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Thursday, February 8, 2007

Stars Come Out in Estancia

By Matt Gomez
Mountain View Telegraph
    Lights, camera, action!
    The Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill in Estancia was temporarily transformed late last week into a set for a movie starring Mariah Carey and Ethan Peck.
    Trucks, vans and trailers lined Estancia's main street and the bar was closed off from outside view with plastic sheets as shots were filmed for "Tennessee."
    "It's a film about two brothers who make a trip cross-country in search of their father who they've been estranged from," said Reid Rosefelt, a publicist for Lee Daniels Entertainment, the production company behind the film.
    The movie's characters take a trip from New Mexico to Tennessee in search of their father, according to a synopsis for the film on the company's Web site. On the way, the brothers meet Krystal— played by Carey— "an aspiring singer who flees an unhappy marriage to join them on their journey," the synopsis says.
    Daniel Ortiz, who owns the Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill, said film crews worked in his bar from about 10:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
    "Last year ... (the) Sci Fi Channel shot a sequel here ... and one of the gentlemen that was a locations guy talked to me then and told me he thought they might be coming back a little later for another movie," Ortiz said.
    Ortiz said about 16 to 18 people came to survey the location to make sure it was suitable for the film.
    "I guess they kinda liked this old, western setting," Ortiz said.
    The bar closed Feb. 1 so the film crew could use the space, Ortiz said.
    Ortiz said the experience was a positive one and ended up with a special present for his daughter's birthday, which was also Feb. 1.
    "We managed to get a couple of shots with Mariah and they talked for a while," Ortiz said.
    Ortiz said the production company was also utilizing a local church for a set on Monday.