Maine filmmaker targets Eastport for murder mystery

Eastport will once again be the site of a film production, and area residents will have an opportunity to be actors in a low-cost film scheduled to be shot during late April and May. The independent film will be a production headed by James Stiles, a writer and producer who has been involved with the Maine Film Commission for a number of years. The Augusta native, whose credits include writer, producer, director and actor, was also associated with the movie Empire Falls, which was filmed in Maine.

Lea Girardin, director of the Maine Film Office, says, "We are happy they are doing the film in Maine. They have experience. We told them Eastport was a fabulous location." Girardin, who was in Eastport during the filming of the 2001 television production "Murder in Small Town X," says, "We are happy to see that Eastport is the choice for the site of yet another film." She describes Eastport as a place where people have a strong sense of community and come together when things are happening.

The Maine Film Office was established in 1987 to help all Maine-made film and television projects succeed. The film office provides financial incentives to projects that demonstrate that the media production is economically sound and that at least $250,000 of media production expense will be incurred in Maine during a period of 12 consecutive months.

Stiles and co-workers were in Eastport recently filming various Eastport sites. The subject of the film is reportedly a Stephen King-type murder film with a $250,000 budget.

Eastport City Manager George Finch says it may be a low-cost film, but the money spent in the area for lodging and other items provides a boost to the local economy at a time when the tourist season has not yet arrived. "The investment in the area will translate into economic opportunity in employment, housing, dining, etcetera," comments Finch.

Eastport resident and Boat School administrator John Miller, who has discussed the planned film with Stiles, says all local talent will be used when possible on both sides of the camera. Carpenters, electricians and others will be hired locally, and non-union workers can be hired for the project. Catering will be done by the Happy Crab and the Eastport Chowder House. Actors will be housed on the island. Finch and Miller both point out that a new dollar coming into the island community can eventually change hands several times; each time it changes hands, it adds to the total income of the community.

In addition to "Murder in Small Town X," other films involving shots of Eastport were Sunrise Over Campobello, Pete's Dragon and BBC's new travel series starring British television icon Stephen Fry