If scenes in the Sunday’s premiere of HBO’s The Leftovers look familiar, it’s because many of them were taped right here in Westchester.
The story here is that two percent of the world’s population has disappeared mysteriously, and no one can explain it. It takes place in fictional Mapleton, New York.
Saxon Woods Park was the scene of several days of shooting. Scenes from the first episode were filmed inside the Hastings Laundromat, the River Roadhouse bar and Main Street is the setting for a parade scene.
In Harrison, scenes are set inside private homes, and Mount Vernon’s Haven Studios, which opened in 2012, has been the series’ sound stage for over a year.
On Friday, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino held a news conference with Nicole Zeller and her sister. Gabrielle Zeller, Co-owners of Haven Studios, and Demian Resnick, Location Manager, The Leftovers.
He named June 29 as “Mapleton, New York Day.”
“The event puts the spotlight on one of the many television shows filming multiple episodes—and multiple seasons—in Westchester. Combined with the film, commercial, and video shoots also happening in Westchester, the productions are a boon to the local economy,” said a news release.
The Leftovers premieres Sunday, June 29 at 10 p.m. A half-hour spotlight show, The Making of ‘The Leftovers, has already premiered and can be seen Friday, June 27 at 9:30 p.m. on HBO.
The show stars Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston and Liv Tyler and is based on Tom Perrotta’s novel by the same name.
J. Mark Lane – – since you know Saxon Woods so well, I ‘m sure you know there are multiple ways into the park to do your “hiking”.
Stop your whining and embrace the (likely minimal) fees that the County receives but more importantly, the money that these film crews will spend in our community.
Hi there, Spanky. Do you happen to have a real name? Or do you always hide behind an internet handle? And yes, I know all of the ways in and out of the Park, and every trail in it. These guys set up shop right smack in the middle of the most widely hiked trails in the Park, and blocked the trail in three directions for weeks, completely preventing the use of one popular loop.
I doubt these film crews spent much money in “our community” (are you a member of “our” community?); they appeared to bring in all their food and drinks in trucks (lots of out-of-state tags there). Nonetheless, I don’t believe we should be trading off public use and access to our parklands against some flimsy hope that those private endeavors to whom we lend them might spend some money in the area. That’s a slippery slope I prefer to avoid. Obviously, you are entitled to a contrary opinion.
If you have some information about the fees the County received for loaning out “our” public lands, please share. Otherwise, it looks to me like you’re just a troll out looking for an argument, unwilling to share your real identity. In other words, a coward.
Yes, my ability to enjoy hiking in Saxon Woods, which I have done for years, was hampered for an extended time period by the presence of trucks, tents, lights, etc., blocking the paths. Not to mention production crews. I would like Mr. Astorino to explain exactly how this private use of our public parklands helps the local ecomony? Perhaps there’s something I don’t know. Otherwise, it’s just an annoyance and an intrusion.