This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
PHILIPSBURG — It didn’t take long for Philipsburg restaurant owner, Penn State fan, actor and movie producer Pat Romano to get back onto the set.
After acting in and helping to produce Pearl Gluck’s “Stars and Bars” in Osceola Mills last spring, Romano jumped right into a new project that is presently being filmed in his hometown of Philipsburg.
“Deadlock” is a Revolutionary War-era film about a trapper who finds a man injured in the woods and brings him home to his cabin to try to help him.
They soon find out that he is being pursued by the Queen’s Rangers, and the situation deteriorates into a deadlock with them being trapped in the cabin.
The film stars DJ Qualls as Samuel, Kevin Spacey as Thomas, R. Keith Harris as Lt. Roberts, PJ Marshall as Honore, Kamilo Alonzo as Miles, Kirsten Kendall as Marie-Charlotte, Conor Kowalski as Mercer, Vince Eisenson as Abner and John Potvin as Wallace.
Romano is one of the executive producers of the movie, and he was instrumental in bringing the production to Philipsburg.
“We brought in a lot of stuff,” Romano said. “Part of the reason that we got them to come to the area was that we had lodging to offer, catering to offer, location — I was able to build this set — RVs and the community behind us, which is the most important thing.
“When the community is behind you and you need stuff, and they just bring it out. You can’t beat that.”
The shoot began in early October at the old driving range on Rt. 322 just south of the Elks Lodge and Country Club. The setting is perfect in that the area still looks completely unsettled, and Romano, who owns the land, built the cabin and prepared the scene for the filming.
“I got a phone call asking if I would like to have an introduction to (director) Dustin Fairbanks,” Romano explained. “And when I talked to Dustin it became evident that we should be working together on this project because of all I had to offer, the budget that was set, the building that would be done soon. And what was really nice was that everybody was available while Penn State had no home games.”
People driving along 322 can easily see a number of cars and RVs at the driving range which have not been seen there for years.
The set itself, however, is located down a long slope and not visible from the road. It has the cabin and all the cameras and technical equipment that are needed for the shoot that Romano said is going extremely well.
“It has been amazing,” he said. “Everything’s been perfect. The weather has been gorgeous the entire time, and all of our exteriors had the peak foliage here in Pennsylvania, which was also planned.
“So, everything came together nicely. We have a great crew and great production staff and Dustin is a great guy. And the actors have been amazing. I have been on a lot of sets, and I never saw actors who have been willing to do everything to make it go forward. And they really love the piece, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of role.”
The production was set to finish in Philipsburg by the end of October, and then move into post-production. Romano said they already have a deal for streaming with some limited theatrical showings. Romano said that they are aiming for spring 2025 to early summer for the movie to be released.
