NEWS
Set construction at full speed in Ferndale
01 Feb 2001 Thanks to our Anonymous contributor in Ferndale and to Wesley, one of our Web Correspondents, we have tons of new interesting details on "The Majestic" production.
According to the January 11th edition of "The Ferndale Enterprise" sent in by Wesley, an agreement was reached between Castle Rock and the City of Ferndale on Monday 8th, making it possible for the film crew to build the Majestic at the city parking lot. The lot will be available to production for a 15-20 weeks period, as of January 22nd and at a rate of $1,500 a week.
Besides the weekly rate, the city has also received $6,250 in film permit fees. Other terms of the contract call for the movie company to repave and strip the lot according to city specifications when the shoot is finished.
"The Majestic" isn't Ferndale's first experience with film crews - the city also hosted "Outbreak" starring Dustin Hoffman, among other productions. Curiously enough, as our source in Ferndale told us, one of "The Majestic" sets, namely the "diner," is being built at the same exact place used by the crew of "Outbreak" - an old gas station. As he explained:
«The gas station is still wearing its stage makeup from when Warner Brothers filmed Outbreak here [...] ---none of what's being demolished was there before that except the basic building. They will be tearing down an old set to build a new set.»
In addition he also let us know that:
«The Ferndale Enterprise published a sketch of the diner set in its January 31 edition: this will be built at the same site as the old gas station set used for Outbreak---its a streamline moderne style building with wraparound windows and curved roofline.
Castle Rock and the City are finalizing details for the purchase of a minimum of sixteen victorian style street light standards to replace the older modern lighting on Main Street, to be used in the shooting of The Majestic---these will remain in Ferndale when Castle Rock moves on.
The outside skin of The Majestic Theatre set is beginning to go up, now: larger walls of compostion board were being hoisted in place today [1/31/01], hanging from 40 foot poles.»
From all the information and details previously known regarding the exterior sets it seemed that they'd be mainly located on Main Street. The relative locations of the sets were further clarified by our source at Ferndale:
«The City Hall and Town Square are right at the crossroads of Main and Ocean: the diner is at this junction.
The Majestic is being built in the small city parking lot on Main Street half a block down from the diner location on the opposite site of the street.»
Buildings around the sets are also undergoing a face-lift, which includes new paint schemes.
It's unknown if Frank Darabont has already decided on a few other locations also required for the shoot. Namely a sheriff's office, which according to the shoot's Location Manager, Rory Enke, could be located on Francis. St., near the City Hall set, and a doctor's office. For this last one production scouts were looking at locations in Victorian homes.
Although casting is said to be complete already (except for extras) no new names have been officially confirmed besides those of Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, Alan Garfield and Bruce Campbell. However, AICN has recently mentioned Jeff DeMunn and Bob Balaban as being part of the cast and, according to our Ferndale source, James Whitmore has also been frequently rumored to play the doctor.
Still want more details on the sets locations? Click below for:
-- With a king-size Spank You to the Anonymous contributor at Ferndale, Wesley Hoffman and also to J.T. Click to comment this article.
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