Talks with Columbia Pictures continue

Those of you hoping to catch a glimpse of Adam Sandler in Southborough this spring should continue to keep your fingers crossed. Selectmen Bill Boland said the town is still in “active discussion” with Columbia Pictures.

The movie company hopes to film scenes from an as-yet untitled Adam Sandler comedy in and around Pilgrim Church in May. They want to lay sod across St. Mark’s Street between Pilgrim and the old burial ground for the five-day shoot. Adding in setup time, the road would be closed for more than two weeks. And additional closures of Common Street are likely during the five days of filming.

Selectmen didn’t immediately give the go-ahead to the plan citing concerns about traffic and because they thought the $10K “donation” Columbia Pictures would make to the town was on the low side.

On Monday the DPW set up a traffic monitor across St. Mark’s Street so they can better assess the impact of closing the street, a popular cutoff between routes 85 and 30.

The sod would be in place over the Memorial Day holiday. That could impact the annual Memorial Day parade which normally travels along St. Mark’s Street. But Boland has talked to the veterans’ organizations and they think they could make it work.

Boland expects to hear back from Columbia Pictures in the next few days. “It’s our intention to do what we can to bring a little happiness to the town,” he said.

And of course all of this is a perfect topic for our next My Southborough poll! Check it out in the sidebar to the right. (If you’re reading this via email or RSS, you’ll need to visit the site to vote.)