Will it film in Marblehead, MA?

15 May 2009 View Comments

Those of you who have read the book, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, know that the original story takes place in Marblehead, Massachusetts. When director Burr Steers spoke with the Boston Herald in April he mentioned that they hope to film there:

Burr Steers, his “17 Again” helmer, will again direct Efron in an adaptation of the novel “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.” “It takes place in Marblehead and we hope to film there this July,” Steers, who is a nephew of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and a former actor, told me of the story about a young man traumatized by a death. “Is it like Timothy Hutton in ‘Ordinary People’?” I asked. “A bit,” he said, adding “There are ghosts and it is a demanding role, perfect for Zac.”

Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. The Daily Item out of Lynn, Massachusetts reports that Universal decided to film in Vancouver instead:

Zac Efron, heartthrob star of “High School Musical” 1, 2 and 3 and “17 Again,” won’t be coming to Marblehead anytime soon.

Ephron [sic] has been mentioned for the lead role in the movie version of Ben Sherwood’s novel “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud,” which takes place in Marblehead.

Charlie is the caretaker at Waterside Cemetery, haunted by the ghost of his younger brother as he tries desperately to save the life of his sailor girlfriend. The book, Sherwood’s second novel, has been praised for tackling themes of death, love and forgiveness and rumors have been flying about the filming all winter.

Selectman William Woodfin broke the sad news Wednesday.

“They’re not coming to Marblehead to make the film,” he said. Referring to a lot of discussion in Hollywood about the artistic integrity of the project and the current state of the economy, Woodfin said the final decision was to film in Vancouver. Vancouver is on the Pacific Coast in British Columbia, about as far from Marblehead as the filmmakers can get.

“Universal Pictures looked at the bottom line and said it’s not going to happen,” Woodfin summed up. “Vancouver is not going to look like Marblehead.”

“Given the state of the economy Universal should have stayed here,” said Selectman Judy Jacobi.

Town Administrator Tony Sasso credited Woodfin with a Herculean telephone effort on behalf of Marblehead as a film location. In fact, when asked Thursday who was going to star in the film Sasso said, “Bill Woodfin.”