Jonathan M. Black is like one of those action movie stars on a quest. His mission? “I want to bring big studio films to Connecticut.”
Black started Chair 10 Productions, a new film production services company in Fairfield County, to make his dream a reality. The company doesn’t just see Connecticut as a great location to shoot movies — something the state has been known for since the days of silent films — but as a way to create local jobs, utilize the many film professionals who are already based here and grow the film industry on the East Coast.
Black started Chair 10 with his wife Lauren, who grew up in Newtown. The couple has been in the TV and movie business for over 25 years, he as a producer of over 50 feature films, including the recent “Odd Man Rush” and “She’s in Portland,” and she as a producer of TV reality shows.
They moved to Connecticut from Los Angeles three years ago to find a “forever home” and raise their child, but they also wanted to build a new business here where they can showcase local movie production opportunities.
Chair 10 Productions
Jonathan M. Black (pictured) started Chair 10 Productions with his wife Lauren as a way to create local jobs in Connecticut and to utilize the many film professionals who are already based here. (Courtesy of Chair 10 Productions)
They’ve done a smaller project already — one of those ubiquitous Connecticut-set Christmas TV movies — but Chair 10’s first major effort is “Summerhouse,” currently filming in Fairfield County and set to wrap on June 20. The film was written and directed by Ed Kaplan, based on his own experiences as a young man in the 1960s.
“Waiting to get drafted into the Vietnam War, college grad Ned Stern spends his last summer of freedom caring for an alcoholic man at his lakeside mansion only to find himself falling in love while questioning his commitment to his country,” the IMDb description reads.
Kaplan wrote and directed the 1993 factory worker drama “For Their Own Good” starring Elizabeth Perkins and Laura San Giacomo. Among his writing credits are the heartwarming Greg Kinnear comedy “Dear God” and the action thriller “2 Graves in the Desert.”
The cast includes Malcom McDowell of “Clockwork Orange” and “Halloween” fame and Broadway/movie star Debra Monk and stars young actor Jacob Ward.
“Summerhouse” is actually set in Canada, which Black finds ironic since some movies set in Connecticut are really made in Toronto. In this case, he said, rural Canada is portrayed by Candlewood Lake.
Courtesy of Chair 10 Productions
Chair 10 Production’s first major movie is “Summerhouse,” currently filming in Fairfield County and set to wrap on June 20. (Courtesy of Chair 10 Productions)
Having worked with many big studio clients on the West Coast, among them Paramount, NBC, Universal and Village Roadshow, Black now wants “to bring those clients here to Connecticut.” He said the state’s tax breaks for filmmakers are a real incentive, and he has brought on some politicians and lobbyists to help his cause.
A small production could employ 125 people in the area, Black said, while a larger one like “Summerhouse” could employ 250 to 300. “We work with the community, and hire local vendors.”
Among the services Chair 10 provides are scouting locations for shooting and arranging union crews to hire. He has connections to some important behind-the-scenes talent who happen to live in or near Connecticut but seldom work here, such as John Mott, the production designer for the TV drama “The Americans.” He also mentions cinematographer Shelly Johnson (“Bill & Ted Face the Music,” “Captain America: The First Avenger”) as another example of “the A-list crew here.” Both Mott and Johnson are working on “Summerhouse.”
The lead producer for “Summerhouse” is Bob Yari, the producer of “Crash,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2004. Yari is better known these days as the highly successful producer of the TV series “Yellowstone,” “Tulsa King,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” “1883,” “1923” and the forthcoming “6666.” His involvement further demonstrates the caliber of Hollywood professionals who can be drawn to Connecticut to make movies.
Beyond using available local talent, Black is talking to schools in the state about starting training programs for film crews. He also helped create the new Connecticut Film and TV Alliance, whose list of objectives include building up and support the state’s entertainment industry and helping to create new job opportunities and develop new ways to bring more productions to the state.
After “Summerhouse,” Chair 10 has two other major film projects in the works which Black said he is not yet able to discuss in detail but are “multimillion-dollar, huge-level” productions. One of them is slated to start filming in August.
