Governor Bill Richardson Announces Record Week for New Film Production in New Mexico
Friendship! Starts Filming in December
Contact: New Mexico Film Office (505) 476-5600SANTA FE-Governor Bill Richardson today announced that the German feature film, Friendship!, will shoot in New Mexico making this a record week for film announcements. Earlier this week, Governor Richardson announced two feature films, The Spy Next Door and The Book of Eli, and the second season of the TV series In Plain Sight will soon start production in New Mexico.
“This caps a record week for film announcements in New Mexico and, more importantly, it means jobs and patronage for our businesses— all the more poignant in these challenging national economic times,” Governor Richardson said. “When all is said and done, we expect these four projects to generate over $230 million in economic activity around the state. Not bad for one week’s announcements.” Already this year, 21 feature films, television series and made for TV movies have shot or announced plans to shoot in New Mexico and the film office is planning to announce additional projects soon. Since Governor Richardson took office in 2003, more than 110 major productions have shot in the state, creating more than $2 billion dollars in economic impact. Friendship! is comedy by German production company Wiedemann & Berg. It stars German actors Matthias Schweighöfer and Friedrich Mücke and will film in and around Albuquerque from December 2 to January 20th. The production plans to hire approximately 60 local crew members and more than 325 actors, including principal and background talent. Based on real life experiences by co-producer Tom Zickler, Friendship! tells the story of a young East German who in 1989 travels to San Francisco with his best friend to find his father who fled the communist country years earlier. It will be released in Germany in November 2009 for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Markus Goller will direct, with Mark Popp serving as executive producer. Max Wiedemannn and Quirin Berg will produce.
