Filming to Ramp up in New Mexico

Filming has been rather quiet here for a couple of months but things will start up soon. Two motion picture projects and the third season of a TV series will be made soon. "Due Date" starring Robert Downey, Fr as a father-to-be will shoot in the Fall. "Passion Play" starring Mickey Rourke will also film here. One of our favorite TV series "In Plain Sight" will film starting in January. And then there is our pride and joy, "Breaking Bad." So I would love to be a fly on the wall while Robert Downey, Mickey Rourke and Cranston have a few beers downtown!!

Want Your Home as Movie Site?

Not much happening now in the city. So if you think you might like to have your home available for a movie set, let me know. It usually means you would move out for five days or so and make maybe $5000 or so. Not bad. I just need some inside and ouside shots of your home and a description. Give me a call and I can give you the details.

Judy Pierson
220-9193

"Breading Bad" Starts Sunday

Well, we love our "bad boys" here in ABQ and I am excited that the second year series will be available here and starts this Sunday night. It was filmed in ABQ and hopefully the third year will be as well. Good Luck, Bad Boys.

LOCATION LOCATOR SERVICE

Yesterday I met with one of the two film teams working on "In Plain Sight" to help them find a location for their next shoot. Call me if you need help finding a location......

STEVEN SEAGAL NEW MEXICO

Our own Gov. Richardson announced that Steven Seagal will be filming "The Keeper" in Santa Fe Sept through October. Steven plays a bodyguard whose client is kidnapped and he has to rescue the woman. Wasn't there one like that where it was the President's daughter or was it his ex-wife played by our own Shirley MacLaine that was kidnapped too? nd then there was one that takes place in Mexico City. Oh well, guess there are no new stories.

I remember meeting Steven once at one of our neighborhood burger places in Hollywood, called the Hamburger Hamlet. They have the best fat old juicy burgers and I liked mine smothered with grilled onions, dijon and plum jam! Yumm!! Anyway, he was at a table next to ours and he was so short!! I was shocked as he plays such big guys in the movies.

So anyway, look for a muscular short guy in Santa Fe this fall.

And if you are looking for a house to buy or sell, call me. 505-220-9193,

The Burning Plain Film at Venice Film Festival

The film opens with a shot of a trailer on fire in the New Mexico desert with the landscape appearing barren and exposed. The story starring Chalize Theron, whom I think is the most beautiful actress, is about her running a restaurant in Oregon but being confronted by a mysterious visitor from Mexico. The film is directed by Guillermo Arriago and was initially titled "The Four Elements" ---- water, earth, wind and fire. I guess Portland is the water and we are the rest. Seems like New Mexico has become typecast as either a foreign planet, Mexico or early fifties. Oh well, at least we are getting film productions here. We are so much more however.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL'S HOT

Well, this has nothing to do with ABQ but my daughter went to grammer school with Jake. Since she has been little she knew she was going to marry him; he just hasn't realized it yet. He, and his sister, were nice kids and not affected by early stardom. Jake, if you read this, call me. Corwyn is waiting.

In the meantime, if anyone is looking for a rental or home to buy let me know.

FILM NEWS IN NM

Lots happening here. Probably the biggest news is the approval of the $40 million Santa Fe Studio project to be build south of The City Different. The area had been slotted for a studio for a long time and now groundbreaking will occur this year with opening of many sound stages by the end of 2009. The county hopes to increase gross receipts and other revenue from the associated activities. In return for the land and county financed infrastructure improvements, the studios promise to build four green sound stages near NM 14 which is off interstate I-25 and is the road that leads to Madrid which is already a popular area for filming. Remember Wild Hogs??

Project Angel or as we like to say the next Terminator movie crew finished up filming at the Gorge bridge up near Taos and the crew is back in town. The next Transformers film is set to be filmed near Alamogordo. And the 9th Gate may come here too. Lots happening.

In the meantime, I am available for anyone that is looking for a rental or investment property. I have a couple of homes that house up to six people and would be great to lease out to film crews. CAll me at 505-220-9193.

RENTAL HOUSE WITH POOL AVAILABLE

I have a house off I-40 and Tramway that can be leased that has a pool. Give me a call.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ANN LERNER

Ann Lerner, city of ABQ Film Liason, won the Arts Alliance Award, the association's highest award, for her work over the past five hears on helping the state's film industry get a foothold in our enchanted city.

I spoke to the wife of the director for the next Terminator film yesterday who said that our high winds and blowing sand weren't received well by the crew trying to film. Hope no one got hurt!!

FILM OFFICE LOOKING FOR LOCATIONS

Hang a sign on your property that says “We welcome film productions!” says Todd Christiansen, the location scout for the ABQ film liaison office. Todd, who is from LA, told me, he spends a lot of time just driving around looking for unusual properties. Ann Lerner, who heads up the office, states that she is particularly interested in large warehouse buildings with high ceilings. Bummer. I just sold one in the UNM area for an auto shop. What was I thinking?? Actually, I know how hard it is to find properties in all the little pocket communities here in Albuquerque, so if you are looking for a location, call me. By now, I know this city inside and out.

REAL ESTATE TRENDS IN ALBUQUERQUE

The Greater Albuquerque area once again defied the rest of the United States. The total homes sold, attached and detached, for April were 1,668 up from 1,616 in March. Days on market decreased to 66 days in April from a high of 71 in January. As reported in the USA Today, April 29, 2008, "Few areas of the country have been spared from the housing market meltdown, but some cities have managed to avoid the worst of the surge in home foreclosures. Consider Albuquerque."Demand for luxury homes has slowed but activity in the range of $249,000 and lower remains strong. That being said Rio Rancho showed the strongest price gains in the Albuquerque MSA with a 7.13% increase in average sales price from April 2007.The same USA Today article reported from Kiplinger.com saying, "The area’s outlook remains bright. It continues to generate jobs and attract retirees. The city offers "resort-town ambience, a boomtown economy and cow-town prices." Kiplinger has named Albuquerque one of the top 10 smart places to live in 2006."The Albuquerque area real estate market is strong and stable compared to other parts of the country," says Cathy Olson, Chair of the Board of the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® "Housing remains affordable in Albuquerque as we continue to attract new employers ranging from film to high tech to government contracting."

Extreme Makeover

The Extreme Makeover filmed in freezing January aired tonight and it was a tear jerker. The Rodriquez family is truly amazing in what they have done over 6 years in our "war zone" area. The crime rate is down 50% and the area is buzzing with hope. The show tonight captured the big hearts that differentiates New Mexico from the family themselves to the thousand or so volunteers that built the homes. Someone said that every city has a word that describes it. For Albuquerque the word is "heart". People here with and without alot of money give generously of their time, concern and money. I love it here! I left Hollywood ten years ago and have never regreted it. I'll let Hollywood come here to me as I am not leaving! Call me if you want to move here! You will love it too.