A teen romantic drama filmed in large part at Emerson Junior-Senior High School during summer 2019 debuted Aug. 21 on Amazon Prime video and the mayor and a councilwoman gave the new film and its focus on Emerson rave reviews.
Mayor Danielle DiPaola and Councilwoman Jill McGuire were invited behind the scenes when the movie was made, and got to see its film crew and actors in action, which also included about 20 local students as extras.
The movie, “Chemical Hearts,” was filmed at the local high school and tells the tale of a high school transfer student who finds a new passion when she begins to work on the school’s newspaper.
The romantic drama stars Lili Reinhart (“Riverdale”) and Austin Abrams (“Euphoria”). The film is an adaptation of Krystal Sutherland’s young-adult novel “Our Chemical Hearts,” which weaves a tale of a high school senior who falls in love with a new transfer student with a “heartbreaking secret,” according to a press release.
DiPaola said the movie’s filming and now release “has brought excitement to the borough” and called the movie’s production “a great experience” for local teens and for drawing positive attention and focus on Emerson.
“This has created a lot of buzz in our community,” said the mayor, who got to sit in the director’s chair during the filming in Emerson.
DiPaola said she was offered a cameo role in the film as mayor but scheduling conflicts prevented her from appearing.
Both DiPaola and McGuire were invited behind the scenes during last year’s filming and mentioned the newly released video during the Sept. 1 council meeting.
“It was filmed at the Emerson Junior-Senior High School. It was outside, inside and I think they even did some shots on our local streets,” said DiPaola.
“The day we visited the set, the final scene between the two main characters was being filmed. Having witnessed the behind-the-scenes work that went into filming the scene, I gained a greater appreciation for the art of filmmaking and the quality of the finished product,” McGuire told Pascack Press.
McGuire said she recently saw “Chemical Hearts” with her daughter, Keira, who was an extra in the final scene, which included students walking in the hallway as the two main characters have their final interaction.
“Probably the most exciting part of viewing the movie with my daughter, who was an extra in the final scene, was recognizing familiar settings and faces from Emerson,” McGuire said.
“I love that the casting team made an effort to include Emerson Junior-Senior High School students and young residents in the movie as extras. There are familiar faces scattered in the background setting throughout the movie, which is pretty awesome,” said McGuire.
“My daughter Keira and I enjoyed the movie. It dealt with themes of love, loss, heartbreak, friendship and personal growth,” McGuire said after watching the film.
“I had the privilege to attend the behind-the-scenes filming of ‘Chemical Hearts’ with the mayor last summer. Many young Emerson residents participated as extras on the film, so it was a very exciting experience for our Emerson community,” McGuire added.
In addition to Emerson, other scenes were filmed on location last summer in Glen Ridge, Montclair, Newark, Paterson and West Orange, said the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.
The 93-minute teen romance-drama film is rated “R” or restricted, which requires children under 17 be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Generally, an “R” rating means a film contains some adult material and parents are urged to learn more about the film before allowing young childen to view it.
“I am delighted that Amazon Studios chose to film ‘Chemical Hearts’ in the Garden State, where several communities benefited from crews patronizing many local businesses,” said New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way.
She said the production company, Big Indie Pictures, reported that 90 production crew members were hired, and more than $8 million was spent in New Jersey for labor, goods and services.
The state’s Motion Picture and Television Commission falls under the Department of State’s Business Action Center and promotes film and television production in New Jersey.