Film fest follows Steven Spielberg movie shoot to Huntington

In the aftermath of a Steven Spielberg production filming a movie scene in Huntington, a town official who helped land the deal talked to Newsday about how it happened — and about the town's upcoming first-ever film festival.

Joe Schramm, director of Huntington’s Office of Film and Television and executive producer of the festival, said the success of landing the Spielberg production is an example of how hard the office is working to attract Hollywood.

“We are serious about the business of film and television in the Town of Huntington in all areas,” he said.

The unnamed Spielberg film was the talk of the town earlier this month as the production took over New York Avenue and The Paramount theater in downtown Huntington. A wrestling scene was filmed there March 4. The plot of the movie, which stars Emily Blunt, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo, is not known. 

Up next: The Made in Huntington Film & TV Festival, set for April 3-6, which will feature 36 short- and long-form films. The event will offer 15 programs for movie buffs, aspiring filmmakers and those who are already established.

Schramm, a film and television industry marketing veteran, said he has constantly promoted the town to assistant producers, location managers, studios and production companies since 2022, when the town board approved creation of the office.

“With my TV industry background, I know a lot of top executives at different studios, just by reaching out to them through email, annoying them with phone calls and Facebook posts,” he said.

Secretive, monthslong process

Schramm said he worked for five months to bring the Spielberg movie to Huntington.

He worked his connections with Universal, the distribution company associated with the film, and a location scout who grew up in Huntington who would eventually become the production’s lead location scout, he said.

“When he called me, I would mention a location that could be a potential base camp and he would say, ‘Oh I know that place,’ ” Schramm said. “So, his familiarity with the location was really important.”

Schramm — who said the scout asked not to be named because he signed a nondisclosure agreement — said it was solitary, quiet work, because confidentiality is very important in the industry.

“I notified town officials that I was working on a major project and that the project was directed by a major, well-known director, and everyone will know who it is the second I mention his name,” Schramm said.

Huntington's proximity to New York City also helped.  

The unions that cover the film and television industry have established production zones a certain distance from a central location, such as New York City. 

If a production is in the zone, the production company pays the cast and crew standard union rates. If the production is outside the zone, the production company pays extra to cover costs such as commuting from the city, or hotel accommodations.

Huntington is partially in the zone. And just outside the zone, Schramm was able to find a location — a parking lot at the Huntington Long Island Rail Road station — that was large enough to stage hundreds of local extras. That saved the production company money because the Huntington-based extras only had to commute a short distance.

Schramm said that while other notable Hollywood productions have taken place in town and have benefited the local economy, such as “American Horror Story,” “never have they hired 500 local residents to be extras for a film,” as they did for the Spielberg movie.

“That was a big kick,” he said. “The most excited I was was about the fact that so many people who live in Huntington got to be in this movie and they just loved it.”

The movie, which is also filming in parts of New Jersey, is scheduled for release in mid-2026. 

Preparing for film fest

Now, Schramm is switching his attention to the film festival, where several of the participants are also some of Huntington’s own.

Dix Hills resident Andrew Badami, 22, a 2024 graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, submitted his 16-minute feature “Too Late With Andrew Badami.”

He said he had no hesitation when he found out there was going to be a film festival in his hometown.

“I’m like, 'I’m from Huntington, I would love to submit something to a local film festival and support local arts,' ”  Badami said. “I’m grateful to be chosen to be a part of it.”

Laura Sweeney, of Centerport, is a filmmaker who has been acting, writing and directing for at least 15 years. She has two films in the festival: "Who Killed the Coach" and "Across."

She said Huntington is an ideal place for a film festival and a filmmaking initiative because it adds to the spark of creative energy that runs through the community. 

“I’m most excited about Huntington beginning to have a real film industry; it feels like something major is happening,” she said. “I mean, Steven Spielberg was here.” 

The festival will take place at the Cinema Arts Centre at 423 Park Ave. For more information, go to madeinhuntington.com/.