Albq. movie prods.

‘Duke City’ movie script gets option
By Adrian Gomez / Asst. Arts Editor, Reel NM on Mon, Sep 10, 2012


The Rio Grande Media Group optioned its second movie script in a month from Albuquerque screenwriters Anthony DellaFlora and Albuquerque Journal investigative reporter Michael Gallagher.

Actor Steven Michael Quezada is slated to star in “Duke City.”

The group hopes to spin off a TV series based on the movie.

“Duke City,” a dark drama about an undercover drug agent, Eddie “Duke” Montaño, came from an idea by local actor Steven Michael Quezada.

Quezada, who plays DEA agent Steve Gomez on the hit TV series “Breaking Bad,” is currently slated to play the lead in the movie and series, which finds an undercover cop suddenly anointed leader of a street gang he was sent to infiltrate.

Veteran actors Dean Norris, who plays Quezada’s partner, Hank Schrader, on “Breaking Bad,” and Wes Studi — from “Geronimo: An American Legend” — have signed letters

of intent to appear in the proposed series.

“I came to Tony and Mike with the kernel of an idea last fall,” Quezada said. “Now we have a movie, a TV pilot and a whole cast of great characters.”

Quezada said some other big name actors are interested in the movie, but could not reveal their names yet.

The movie is set in Albuquerque, and location scouting is already under way.

Last month, the RGMG optioned the rights to another feature written by DellaFlora and Gallagher, “Dead By Thursday.”

It tells the tale of two ex-drug smugglers who emerge from hiding to save the grandson of a former partner in crime, a Mennonite patriarch. The script calls for filming in several locations around the state, including Albuquerque, Deming, Las Cruces and Grants.

“Mike and I are really jazzed to have two projects in the pipeline now,” DellaFlora said. “We’re going to do everything we can to help Rio Grande Media get these off the ground and establish a company that can develop, finance and produce movies from New Mexico for a long time to come.”



The Reviews Are In: Movies Thriving Here
By Ann Lerner / Film Liaison, City of Albuquerque on Mon, Sep 17, 2012

The film industry is alive and well in Albuquerque.

We’ve seen a variety of film activity in the area this year. “In Plain Sight” finished Season 5, filming out at I-25 Studios and on location around town. “Breaking Bad” shot eight episodes of Season 5, and will be back in December for eight more episodes. “The Last Stand,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, filmed in Downtown Albuquerque in January. (Watch the trailer to see an impressive stunt across the intersection of Fifth and Marquette.)

And, oh yes, the largest movie being made in the world this year, “The Lone Ranger,” chose Albuquerque Studios as its home for offices and sets and built two western towns out by the Rio Puerco, filming here for months.

“2 Guns” just wrapped, “Lone Survivor” starts filming in October for nine weeks. Two other films will be shooting this fall as well.

Numerous independent filmmakers are making low-budget projects – from features, to shorts, to webisodes.

So why do people like to film in Albuquerque? Besides the 310 days of sunshine, no natural disasters, close proximity to Los Angeles, an easy-to-use film tax incentive and a strong film crew base, we have a world-class infrastructure of stages, equipment companies, suppliers and businesses relating to the movie industry.

And Albuquerque can double for many different location looks – we can be Cincinnati (“Wild Hogs”); Munich (“Beer Fest”); Mexico border crossing (“2 Guns”); Los Angeles (“Crash TV”); New York (“The Resident”).

But I think a large part of the reason people like to film in Albuquerque is because of the open reception filmmakers receive from neighborhoods and businesses and the administration.

We offer one-stop film-permitting. We recognize that filming dates may change due to weather or illness or some other factor and are flexible.

Our filming guidelines require production companies to limit the number of large vehicles in a neighborhood and provide notification of filming dates and times. We have a program asking productions to give $100 to the neighborhood association for each day of filming. To date, over $60,000 has been raised.

We respect the production companies and welcome them for bringing in new money and providing well-paying and creative jobs for our citizens.

Production companies respect our highly skilled labor force and willingness to allow filming in the area.

Our reputation is strong. The Film Office is busy reading scripts and leading location scouts for potential future work. We’re issuing permits. Our phones are ringing.

Thank you for keeping Albuquerque film friendly!

I congratulate Albuquerque. Florida had a very amenable to film-makers program going but that was downgraded with the economy. Apparently the one move we did make was to give $20 million to an animation studio which has just declared backruptcy so that's not looking like such a wise investment.


Meanwhile James Marsters is off "filming" something that is not the tv series we have already heard about...and we are all on the hunt for what that might be. Details to follow.

The total yearly tax credits that can be given has been cut back to $20 million from around $50 million with much prediction of doom and gloom and killing the film industry here, but so far it doesn't seem to have had much of an impact. The $20 mill. is the total between all productions, not one or a few biggies.

Well, for Quezada and Norris. I have really enjoyed their acting in Breaking Bad. And adding Wes Studi to that is going to make 'Duke City' a must see for me.

I don't think the DFW metroplex has anything going as good as you two are talking about...but there is Dallas.

Where the name "Duke City" came from....

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-albuquerque.html

Wow, didn't know any of that. Thanks for posting that I learned sumpin' today.

About every 8-10 years the Duke's descendant who still has an old Spanish royal title, and his wife, come to NM for a visit, dinners, etc.

This is about 9 miles north of here:

http://nmmonuments.org/coronado-state-monument

Coronado camped here for awhile in the winter of 1545. It was so cold that winter that the Rio Grande froze over deep enough to support his wagons and oxen when they crossed it .