Life ”“ like the movies ”“ is full of surprises. For Nan Gill, who went to her Long Island high school reunion, reconnecting with an old classmate has not only found her a new dinner partner, but one to share a new business with as well.
Gill has owned Gill Abstract Co. in Goshen for 26 years. Who could have known the silver screen beckoned?
“Originally, I started out as a paralegal, but I enjoyed title searching, and eventually went for training to specialize in the field,” said Gill. She bought her Goshen office, where the single parent worked downstairs and raised her children in the upstairs apartment. Life as a single parent had its challenges, but Gill was committed to her family and business.
Life had some changes in store for the longtime business owner when she went to her high school reunion at Northport High School. An old classmate, who had taken a different life path ”“ tripping the lights fantastic ”“ connected with the title researcher. The result has been a happy connection both in personal and professional life, resulting in a new movie company for Gill and a new direction for her partner, David Patrick Wilson: Willy Gilly Productions.
Gill and Wilson have just completed the rough cut of their first feature, “Collar,” which stars Wilson and several Hudson Valley locals. “For people who live here in the region, it”™s going to be a blast recognizing where the film was shot,” said Wilson. The feature-length film is not a first for Wilson, but being able to do independent filmmaking is a dream come true.
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“With Nan”™s expertise and tremendous creative help and support, we make a pretty good team,” said Wilson. Since he wrote the marketing plan for the hugely successful (and cheaply produced) “Blair Witch Project,” Wilson says he”™s got solid plans for bringing Willy Gilly”™s first production out of the can and straight to Cannes Film Festival in 2010.
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Besides just making films, both Gill and Wilson hope their production company will churn out movies that will do more than just generate money. “We”™re working locally but reaching out globally,” said Gill. “We want our movies to do more than entertain, but to give people a reason to think about life. That”™s very important to both of us.”
The couple is making the most of the social media network: Twitter, e-blasts, Facebook and more. Movie information is available at collarthemovie.com.
“We hope our outreach is going to make it all the more attractive to audiences,” said Wilson. “More than that, we hope it is going to help engage people in a meaningful dialogue. It”™s got all the human elements in it: the highs and lows, the good things people do as well as the things they know cross the line.”
Shot mostly in Orange and Sullivan counties, “There are plenty of spots people will recognize and say, ”˜Hey, I know that place,”™” said Gill. “Keller Williams in Goshen was great to us. We did some filming by Arden Hill Hospital, and they let us store our gear in their lot.
“That”™s one of the challenges of working on location and one of the great things about keeping our new production company local,” added Wilson. “The Hudson Valley has everything, and the people are great. We did use some SAG (Screen Actors Guild) workers that came up from New York City, but we used a lot of local talent, and during the filming we created about 70 jobs for residents.”
“We”™ve got eight more scripts to work on, and we intend to make this our center,” said the couple. Who knows ”“ 2010 may see a film made in the Hudson Valley win at Cannes. “Wouldn”™t hurt!” said Gill. “New York business needs a jumpstart and we need to create jobs and help the economy. If we can make great films and give our region the recognition it deserves and help business, we”™ll feel we”™ve done a good job.”
