Howell Film

November 14, 2008 - 9:13 PM

There's a new movie being filmed in Howell and local businesses there say they're excited about all the money it's bringing into downtown.

Richard Chouinard has had a lot of interesting requests for frames over the years.

Chouinard of Howell Art & Frame said, "I've done violins, I've done a nine foot Japanese kimono, hockey sticks."

But when a film crew came in and asked for 14 frames to be made in 24 hours Chouinard knew he was in for a long night.

"I worked myself a little hard and it's roughly four or five days work so I did that overnight," Chouinard said. "I was a little overwhelmed, but ya know I can do anything."

Chouinard says this was the fastest turn-around he's ever had to do but the job certainly helped him out with his finances this month.

"It was nice, it was a good job, I pleased them which was nice and I made a little money in these hard times," he said.

The movie which is being filmed at Howell's high school is also bringing money into other local businesses that aren't directly involved with the film.

Residents say the crew is paying for food, lodging and other supplies right in Howell, which is helpful boost to their economy.

And while Chouinard has been making frames for 29 years he says as far as he knows this is the first time his work has ever been in a movie.

"It'll be fun to go to the movie and see stuff I did in it," he said.

The film called High School is starring Adrien Brody and is set for release in 2010.

The company is using Parker High School, which was closed after just one year because the school district couldn't afford to run two high schools.

The company will pay the district 15,000 dollars per week for what's expected to be at least 12 weeks of filming.