An out-of-town production crew endured several weeks while working around East Aurora during last year’s severe winter. The product of their efforts, “A Prince for Christmas,” premiers Sunday at 8pm on ION Television.
While Western New York’s winters have traditionally produced a negative image for the region, the experience for the crews from Hybrid Entertainment appears to have been only positive.
“Where we will filmed this movie we had real actual snow. It felt like Christmas,” explained associate producer Markus Hill.
“We watched the footage and we see that real authentic snow and that real authentic snowfall. It’s just something you couldn’t ever edit or CGI or do in post-production. It’s beautiful. It’s natural.”
Hills says viewers who tune in on Sunday night can expect to see some familiar sites.
“It’s Main Street, Aurora. The East Aurora theater Riley Street Station. All the businesses, Vidler’s Five and Dime.”
The weather and the scenery weren’t the only benefits.
“We love coming to film there. The Buffalo Niagara Film Commission is amazing. They do an amazing job at making film production companies just feel at home. They’re very accommodating,” said Hill who revealed producers have been back to the area scouting for future movie sites.
Hill and his crew also made a lasting impression during their time in East Aurora, using social media to make connections and draw extras to help during film shoots. Many may recall the film was then called “Small Town Prince.” Name changes, Hill says, aren’t uncommon.
“When we’re in production and we’re filming a project a lot of times, it’s just a working title. The title ends up changing after the fact,” Hill explained.
“Sometimes, when it gets to the network, they have a better idea. And sometimes the movie title doesn’t clear when you go through legal and you have to do a whole title clearance process.”
