A powerful real estate developer must choose between greed and community as his actions determine the future of the 48 blocks that make up present-day Atlantic City…
That’s the tagline for a one-hour dramatic series that a Ventnor-based team of producers hopes to shoot in and around the Queen of Resorts this fall. Little Rock Films + Studios is fundraising to pay for a pilot episode that would be filmed in the city over the course of 10 days in November and offered to networks after post-production next year.
A still by Sherry McCracken, director of photography for 48 Blocks
It’s been a big year for Atlantic City under its new ’48 blocks’ alternate ego. First there was the arts festival and Little Water Distillery’s ’48 blocks’ vodka. Now, there’s a script for a TV series featuring an upstart developer and a reporter.
“Atlantic City has the canvas and potential to become a highly sought-after location for the television and film industry,” write the show’s producers in marketing material for the project. Boardwalk Empire, the last television serial to raise some buzz for Atlantic City, was mostly filmed in studios and locations in New York.
“We feel that we can bring in revenue, we can bring in tourism. The arts are so important and we have such a beautiful backdrop, why not use it?” said Dina Engel, a co-founder of Little Rock Films + Studios and one of the producers on the project, talking about why they want to film the pilot in the city. “So many people are investing their time and money into Atlantic City and we want to be a part of that change too.”
Leonard Dozier in character as ‘Vernon King’, for 48 Blocks, shot by Sherry McCracken.
The team behind ’48 Blocks – The Series’ is already familiar with Atlantic City. Local actor Leonard Dozier (a voice of NFL Films) and Engel (whose acting credits include American Gothic and Mysteries at the Castle) are set to play the leads for the pilot. Script writer Daniel Putkowski has written five novels and several screen plays and divides his time between Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Sherry McCracken, a co-founder of Little Rock Films + Studios, won best director of photography at the Atlantic City Cinefest for American Gothic.
You can help the 48 Blocks producers raise money for filming, production and post-production by coming along to a ticketed event at Little Water Distillery on Thursday August 31 from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm. You can also make a one-off contribution or buy a t shirt (proceeds will go to filming and production costs).
The team has already raised $15,000 for the project and hopes to reach a goal of $100,000. There is a series of goodies on offer for investors, ranging from tickets to the local premiere, to product placement in the pilot and even an executive producer credit. Anyone interested in investing should contact Little Rock Films + Studios for more details.
If you’re interested in viewing some previous Atlantic City (and Ventnor!) footage filmed by some of the 48 Blocks team, check out this music video they filmed and produced for Chris Kasper:
Living on the other end of 40 I never heard of this until I spent last week at the shore and saw it in a local paper. Big reader and have been a fan of NJ fiction for decades! I wish they adapted one of them – Jeffrey Cohen (a k a EJ Copperman), Jane Kelly, Chris Grabenstein, Patricia Macdonald, Anne Rainey, Jane Rubino,(Rabbi) Ilene Schneider.
Love local talent! Bookmarked your site which is new to me.