Actors Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin joined Jill sprecher last Friday in Bloomington, Min for “a brief meet-and-greet with local press at the Ramada Mall of America.” The mall also doubled as the shooting location Friday for “The Convincer”, a new movie currently filming.
According to Alan Arkin, the movie is all about lying, furthermore he added that his character is a “sweet, slightly befuddled old farmer (who is) a bit over the hill.” Greg Kinnear, meanwhile, plays an insurance salesman he described as “an opportunistic guy looking for a few shortcuts.”
75-year-old Arkin says he has been too busy filming and spending time on the set to see anything other than the location. In Arkins own words he explains it as, “I see my bed and I see the set, that’s about it. I haven’t had the energy, frankly. I’m gonna come back some day and see what it’s like. “
“The Convincer” also stars Billy Crudup, Bob Balaban and Minnesota native Lea Thompson, although Arkin and Kinnear were the only actors on hand for the press conference. The filming began in early February and will wrap up within the next few weeks. The producers hope to finish the movie in time for the fall festivals in Telluride and Toronto.
While the producers were there to promote the movie, they also took some time to express their concerns about Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal to cut funding for the Minnesota Film and Television board. For those unfamiliar with the proposal, the governor has proposed to halve the Film Board’s current $1.2 million budget, and possibly totally eliminating it for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
As we hear more information we will keep you informed, with both news on “The Convincer” as well as news on the position of the governors proposal.
If you have any news to share about any project filming in Minnesota, let us know at olv@onlocationvacations.com.
[photo: Alan Arkin, Greg Kinnear and the cast of Little Miss Sunshine]
