Nassau County is playing a starring role in “Peter Pan Live!,” the new NBC television production of the iconic Broadway musical that airs live tonight, December 4, 2014. The production, which stars Allison Williams in the title role and Academy Award winner Christopher Walken as the villainous Captain Hook in the timeless classic about a boy who never wants to grow up, will be beamed around the world from Grumman Studios in Bethpage. Preparations for the broadcast began in Bethpage on November 6th. NBC has 16 cameras at the studio, 350 staff members and crew and the cast of 46.
“This new production, following last year’s live NBC production of ‘The Sound of Music,’ demonstrates that Nassau County is well on its way to establishing itself the Hollywood East of the movie and television industry,” County Executive Mangano said, “We now have more filming days than four of the five New York City boroughs and regularly employ electricians, carpenters and artisans and use local venders for hardware and other supplies.”
The former Grumman property in Bethpage is now home to two production companies and nine sound stages that compete internationally for film and television production. The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency previously assisted Grumman Studios to upgrade its facilities. Grumman Studios is comprised of a 500,000 square foot facility with seven expansive sound stages with massive storage capacity, surrounded by 30 acres of paved outdoor space for set construction and parking. Grumman Studios is a qualified New York State production facility, the largest in the greater New York area, and is only minutes from midtown Manhattan. Productions shot at Grumman are eligible for tax incentives through New York State.
The most expensive motion picture in history – “The Amazing Spiderman 2” – was filmed in Bethpage as well. Other popular projects filmed in Nassau County include: Man on a Ledge, Salt, The Following, The Good Wife, White Collar, Royal Pains, the Blacklist, the Black Box, the Leftovers, Boardwalk Empire, the Americans, Zero Hour, Beware the Night, and numerous commercials, print shoots and videos.
Noting that the county has launched efforts to attract digital editing post production companies to Nassau, County Executive Mangano has long been focused on attracting motion picture and television industry jobs to Nassau County. As a County legislator, Mangano worked to establish two production studios in Bethpage and continues today to attract the industry and pursue the continuation of incentives for movie and television production in Nassau.
