FILM
THE PERFECT AGE OF
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL 2009
IN & OUT 1997
FEATURING
KEVIN ZEGERS, PETER FONDA, JASON RITTER and TARYN MANNING
FEATURING
KEVIN KLINE, JOAN CUSACK and TOM SELLECK
LOOKS FAMILIAR
MONTCLAIR HIGH SCHOOL
LOOKS FAMILIAR
A MONTCLAIR VICTORIAN
MONTCLAIR HIGH SCHOOL is the
backdrop for the classroom scenes
in this smaller film starring Jason
Ritter and Taryn Manning (Orange is
the New Black), about a music
teacher/former band member whose
rock star friend takes him on a crosscountry road trip. “We shot all over
New Jersey to capture the crosscountry shots,” says Louis Zuppardi,
the location manager. “We filmed in
Princeton, and in southern Jersey to
get the country roads and farmland.”
MHS, he says, permitted the filmmakers to work in a sectioned-off area that included a hallway and
music room. “The students were curious about what was going
on,” he says. “They asked if they could intern with us.”
Kevin Kline stars as an Indiana high school
English teacher who is thanked, and identified
as gay, during a former student’s Academy
Awards acceptance speech. Though Kline’s
character is engaged to a woman and denies
being homosexual, by the end of the romantic
comedy, he’s come to terms with his sexuality,
and his former fiancé may have kindled a relationship with the guy who outed him.
“Montclair has beautiful homes of all types,”
notes location manager Joe Iberti. In & Out was
supposed to take place in the Midwest, so we
researched the types of houses you’d find in small towns and
tried to find a match.” The house his team used, he says, was a
Victorian with an attractive wood interior and a garage with an
apartment above it. “We filmed in MONTCLAIR and GLEN RIDGE, and
I loved the tree-lined streets, so I tried to convince my wife to
take a look,” he says. “But ultimately, we got a place in the city." ■
PRAISE FOR MONTCLAIR
PAUL KRAMER: “The
production companies
are in Manhattan, so
Montclair is logistically accessible. And it’s
visually attractive, with
a variety of housing—traditional, well-to-do, every
level.”
OUR LOSS IS NEW YORK’S GAIN
Paul Kramer
LOUIS ZUPPARDI: “Montclair has a great town
center that can look like Small Town, USA, but
has different looks to it, both old and new.”
TOM YEAGER: “The houses are so great, with so
much space for filming. The town has an organized set-up for getting police help and permits,
and the pricing’s fair. I’ve never had a bad experience in Montclair. It’s a one-stop shop.”
38
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE MAY 2016
LOUIS ZUPPARDI: “I worked on Law & Order
SVU, and as soon as New Jersey pulled its tax
credit, everyone pulled out and moved into
Manhattan. New York renews their tax incentives every five years, so all these TV shows
have invested in staying there. I know where
things are in New Jersey, but I can’t go there.”
MARIA BIERNIAK: “Since New
Jersey no longer offers a film
tax incentive, it’s a no-go zone
for studio productions. It’s
extremely painful when you
know the location is just over
the bridge, but the producers do
Maria Bierniak
not want to go there because they
lose the benefits of the New York
incentives. It’s like seeing the most amazing cake
across the bakery, but you just can’t have a slice.”