Press & Sun-Bulletin

The Binghamton Press Co., Binghamton, N.Y.

Lights! Camera! Action! Movie films in New Milford

September 23, 1997

Filmmaker uses local talent, sites
By Brian J. Gafney
Staff Writer

    NEW MILFORD – At first motion pictures were filmed in empty warehouses in Astoria, then in back, lots in Hollywood. Fast forward to rural Susquehanna County where Ted Melyan Brunelle has brought his Endless Mountains Productions Co. to film a feature-length motion picture in a rural setting.

     “I have my studio here, and I'm a resident here,” said Brunelle, who has been filming in New Milford. “I don't like the fast pace of New York or Los Angeles all the time. This is a great location for expanding.”

     The producer-director said he learned his craft at Rochester Institute of Technology's video department and on his own by making and working on short films. His first feature film is titled One Story Night.

    Brunelle does all the editing himself, viewing the daily rushes and working out a film a score with his mother, Martha Melyan, a professional musician. He is working at a furious pace to complete his film in time for Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival at the end of the year, and in time for the Cannes Film Festival early next spring.

    These festivals are the place to make financial connection for daunting amounts needed to put a film in broad circulation.

    One big plus for his film is the music. “More than 50 percent of a film is music, when it is done right,” he said.

    Along with the music he has an aesthetic approach to his story that could bring him to wider audiences. “It's a wholesome film that harkens back to the original Disney Studios,” Brunelle said. “And my story takes place in a county area, which Susquehanna County fits exactly. If I scouted all over, I'd still choose this place.”

    Brunelle has found his actors in Susquehanna County as well, hiring his brother Alexander Melyan Brunelle, Jessica Jennings, Tiffany Buttler, Douglas Rose, and John Graham for the main characters.

    “People around here have been very helpful for locations,” Brunelle said. “For example, Old Mill Village (in New Milford) let us use their grounds and buildings for certain scenes.”

    For Jessica Jennings the movie is a new experience. “It's my first time acting… He's (Brunelle) reasonable to work with, and he gets done really quick by saying what he wants. I'd like to act more if I had the chance. It's exciting to work on a film.”