A teaser trailer was recently released for Fairhaven, which stars Sarah Paulson, Chris Messina and Rich Sommer, and follows three friends as they reunite after 10 years for the funeral of one of their fathers.
Earlier this year we spoke to the movie’s director (and co-star), Tom O’Brien, about the Massachusetts town where the movie is set and was filmed last winter.
Tom told us, “I love Fairhaven and New Bedford (Massachusetts). My mom lived there for about 10 years and I would visit her there. My Aunt still lives there and I just fell in love with the place. I love the working class vibe and the light. Every time I would visit I would think to myself, ‘somebody should shoot a movie here’. So I started writing about 5 years ago. The town is actually like a character in the movie. We shot a lot of B roll stuff of snowy street scenes and the waterfront so we could just insert it in where we needed it. We shot as much in Fairhaven center as possible.”
We asked Tom about some of the cast and crew’s favorite haunts while they were filming and he gave us a few recommendations to check out next time we’re in town:
“We stayed at the Seaport Inn [in Fairhaven] and totally love those guys. Jami and Joe and the whole staff became like family. We had an amazing wrap party at the bar attached to the hotel.”
“We also pretty much lived at Margaret’s Restaurant for breakfast and dinner. I’m actually really missing the breakfast there. Nothing like it back in New York.”
“Minerva Pizza and The A Kitchen and Hungry Heroes on Rte 6 were our go to take out places.”
“Over in New Bedford No Problemo was the best Mexican I’ve ever had. I lived on California Burritos for 6 weeks. Love that place. Also in New Bedford we loved Cork, amazing Scallops!”
“Rasputin’s Tavern (The old Bridge Street Grille) was our local pub, a block from the Seaport (stumbling distance).”
Finally, Tom added, “And just in general the people really welcomed us with open arms. Because of our low budget we needed the support of the community. It’s the kind of project we just couldn’t have done anywhere else.”
Thanks to Tom for all of the great the suggestions, we can’t wait to get out to the coast again and try out a few of his picks, they all sound so good!
For the latest news about Fairhaven, be sure to follow the movie’s Facebook page too!
