Filmmakers Find Ideal Backdrop in Wheeling
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WHEELING -- Keep an eye out for celebrities on the streets of Wheeling as the filming of the upcoming drama "The Gun on Second Street" is slated to take place in the city.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, residents may have already seen camera crews in East Wheeling, as initial flashback scenes were already captured during a two-day shoot using locals as actors and extras. According to director Rohit Karn Batra, next on the agenda is a 25-day shoot in Wheeling with the main actors of the cast, including Poppy Delevigne of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword."
In the film, Delevigne will star as the wife of a police officer who was accidentally killed by his partner. Years later, the partner reunites with Delevigne's character when he moves to Pittsburgh, with the two slowly falling in love while confronting the shared violent history between them.
The majority of "The Gun on Second Street" will be shot in Wheeling, as Batra described the city capturing the "small-town feel" he wanted to replicate in the film while allowing him to avoid the complications and cost of shooting in Pittsburgh. The director explained he had never visited Wheeling before the shooting, but he only needed to see a couple of photos to know the location would work perfectly.
"The Gun on Second Street" will span a variety of eras, making the Victorian houses in East Wheeling an important asset for the crew while shooting flashback scenes that will take place in the 1970s.
Morgantown and Charleston were the two other candidates to replicate the Pittsburgh setting, but Batra ultimately decided on Wheeling because of its rich history and the wide array of architecture available to him in the city.
The director described using the city as a chameleon for other modern-day locations as well. Independence Hall and the building that was formerly Agape Baptist Church will be used for scenes taking place in modern-day New York City.
"There's no way to tell that we're not in New York City or Pittsburgh because it's all about composing the shot," said Batra.
One of the local filmmakers Batra collaborated with was Chuck Kleine, who is a video producer at West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Kleine was able to help Batra fill out his crew with locals in the film industry, along with picking a couple of residents straight off the streets of East Wheeling to help with the shoot. While some of these people served as extras playing police officers or firefighters, others remained behind the camera helping move equipment or setting up furniture in scenes.
"The extras we worked with here, I have to say, were some of the best I've ever worked with in my career," said Batra. "They knew exactly what to do, and I was surprised they hadn't been in movies before."
Apart from recruiting locals to help with the shoot, Kleine coordinated with local city officials to get the appropriate paperwork and permits for filming. He explained that he worked closely with Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum to iron out the details of filming in the city.
Kleine plans to continue to work with Ketchum and other city officials to create a process that simplifies getting authorization to film in the city.
"We want to encourage this kind of cultural scenario in our city," said Ketchum on collaborating with Kleine. "I hope we can create a simple process that when someone wants to make a film here, we don't have to scramble and say 'maybe this or maybe that.'"
Kleine explained he knows other filmmakers who are interested in shooting in the Ohio Valley, so getting a set-in-place system in the city for filming would only further motivate them to come. The director explained that even though the film is "relatively low budget," he and his crew will be spending over $1 million in the city when they return for the longer shoot.
When this return will occur, Batra is not sure, as he needs to obtain the paperwork to continue filming during the Writers Guild of America strike, which the Screen Actors Guild joined in solidarity. The director was not too concerned about getting this workaround, with him explaining they are more concerned about scheduling when the actors can commit to shooting dates.
"We plan to get the film out in the third or fourth quarter of the year," added Batra. "We still have important shoots we need to get done in the city."
Batra said the highlight of working in Wheeling has been the people.
"When you work in a place that is authentic with authentic people, there's an immediate trust that happens that allows us to just focus on the work," said Batra.