Michelle Trachtenberg

It’s a wrap, but filmmaker anxious to come back

New movie about a famous race-car driver due to air next year

It’s the last day of shooting, and Randy Sutter is working his way between puddles and film trailers behind the Westin Nova Scotia.

"I’d rather be in Halifax than anywhere else," the producer said, trying to get back inside his trailer before the rain starts. "But, on day’s like today, I’d rather be in my house in Palm Springs to be honest."

Yesterday marked the final day of filming on The Circuit, a made-for-TV movie which has been filming in Halifax and Antigonish since mid-July. The ABC movie - described as "an adrenaline-charged family drama" - stars Michelle Trachtenberg, Billy Campbell and Drew Fuller. It is being directed by Peter Werner.

In the film, an estranged father played by Campbell (The O.C. and Once and Again) reunites with his daughter, played by Trachtenberg (Ice Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), to compete on a stock-car circuit.

Race against each other

"He is a famous race-car driver, and he had to leave his daughter behind to be raised by his sister after his wife died 10 years ago," Sutter said. "They sort of reunite, and at the end of the movie they have to race against each other."

Race scenes were shot at Scotia Speedway outside Halifax, and at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish. Between races, Trachtenberg’s character develops a love interest in a fellow circuit driver, played by Fuller (Army Wives). A love scene between the two was being filmed on a closed set inside the Westin yesterday.

The $4-million movie is being made by von Zerneck/Sertner Films, with the company’s Frank von Zerneck and Robert M. Sertner executive producing along with William Gilmore and Charles Lenhoff. It will air next year.

This is Sutter’s 11th film in Halifax, and he hopes to return to make another. He said the rising Canadian dollar - nearly on par with the U.S. greenback - is causing film production costs to increase.

"In our budget world, every penny is about $40,000," Sutter said. "Four or five years ago, it was half a million dollars difference in costs."

He said filmmakers are hoping to see the basic tax credit they receive for filming in Nova Scotia raised from 35 per cent to 45 per cent to help reduce production costs and keep the industry from slowing down even more than it has.

"Halifax is starting to compete with places like Louisiana and New Mexico because, with the rising dollar, it is getting cheaper to film in the States," Sutter said.