Boston is getting a boost in the film industry thanks to the 16 nominations that “The Fighter,” “The Social Network” and “The Town,” have together earned at the 83rd Academy Awards.
For years, Boston’s economic climate was not conducive to filmmakers, said Charles Merzbacher, a Boston University film professor.
If Boston wants to play host to even more filmmakers in the future, he said that some legislative changes must happen in Massachusetts.
“Massachusetts doesn’t have the most generous tax incentives [for filmmakers],” Merzbacher said.
However, the nominated films are an indication of how far the industry can go, said Deborah Jaramillo, a BU film and TV professor.
“I think the films prove that Boston is a fertile ground for filmmaking,” Jaramillo said in an email. “Hopefully more folks will realize that New York isn’t the only possible urban setting for a film.”
“Boston is an especially cinematic city. The striking mix of old and new creates all sorts of interesting tensions, and those tensions can be captured in film and television to great effect,” she said.
BU students said they are optimistic about Boston’s future on the silver screen.
“The fact that such films are being nominated for Oscars will hopefully encourage more directors to shoot in Boston,” said Rebecca Kreshak, a freshman in the College of Communication.
Abbie Felix, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, agreed, adding that they gave a definite flavor of Boston.
“‘The Fighter’ was so realistic and believable. The accents were spot on. It was a real depiction and even if I had never been there I felt like I had,” Felix said.
However, when filmmakers select Boston as their location in the future, Merzbacher said, he would like to see them explore a wider variety of themes.
The nominated films “The Fighter” and “The Town,” associate Boston and Lowell as “a gritty, working class, Irish place,” as do many other Boston-area films, he said.
And though it’s nice to see that the city has a certain flavor, Merzbacher said, that is not what Boston is like today.
“Boston has a certain type of sound…I don’t mind it…[but] gritty dramas that are set in Boston are reflective of a reality that existed 30 years ago,” he said.
Instead, Merzbacher said he would like more filmmakers to capture Boston’s educational and industrial climate, the climate that exists now.
“Education and industry…[are] the backbone of Boston’s economy,” he said.
Therefore, “The Social Network,” a film that explores 21st century education at Harvard University, Merzbacher said, is a stronger film than “The Fighter” or “The Town.”
“The Social Network” is the most original and strongest film [of the nominated Boston-area films],” he said.
“People aren’t good with dealing with here and now in art,” said Merzbacher. “The Social Nework is a very, very, bold film.”
Other sides of Boston should be explored on-screen, Jaramillo agreed.
“I would love to see a story about the tense racial situation in Boston,” Jaramillo said. “It hasn’t gone away, and as immigration has increased from various areas of the world, there are obviously stories that are crying out to be told. This is one of those old vs. new stories that Boston has in droves.”
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