road
Billions
The Sinner
North White Plains
Manifest – Cranberry Lake Preserve
Mr. Robot – Kensico Dam
A Beautiful Mind – New York Medical College
