The roaring falls once again provided a dramatic backdrop Thursday to movie makers as crews swarmed near its misty brink to create a romantic scene for the movie “Henry’s Crime.”
Actor Keanu Reeves and his crew, who have been filming in the region all this past week, set up beneath the icy mist of the cataracts to shoot a scene with Reeves and his co-star, Vera Farmiga.
“They’re basically on a date and they’re starting to fall in love,” said Assistant Director John Tyson, describing the scene and calling it “pivotal” to the movie’s plot.
At a press conference in Buffalo on Wednesday, Reeves said the movie, a romantic comedy, was about a man wrongly convicted of robbing a bank who gets out of jail and decides to actually rob the same bank.
In the scene being shot Thursday, Farmiga and Reeves characters had just dined at a Chinese restaurant and were at the falls to take in the sights, much like many more average couples who visit the area for a romantic interlude.
While temperatures hovered in the teens, about 60 crew members positioned cameras and lights near the base of the Observation Tower at Prospect Point.
Buffalo resident Nathan Peracciny’s was working as a freelance production assistant at the site, and his job was to keep everyone connected by walkie talkie.
Peracciny, who has worked on five different productions at the falls said that while crowds are often a hindrance during filming, the cold weather seemed to be acting as a natural crowd control. The area was virtually empty of anyone but the film crew just before dusk. “It’s kind of nice,” he said before turning to respond to a call from his own walkie talkie.
As giant moon-shaped lights gently lit the area beneath the tower, several Niagara Falls police and New York State Parks employees worked to ease the way of the film crew, who typically bring lucrative attention to the region as well as an infusion of money spent during the production.
Angela Berti, a spokesperson for the state parks, said that the production was enhanced by some breaking news from Hollywood Tuesday.
“The more exciting thing to me is that the actress (Reeves) is here with, Vera Farmiga, was just nominated for a Golden Globe,” she said.
Farmiga, who is currently appearing in a George Clooney movie called “Up in the Air,” was nominated for a best supporting actress for that role.
The crew is expected to continue filming in the region today, possibly in the Kenmore area.
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