ANNAPOLIS – Noreen Parry said she was ecstatic to lunch with actor George Clooney, along with his cast and crew, who spent a day this week filming scenes in Annapolis for a new CIA drama, “Syriana.”
“I’m a big fan of his. It’s always exciting to see a star, although he didn’t stay very long,” said Parry, 41, facility manager of St. Anne’s Parish House, where the celebrity and his 150-member entourage took shelter from the limelight for an hourlong lunch break Tuesday.
The Annapolis scenes were filmed in just one day, but labor, construction and security costs are expected to bring the state a little economic boost.
In fiscal year 2004, Maryland made $75 million from movies filmed here, said Jack Gerbes, director of the Maryland Film Office, a state agency under the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. The costs included hiring more than 100 local film technicians per movie and for local goods and services, including catering and hotel stays, Gerbes said.
For technical support, “Syriana” producers hired several Maryland-based union members of the Mid-Atlantic Studio Mechanics Local 487, I.A.T.S.E. They also bought lumber and other construction materials for lighting, among other set enhancements.
The movie’s unit publicist Rob Harris declined to comment on the movie’s economic impact on Maryland until filming ends.
Local 487’s business manager Rosemarie Levy could not to be reached for comment.
The production team bought extra security at the James Senate Office Building, where they shot a scene in which Clooney leads a top-secret meeting with government officials.
They used “an additional 80 hours of police service to guard the gates and to work after hours and before normal business hours,” said Vicky Fretwell, the Senate’s public information officer. “They probably spent $2,500 to $3,000.”
The cast filmed the entire day Tuesday, but the crew arrived Sept. 3 and worked for four days.
Police officers blocked local residents, media and even Senate staff members who wanted to see Clooney, the 43-year-old star listed as one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in 2004.
The production team wasn’t charged for using the government office, Fretwell said.
“As part of our assistance to the Maryland Film Office, we make these government buildings readily available.”
A planned Baltimore site fell through and Annapolis fit the bill, Fretwell said.
“They looked at Annapolis and many other places for a suitable conference room with a specific size.” The John A. Cade Conference Room they chose is named after a deceased, former state senator from Anne Arundel County.
Maryland has become a popular place to shoot movies and has gained economically.
“Two feature films, five small independent films, five short films and eight television productions were taped in Maryland in fiscal year 2004,” said Karen Glenn, the Maryland Film Office’s press officer. “Another 87 productions were completed on commercial, industrial, music video, documentary and other projects.”
In fiscal year 2003, the economic impact for all projects was $126 million, Glenn said.
Baltimore is home to 90 to 95 percent of all movies produced both entirely and partially in Maryland, said Rose Green, director of the film division in the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. “The rest are scattered throughout the area, and this varies year to year.”
In Annapolis, it was a treat to have Hollywood pay a call.
Parry said she didn’t recognize the bearded Clooney when she first saw him. Clooney had to gain 40 pounds and shave his head for his role as a CIA agent, according to his Web site.
The cast and crew ate “an awesome spread of food, like prime ribs and salmon” prepared by Tom Kats, a Nashville-based restaurant which caters to many movie stars.
Parry’s main job, she said, was making sure “Clooney wasn’t bothered,” by the fans gathered outside the parish. And no, she said, she couldn’t talk to him, either.