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The community center was turned into a "minimovie set" for the production of "Freeheld,” starring Julianne Moore and Steve Carell.
“Hat’s off to Commissioner Bill Carter and his team for helping to make the Theodore Young Community Center the kind of place that attracts world-class acting,” said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner.
Michael Shamberg, one of the film’s producers, said it was a true pleasure working with the community center’s staff, and that his crew was grateful for the chance to film there.
The Cynthia Wade film won the Academy Award for best documentary short subjects, and was a winner at the Sundance as well as several other film festivals.
The movie crew was recently denied the opportunity to film at a Catholic high school in New Rochelle, according to US Weekly. Shamberg told US Weekly that Salesian High School first gave permission to film onsite, then withdrew permission once after learning the film’s subject matter.
The movie is based on a documentary title “Freeheld” about Det. Lt. Laurel Hester, an Ocean City, N.J. police officer played by Moore, who finds out she has terminal cancer and six months to live.
Hester intends to leave her pension to her domestic partner Stacie Andree, played by Ellen Page the star of “Juno.” Unlike heterosexual couples, local elected official deny Hester’s request. Hester’s story attracts national media attention and spurs an advocacy campaign.
Carell plays a gay rights activist named Steven Goldstein, while Michael Shannon of “Boardwalk Empire."
One of the rooms in the community center was transformed into a hospital room for a scene where Moore’s character is sick in a hospital bed answering questions from about the town board she is fighting.
Shamberg said he expects the movie to be released near the end of 2015.
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