Mingle with celebrities at 'Hollywood on the Delaware'

By Odeya R. Pinkus
MILFORD — No matter the weather this November 10, the stars will surely be coming out in Pike County.
To highlight the place of film in Milford’s history, the Pike County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its first annual "Hollywood on the Delaware" event at the Best Western Inn at Hunt’s Landing in Matamoras.
In the early 1900s, various films by film pioneer D.W. Griffith were shot in Millford, featuring big Hollywood names like Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore.
The evening will feature cult film stars Brian O’Halloran and Scott Schiaffo ("Clerks"), as well as director David Madison ("Middle Village," "Mr. Hush") and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Gene Snitsky — all New Jersey and Pennsylvania natives.
To promote the event, O’Halloran and Madison stopped by the chamber this past Friday to joke around and discuss just how film can help the local town, economy, and community.
“There are many businesses that I’ve visited across the country that have had an uptick in people visiting just because it was part of a certain movie,” O’Halloran said.
The store where the cult classic "Clerks" was filmed in the early '90s still gets thousands of visitors every year, he said.
Madison, who filmed a movie in Milford, says the biggest roadblocks could come from logistics, like finding places for the cast and crew to stay. But his experience filming in the area has been positive.
“The community, I mean, they were great,” Madison said. “We took over the entire Pike County Sheriff’s building for two days.”
The filmmakers especially appreciate the area's natural beauty and special celebrations.
“It’s something that we as a community, A, should embrace, and, B, seeing that we have so many people here, do something around it,” Madison said, to which O’Halloran joked: “so you’re saying the community is easily lured in by candy.”

Getting the word out

O’Halloran and Madison spoke about the importance of getting Milford’s name out there. When it comes to good places to shoot, O’Halloran said, “word gets around quickly" in the film community.
The filmmakers say Milford needs to be advertised as a good filming location.
“It’s about getting this part of Pennsylvania out there,” O’Halloran said.
As for the November event, guests will have the opportunity to mingle with the stars during a cocktail hour, and then enjoy a buffet and a talk by O’Halloran.
Besides "Clerks," O’Halloran has starred in other indie films such as "Mallrats" and "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back." Recently, O’Halloran has been performing stand-up comedy and making appearances at comic-cons all over the country.
“It’s really cool the wealth of knowledge Brian has in not only filmmaking but how the business of filmmaking affects local economies and small towns,” Madison said.
Guests won't be on the sidelines. They'll get to interact one-on-one with the entertainers.
“What’s going to make this event so sweet and so special is that all the celebrities coming are all going to be very approachable,” Madison said.
The director said he made sure to find celebrities who would engage with fans.
“You don’t meet a more fan-friendly star than Brian,” Madison said.
Chamber officers are excited to see this event come to fruition.
“We’re going to do a red carpet theme, Hollywood, we have a really good team of people working on it,” said 1st Vice President Arlene Quirk, “I think it’s really going to be a great crowd.”

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