WSYR

Crews for the next film to shoot in the area should be rolling into town in a few weeks.

The sci-fi movie "The Opium War" will shoot 90 percent on location around Syracuse.

Local officials say the area is about to take a big step forward in the movie making business and cash in with all the economic spin off from "The Opium War" shooting here soon.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney tells NewsChannel 9, "All of the locations have been chosen, people are prepared, so when they come they'll be able to film the whole movie in about eight weeks, but all of those people in town it's a benefit to us to make more of this happen."

Mahoney says the county now has a full time film commissioner whose sole responsibility is to create this industry locally.

She says the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries, being built right now in the Collamer Crossings Business Park, will help attract filmmakers because of the huge film post-production unit it will house.

“We have the indoor space, we have all the post-production space so the weeks it takes to do the editing, voice-overs and special effects you're housing people and you can do it in Syracuse NY. So the fact we can do soup to nuts is very interesting and appealing to people that are making decisions about where to shoot movies”, says Mahoney.

The facility should be finished and ready for work in the spring.

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