WSU to star in motion picture
Video by Matt Haugen, WSU News
 Andy Garcia
|
PULLMAN, Wash. Washington State University’s Pullman campus will appear prominently in the upcoming motion picture “Admissions” starring Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga. The crew spent this past week filming in a number of outdoor WSU locations, such as Thompson Hall, Honors Hall, and the Murrow building.
The movie is described as a once-in-a-lifetime love story that takes place when the main characters meet on a fictional campus called Middleton College, while taking their kids on a college admissions tour. WSU’s unique architecture and traditional styling was described as being “picture perfect” for the project.
“We could have chosen (from) many many campuses,” said the film’s star Andy Garcia, who also is a co-producer on the film. “Washington State, that’s why we’re here. We wanted a certain look and a classic nature, and woodsy, so we’re fortunate to be here, we appreciate it.”
The film is directed by Adam Rodgers and co-produced by Glenn German who both co-wrote the script. The pair toured college campuses across the country before deciding on WSU, as well as adding in scenes from Gonzaga, and WSU Spokane.
“It’s absolutely beautiful here at WSU,” said Rodgers, “I’ve scouted all over the country. We were in Michigan, we were in Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi, and all those places were lovely, but at the end of the day, I think we found the best spot possible.”
The crew estimates it will spend $1.5-million in Eastern Washington for this project, hiring everything from film extras, to caterers, to production teams. While the sunny weather was a key factor in selecting this area, producers say Washington’s Filmworks project played a key role, by giving a portion of the money spent back to the film’s production.
“The state renewed their film incentive, which as you may know, gives us 30-percent back on all the money we spent on Washington labor and services, and that’s a huge incentive to bring filming here,” said German.WSU alums will notice the differences in the film. For example in one scene, students run out of Stimson Hall to jump into a pond. What Coug fans will recognize immediately is that the pond is actually on the Gonzaga campus.
The movie is set to be released sometime in 2013, and both the producer and director would like to return to WSU with a copy for a private screening.
“We think it would be fun to come back here and talk with future filmmakers and writers about our project,” said German.
