Hollywood Invasion

3. Who’s cashing in the most on the celluloid largesse...? The sometimes surprising trickle-down beneficiaries of the movie boom.

By Jason Schwartz

Illustrations by Peter Hoey

They say there’s no business like show business. Around here, that’s never been truer. And while you’d expect certain industries to profit handsomely (prop makers, video equipment companies, that sort of thing), we wondered about those less obvious Bostonians whose pedigrees or bottom lines are also getting a boost from the film industry. From toilet hawkers to floral designers, here are some of the more fortunate local players making good on our brush with Hollywood.

Lumber Yards

If you want to build a movie set, you’re going to need lots of lumber. “They fly through the wood, man,” says Anderson & McQuaid sales manager Pat McQuaid. His company has supplied timber for a host of movies, which, McQuaid says, will typically buy enough material over the course of six weeks to build a house. The bestseller? Planks of poplar, which, with a little stain, can be made to resemble just about any type of wood that a set builder might desire.

Florists

Sure, the business of providing sets with flowers (and stars with greeting bouquets) has occasioned a bump in sales for vendors like Winston Flowers, but the real boon comes in the shine those orders put on the florists’ reputations. Winston’s Alicia Germano says the chain has been keeping a few designers on call to rush to shoots in case they’re needed for some style advice. And when a florist can brag about that kind of service, it builds credibility with the rest of its clientele.

Indie Filmmakers

The first version of the tax credit law required filmmakers to spend $250,000 before they could qualify for the rebate. In July, the total was lowered to $50,000, which lets independent filmmakers get in on the action. Plus, as the ranks of local film workers swell to meet Hollywood’s increased demand, the surplus of polished professionals will give indie auteurs a much deeper pool from which to pick their own crews.

Boston Movie Tours

Jeff Coveney has been ferrying sightseers around to the city’s cinematic landmarks for a couple of years now, but with all the local filming creating widespread celebrity fever, he’s beginning to see heightened interest in his service. Last year, Coveney hosted 1,000 movie fans; this year, he’s on pace to quadruple that—and, between rides, meeting weekly with his guides to discuss new stops for their circuit.

Luxury Hoteliers

When aiming to lure marquee names to bunk at his hotel, InterContinental managing director Tim Kirwan has been known to underbid his rivals at high-end lodges like the Liberty and the Four Seasons. The tactic’s working: The Pink Panther 2’s cast and crew shacked up at the InterCon, and the gang from The Box is settling in now. Locking down 60 to 70 rooms for three months is nice, says Kirwan—who’s got two staffers devoted to movie bookings—but really, it’s all about brand building: “It never hurts to have Andy Garcia in and out of the lobby every day.”

Porta-Potty Suppliers

Devotees of Us Weekly know that stars are, ahem, Just Like Us. And the sheer number of them roving sets all over town has created a run on portable loos. These aren’t the hold-your-nose portable toilets—production companies tend to rent out plush trailers, which, according to Bob Barton of United Site Services in Westborough, come equipped with multiple stalls, sinks, heat, and air conditioning. Some even have their own sound systems, he says, “if somebody just wants to have Muzak going in the restroom.”

Movie-Job Matchmakers

From his one-man office in Canton, Central Booking Service’s Tim Van Patten single-handedly serves as the de facto HR department for practically every movie that comes here. Would-be film workers pay Van Patten to shop their résumés to filmmakers—who call on him because he’s got the thickest stack of résumés around. Demand has been so hot lately that he had to take only a quick look at one job seeker’s CV before sending him directly to the set of The Women, where the guy was hired on the spot.

Go on to the next page to find out who's getting screwed by the Boston movie business...