Calling all filmmakers & producers: Here's why you should make your movie in Gardner

Gardner officials are rolling out an online red carpet to prospective filmmakers interested in utilizing Chair City locations for the setting of their next TV show or movie.

"Film Gardner," a page that was recently added to the city's official website, touts the Chair City's unique and diverse locations, including Dunn State Park, the Gardner Municipal Airport, Heywood Hospital, and Mount Wachusett Community College, as the perfect backdrops for upcoming productions.

"Film scouts are always looking for a place to film," said Joshua Cormier, the city's purchasing director and film liaison. "They're looking for something with character, they're looking for outdoor spaces that are easy to film."

Chair City has already made it to Hollywood

The establishment of the city's film page comes after several prominent productions decided to film in Gardner, including Showtime's "Dexter: New Blood" in 2021, Hulu's "Castle Rock," in 2019, and - going back a bit - Paramount's "School Ties," starring future Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser, in 1992.

The website was an opportunity to boost Gardner's profile in the film industry, and give location scouts a convenient way to see the variety of spots the city had to offer to producers of major motion pictures, small independent films, commercials, and everything in between, Cormier said.

"My idea was, let's sell Gardner," he said. "Let's tell (producers) everything we can do, that we're a city that has so many amenities, but it doesn't have the clutter and the cost that come around when you're filming in Worcester or Boston."

Gardner offers scenic outdoor vistas and unique downtown locations

The site includes links to photos of outdoor locations including Camp Collier and the North Central Pathway, large commercial spots including New England Wooden Ware and CubeSmart, and downtown businesses such as Chair City Pharmacy and the Gardner Ale House.

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"Maybe (producers) need a bike path to shoot an outdoor conversation, now they have a few pictures they can look at of the bike path, then they'll contact me to find out if it's available and maybe how it would look in the fall," Cormier said.

A link to the site had been forwarded to productions that had used the city in the past, including "Castle Rock" and Dexter," and to scouts that were working for projects looking to possibly film in Gardner in the future, Cormier said.

"Everybody has been very positive about it," he said. "And some scouts have offered ideas on how to improve the site, such as including a Google map with a pin on it to show where Gardner is visually, so that's something we'll look at doing. The better we can make the page; the more likely scouts will see it."

Gardner has strong relationship with movie and TV productions

The city had built a strong relationship with movie and TV productions over the years, Cormier said.

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"We've established ourselves as a community that not only is responsive but is also very friendly to the industry and very helpful when they come here - we have a good track record," he said, adding that the community's unique characteristics made Gardner an attractive filming location. "We look like a city, but we don't have necessarily the impact of traffic and congestion and other things you may see in larger places."

The wide variety of scenic locations available in the community meant Gardner could accommodate just about any request from production scouts, Cormier said. For example, when the producers of "Dexter: New Blood" said they needed a spot where they could build a cabin in the woods near a lakeside campground with a nearby highway, Camp Collier was an obvious choice for a location.

"The producers of "Castle Rock" said they needed a quarter-mile straightaway without a lot of people around where they could film at night, well, that ended up being Eaton St. - which is nowhere near a quarter-mile straightaway, but instead has lots of winding turns - but that ended up being where they shot the opening crash scene of season two," he said.

Mayor Michael Nicholson said residents and local businesses were eager to support movie and TV productions in the city.

"Gardner boasts a wealth of possibilities, from unique neighborhoods to expansive commercial businesses, picturesque recreational opportunities, and a vibrant historic downtown commercial district," Nicholson said.

Another benefit to filming in Gardner was the city's central location in the state, just 55 miles from Boston and 35 miles from Worcester, Nicholson said.

"Additionally, Gardner is merely 10 miles away from the New England Studios in Devens, making it a prime location for collaborations and proximity to production resources."

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Gardner officials have set up a website to attract movie and TV scouts