John Shea (12/07 Grey Lady)
Excerpt from Playbill 12/7/07: John Shea
ON OPENING NIGHT: The Seafarer - The Blind and the Blind-Drunk
By Harry Haun 07 Dec 2007
A couple of actor pals - John Shea and John Rothman - attended together. Shea is turning into a hyphenate this spring, directing a screenplay he wrote called "Gray Lady." No, he said, "it's not about The New York Times. Nantucket is also called The Gray Lady, and it's a murder mystery set on Nantucket. I won't be in it, I don't think."
© Playbill
Excerpt from Mahon About Town 3/14/09: John Shea
Catching Up With: John Shea
March 14, 2009
I got in touch with actor and writer John Shea last week to find out what he’s been working on. When does John sleep, I want to know. Here’s what he wrote:
Nice to hear from you; I guess if we can’t play catch we can play catch up. As usual I’m juggling lots of different projects. These days my work life breaks down into both acting and writing and directing projects.
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Writing/Directing: I have three film projects in development that I will direct.
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“Grey Lady” is a mystery thriller that I’ve been writing for the last few years for Beacon Films in LA. It’s set in Boston and on Nantucket and is also in the casting phase.
© Mahon About Town
Cay Compass 5/26/09: John Shea
Thriller film in the works
By Norma Connolly, Tuesday 26th May, 2009 Posted: 16:15 CIT (21:15 GMT)
Cayman’s first movie to be shot since the setting up of the Cayman Islands Film Commission is edging closer to reality. Discussions to finalise the financing of the film, a crime thriller, are being held this week in Cayman and Los Angeles, and if all goes according to plan, the film could be shooting here by autumn. Filmmaker and actor John Shea, who starred as Lex Luther in the 1990s Superman TV series, Lois and Clark, and also featured as Adam in the TV show Mutant X, wrote the screenplay for the as-yet-titled movie and will direct it. He was on Island this week scouting locations and actors. “The first thing I wanted to do was see the island and get to know it,” Mr. Shea said. “I wrote this film. I did not write it for the Cayman Islands, but I’m now rewriting it for the Cayman Islands.”
Originally the film was set on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. Mr. Shea said the movie had been in development for two-and-a-half years, and he and his production partner in Hollywood were about to begin casting when he was approached by the Cayman Islands Film Commission. “They asked if we would be interested in filming it down here and would we consider transposing the film from my island to their island,” he said, adding the unlikely rejoinder, “Nantucket is similar [to Cayman] in many aspects, apart from being 1,500 miles apart. All islands share similar characteristics.” He described the movie as an “international detective thriller”.
For those still sensitive about the money laundering aspect in another movie shot in Cayman, The Firm, Mr. Shea assured that the film would not be about financial services or tax issues. “It’s about a detective investigating a crime,” he said. “He comes to Cayman to find somebody and it’s about what happens to him when he gets here.”
If financing for the movie can be put in place soon, Mr. Shea predicts that filming will begin in autumn, with a five-to-six-week shooting schedule. The film should be completed by the end of the year, he said. He has already had a taste of the Island’s hospitality and the close-knit community here. “It seemed the minute I hit the island, I was already starting to get to know it,” he said.
He spent two and a half days scouting locations in Grand Cayman with radio presenter Gilbert Nicoletta, and said that by Monday, he had explored most of Grand Cayman, except for North Side and Rum Point, which he planned to cover before returning to New York on Wednesday. “I’ve been into caves and down back roads and into places that most tourists would never get to go,” he said.
On Little Cayman, Cate Ferreira from Southern Cross Club was his tour guide, while Lolita Bodden showed him around in Cayman Brac. While the main film crew will be imported from the US, Mr. Shea said he wanted to recruit locals and help people interested in the film industry become trained and get some experience on a real film set. The Film Commission is running movie workshops to help train individuals to work on film crews and Mr. Shea said these can work hand-in-hand with the production of his movie, for which he would need local location scouts, make-up artists, carpenters, electricians, extras and actors. “This will be an army of people we’ll need to recruit,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for them to learn and get experience in an apprenticeship programme.”
It’s not the first time Mr. Shea will be turning to local talent for one of his productions. He previously directed Southie, a gritty crime drama set in the rough and tightly knit neighbourhood of south Boston. In that production, there were 40 speaking parts and only seven were cast from professional actors in Hollywood or New York. “Everyone else in that film was from south Boston. I auditioned them. They were naturally talented. All I had to do was help them in a minor way to be relaxed in front of the camera,” he said.
He said he expected there to be about 100 non-speaking roles in the film, and about 12 speaking roles for local actors. The film will be funded locally and in Los Angeles and discussions were ongoing this week with investors in Cayman and the US.
© Cay Compass
Cayman Net News 5/28/09: John Shea
Cayman may get its first Hollywood film
By Steven Knipp Published on Thursday, May 28, 2009
If all goes well, by this time next year the Cayman Islands Film Commission may well see the release of its first Cayman-shot Hollywood film. Yes, it’s still a tad too early to break out the bubbly and the buttered pop-corn; but the good news is that noted Hollywood actor and director John Shea - best known as the follicle-challenged villain Lex Luther, in the popular television series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” is currently in Cayman scouting out possible film locations. The youthful looking 60-year-old Massachusetts native is perhaps best known as an actor; in his busy third-decade career he has played a striking range of characters from his portrayal of Joseph in the 1978 mini-film ‘The Nativity’, to a young Nazi in the mini-series “Hitler’s SS: Portrait in Evil” and Robert F. Kennedy in “Kennedy.” More recently, he has been a regular on episodes of “Law & Order” and “Medium” as well as appearing in “Sex and the City,” “Tales From the Crypt,” and “The Hitchhiker.” However, the father of two, and founding member of the Nantucket Film Festival, also happens to be a director and writer. And it is in this capacity that he is in the Cayman Islands.
As Mr Shea explained it to Cayman Net News, after two and a half years of work he had recently completed a film script for a movie which he’d originally planned to be filmed on the scenic island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts. It was then that a friend told him about Cayman. Although he has travelled to Jamaica and the Bahamas before, Mr. Shea had never been to the Cayman Islands. Within a few weeks, however, he was in touch with the Cayman Islands Film Commission. The Commission, which was launched in January 2009, was specifically created to help launch a local film industry, as well as bring the Cayman Islands to the attention of overseas film makers as an ideal set location. Mr Shea has been in Cayman since Thursday, 21 May to look closely at what the country has to offer, and so far he seems to like what he’s found. He spent Sunday, 24 May in Little Cayman and then visited Cayman Brac on Monday, and will re-tour Grand Cayman for the remainder of this week. Speaking about his screenplay, he said “without giving too many details, it is a thriller based on an island, and involves a police detective who comes to the island to do an investigation.”
After touring the Cayman Islands, Mr Shea says that he thinks it is possible to transform the location of the script from his original island in New England to a tropical island as portrayed by Cayman. “All islands,” he said, “have some common traits, both physical and social. The separation from the mainland is both physical and psychological for the people.”
But he said that Grand Cayman has some striking similarities to Nantucket. Both islands, for example, are developed around their coastlines, but have rugged undeveloped interiors. “And both islands have that normal social tension between native-born islanders and so called ‘visitors.’
“And then there is the ongoing struggle on every attractive island, between the need for conservation and the need for development. Both Cayman and Nantucket have these.”
Historically, Mr Shea also said that both Nantucket Islanders and Caymanians have traditionally made their living from the sea. “Nantucket,” he said, “was once the whaling capital of the world. And today, as with Cayman, tourism is now a major employer.”
Although Cayman’s brilliant seascapes and balmy weather have their appeal, these weren’t the prime reasons why Cayman has caught Mr Shea’s eye as a possible location site for his film, however. “The varied landscape and the varied people - the rich diversity here - I understand that there are 130 different nationalities? - this can be a huge resource for a film-maker. Also the compact size-you can film modern glass office buildings in the morning and a few hours later be in the most remote and rugged part of the East End.”
And for those less creative types -- that is the investors who put up the money for a film, the fact that Cayman is safe and secure, where everything works well and where the accommodations are world class. Well, that also helps, Mr Shea said. If Mr Shea’s film is made in Cayman it could bring anywhere from 40 to 100 people onto the island, or help employ nearly that number from here. “Aside from directors and actors, and camera crews, there are dozens and dozens of other people who all work together to produce a movie,” said Mr Shea. “This includes everyone from carpenters and electricians, to caterers, transportation people, security, to extras and stunt people. So this would be a very good thing for Cayman.”
© Cayman Net News
Excerpt from Yale School of Drama Alumni Magazine 3/17/11: John Shea
Alumni Notes
Currently the artistic director of the 60-year old Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, an island institution, John Shea ’73 is also in early pre-production on Grey Lady, a feature film he wrote and will direct for Beacon Pictures.
© Yale
Excerpt from Comicbook Movie 3/26/13: John Shea
Interview with former (possibly future) Lex Luthor John Shea!
By NextHero08 - 3/26/2013
John: “I write and direct films as well and I’m about to direct my next film, I’m in pre-production for it right now, a film called Grey Lady ok. It’s a thriller and, but, let me just say because I’m writing and I already have my next film that I wanna direct…after that, so I don’t have time to write something like this.
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Me: “As far as your current projects, are there any you want to talk about or you want the fans to get to know so you can start getting more people into it?”
John: “....my main artistic focus this time is the writing and directing of this film that I’m gonna do this spring called Grey Lady. G-R-E-Y L-A-D-Y and it’s a romantic thriller set on the island of Nantucket and I’m Boston and is being produced by Beacon Pictures, Beacon is like the lighthouse, Beacon right? Anyway, I’m the director and I’m in pre-production of that right now.”
© Comicbook Movie
The Inquirer and Mirror 1/31/14: John Shea
Shea, TWN auditioning for island film
The Inquirer and Mirror (Jan. 31, 2014)
Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is assisting director John Shea in hosting auditions for the film "Grey Lady" on the island Feb. 12 at Bennett Hall, 62 Centre St. According to the film's synopsis, " 'Grey Lady' is a romantic thriller set in modern-day Nantucket and Boston. When a Boston homicide detective is killed, her dying words provide her partner with a single clue that sends him to Nantucket to avenge her death. After a woman on the island is murdered, the detective realizes that he's made himself and everyone there, isolated prey for the killer who has followed him."
Shea will be casting for multiple roles, including hundreds of extras and small parts. "Grey Lady" is a major motion picture Screen Actors Guild film, but will be casting for both SAG and non-SAG actors. Non-members will be eligible to secure a SAG card if offered a feature part. The auditions are scheduled for 4-6 p.m. Feb. 12. If you can not attend the Nantucket casting call submit a resume and head shot for New York or Boston casting to greyladyfilm@gmail.com Shea is a veteran actor and director of stage and screen, and Theatre Workshop's artistic director.
© The Inquirer and Mirror
Boson Globe 2/4/14: John Shea
John Shea casts for a Nantucket film
By Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein | Globe Staff February 04, 2014
New Hampshire’s own John Shea, best known as Lex Luthor in television’s “Lois & Clark,” is making a movie on Nantucket called “Grey Lady.” It’s about a detective who heads to the island to avenge his partner’s death. According to the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, the movie will be filmed in March and April. Shea is currently casting for leads and extras and will have some local auditions Feb. 12 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Bennett Hall. Roles include Billy MacLeod, a 30-something bachelor artist and scalloper (we’re picturing a Ben Affleck type), and Miss Cash, a woman in her 70s or 80s who runs the Safe Harbor Guest House. Get more information by e-mailing greyladyfilm@gmail.com.
© Boston Globe
Excerpt from Nantucket.gov 4/2/14: John Shea
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Minutes of the Meeting of 2 April 2014. The meeting took place in the Public Safety Facility Community Room, 4 Fairgrounds Road, Nantucket, MA 02554.
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8. Request for Execution of Proposed License Agreement with Gray Lady Productions LLC for Use of Town-owned Property and Town Staff for Film Shoot. John Shea of Gray Lady Productions LLC noted his is a Nantucket film company and that a location agreement has been drafted by Town Counsel and agreed to by Mr. Shea’s company to allow them to use Town property during the film shoot. Mr. DeCosta again noted that the film shoot can in no way interfere with the sewer project or road work downtown. Mr. Miller moved to approve the license agreement as proposed; Mr. Fee seconded. All in favor, so voted.
© Nantucket.gov
Excerpt from Inquirer and Mirror 4/24/14: John Shea
Long time in the making, "Grey Lady" begins filming
By Lindsay Pykosz
(April 24, 2014) Seven years ago, actor and director John Shea was walking with his friend, writer and producer Armyan Bernstein, through the moors on Nantucket.The two, who had worked together in the past, were discussing the possibility of another project when an idea was sparked. “He said to me, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I said, ‘I want to make a thriller and I want to set it in a resort in the off season’,” Shea said. And “Grey Lady” was born. From left, Carolyn Stotesbery, John Shea, Eric Dane, Andrzej Bartkowiak and Chris Meyer, during photography testing for the film “Grey Lady,” which began shooting on the island this week.
© Inquirer and Mirror
Excerpt from Tracking Board 4/28/14: John Shea
Natalie Zea Embodies the “Grey Lady”
April 28, 2014 by: Sammy Mink
“Justified” star Natalie Zea has a lead role in John Shea’s GREY LADY opposite Eric Dane. The indie drama centers on Zea’s character, Melissa, a vulnerable aspiring artist who is targeted by killers seeking vengeance on a Boston detective (Dane).
© Tracking Board
Zee News 5/6/14: John Shea
Adrian Lester joins indie drama 'Grey Lady'
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 06, 2014, 10:11
Los Angeles:`Hustle` star Adrian Lester is all set to star in independent film `Grey Lady`. The film will be directed by `Mutant X` helmer John Shea, reportedly. `Grey Lady` follows a plainclothes Nantucket detective dealing with a killer on the loose. Lester will play Johnson, the detective who is on a mission to make the island safe. Eric Dane (`Grey`s Anatomy`) and Natalie Zea (`Justified`) will also star in the film. Lester`s acting credits include `Primary Colours` and `As You Like It`.
© Zee News
Excerpt from Boston Globe 5/27/14: John Shea
‘Black Mass’ shoots in East Boston, ‘Grey Lady’ in South Boston
By Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein | Globe Staff May 28, 2014
Cameras were rolling all over town Tuesday as the cast and crew of “Black Mass” set up shop in East Boston. We got our first good look at actor Jesse Plemons, who’s playing Whitey Bulger confidant Kevin Weeks. Elsewhere, writer-director John Shea filmed more of his thriller “Grey Lady” in South Boston. The New Hampshire native has shot most of the movie on Nantucket, with a cast that includes “Grey’s Anatomy” star Eric Dane as a Boston cop who travels to the island to investigate the murder of his partner. Cast members who were in Southie for Tuesday’s shoot included local actor Kelby Akin, who, according to his resume, made an appearance in the Sandra Bullock movie “The Heat” - as well as a commercial for the Globe. Akin was spotted transporting a “body” in a rug on E. 7th Street.
© Boston Globe
Excerpt from Inquirer and Mirror 6/1/14: John Shea
Life on The Rock: It's a wrap!
By John Stanton Contributing Writer (June 1, 2014)
It is Friday afternoon a week ago and John Shea is racing against the setting of the sun. It is the last full day of filming on Nantucket, and this is a do-or-die moment. All the scenes that take place on the island need to be in the camera before they lose the light. This is just a scene when one character meets another, but it is a pivotal moment. The realities inherent in any film production, combined with the realities of filming in a place where shifting weather and light is the rule, have forced Shea to already re-write this scene several times.
Andrzej Bartkowiak, the director of photography, and Shea begin deciding where the actors will be and where the cameras will be. The crew humps the equipment to the location. Every creative decision in a film like this is accompanied by a flurry of heavy lifting. Shea works with some non-actors, including several children, to set up the moment. He has an easygoing - “won’t this all be fun” - style that puts regular folks at ease. Then he works with the professional actors. Then he calls action. After a couple of takes, including some that will catch the scene from different angles and close-ups, to eventually give the editor some options in how to put the scene together, both Shea and Bartkowiak are satisfied. There are hugs. First assistant director Brian O’Sullivan announces that this is a wrap on Nantucket. The sun, which has been lingering, finally sets.
The “Grey Lady” production crew moved to South Boston after Memorial Day weekend, to film some back-story scenes, and by the end of the week they will head off to whatever job is next. These are traveling professionals, those people you see in the long list of credits at the end of the film, the lighting, and sound, and camera crews, the grips, the carpenters and electricians, the many levels of producers, the production assistants, and all the crew members whose work leads to that moment when the director calls action. For John Shea, the writer and director of this film, this is only another phase in the journey to tell his story. The wild race to get all the scenes on film, within a certain time frame and within budget constraints, seems almost an impossible task. But now it is done and there will be time for a bit of relaxation and reflection before settling into the next phase: editing.
One of the remarkable things about watching Shea direct is the way he is able to get performances out of non-actors. In South Boston, the week after the Nantucket wrap, he was directing his son, Caiden, who does not appear to be more than 12 years old, through a scene that required very subtle shifts of emotion. Sneak a peak at the monitor and you can see how much of the screen will be filled with his eyes.
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But at least Ray Allen was a big-time college basketball player, used to the spotlight. Billy Sherry does his best work alone, in his shop, often wearing a welding mask. Shea thinks he will be a natural. He excels in the ability to find people who are actors, even though they have never acted. The two ran into each other the way people here do in the off-season - in the Stop & Shop. They chatted about the film and the character in one aisle. Casting directors in both Boston and New York were already looking for a Billy Sherry type. They went their separate ways to shop. They ran back into each other in another aisle and spoke some more about the film. By the time they were at the checkout line Shea had decided that maybe the real Billy Sherry was the best person to play the role based on Billy Sherry. He stopped by Billy’s workshop one afternoon. They hung out. Shea got Billy to improvise a few moments, to act with him. Billy shakes his head at the memory. “It was wild. I was jazzed by the end of it. I wanted more.”
Billy is in several scenes and most days hangs around the set watching everything, getting more and more comfortable with the idea of being in front of the camera. There is a work-a-day feeling when you watch people making a feature film, which is at odds with the glamour associated with the movie business. They block out the scene. Here is where you will stand. Here is where you will walk. Sounds simple until you try it. Make it seem natural. A couple of rehearsals. Shea gets in close and whispers some directions to Billy. Another rehearsal. Action.
© Inquirer and Mirror
Excerpt from Boston Magazine 6/4/14: John Shea
New Movies to Film in Boston This Year: Grey Lady, Fat Ballerina / Prima, and The Secret in Their Eyes
By Bryanna Cappadona | June 4, 2014 11:30 am
New Hampshire native John Shea is directing a film he wrote called Grey Lady in South Boston and on Nantucket. The film, an indie thriller, stars Natalie Zea as a vulnerable aspiring artist who’s targeted by killers seeking vengeance on a Boston detective. Eric Dane, also known as Dr. “McSteamy” from Grey’s Anatomy, stars as the detective.
© Boston Magazine
N Magazine 2014: John Shea
THE GREY LADY IN ACTION
Written by ROBERT COCUZZO
John Shea strides on to the movie set with all the command of an action hero. He’s wearing a black leather jacket over black jeans, his eyes hidden behind Terminator shades. A sea of actors, extras and crewmembers parts on command as the director approaches. He points to the camera to adjust the shot, tells the grips to tweak the set, and then starts going over lines with his leading star. Of all his movies, television shows, and theatrical productions, this might just be the most important role of John Shea’s career. Drawing upon decades of experience and a lifetime of island connections, Shea is attempting to fulfill his dream of directing a major motion picture on Nantucket. Welcome to the set of The Grey Lady.
For the better part of a decade, John Shea has been looking at the island and imagining the set of a blockbuster action thriller. His mind kept a rolling roster of local island characters, shot locations and authentic Nantucket scenes that someday would make for movie magic. This spring, Shea’s dream finally came true when principal shooting for The Grey Lady began on the island, complete with a big-name Hollywood star, military-issue fog machines, and hundreds of actors, crew and local extras.
The idea for The Grey Lady struck seven years ago while Shea was walking through the moors with Hollywood producer Armyan Bernstein, who also owns a house on the island. Bernstein is known for such blockbusters as Air Force One with Harrison Ford, Spy Game with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, and The Hurricane with Denzel Washington.
“I asked John, ‘What’s your dream these days?’ and, he knew exactly what it was: He wanted to direct a film on Nantucket,” Bernstein remembers. Strolling through the mist of the moors, the two hatched the idea for an action thriller set on the island. “Army said that there needs to be a touch of poetry about the whole story that allows it to transcend the genre,” Shea remembers. With that, he began writing, believing that the island itself would give his film the “touch of poetry” that would distinguish it from other action thrillers.
The Grey Lady is about a Boston-based homicide detective named Doyle, played by former Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane, who steals away to the island after his partner is brutally murdered in the city. “In the first scenes of the film, his Boston police partner, a woman, his lover, is killed, and her dying words lead him to Nantucket,” Shea says.
Bernstein collaborated with Shea on developing the film’s plot. “Someone is killing the people Doyle loves, and he comes here in the off sea- son hoping that they will follow him here where they can’t hide,” Bernstein says. “And, here, on this beautiful and moody island, he will confront his enemy…and himself.”
Every detail of The Grey Lady’s set has been designed as authentically Nantucket as possible, from the prop beers from Cisco Brewers, to the clothing from the Haul Over, to the artwork by local artists-even Shea’s own beat-up old Volvo makes an appearance. Actors from the Theatre Workshop and long- time island locals like Rocky Fox and Billy Sherry were cast in the film, while all the extras were hand picked from the community. “Who could be more believably from Nantucket than people from Nantucket?” Shea says. It cannot be over- stated: Shea wants his film to be for the island, by the island, about the island-top to bottom.
“When you live here your whole life, you know what’s true and what’s not true in any given situation,” the director says. “I don’t think a Hollywood guy could come into Nantucket and just unlock the island. The island is actually pretty tight. It takes trust over many years to open up. It’s like a clam that way: Once it opens, it has all this sweet stuff inside, but on the outside it’s tough.”
The tough-looking guy on the set today is the movie’s star Eric Dane, a sycamore of a man with a stonemason’s handshake. Behind his rugged good looks, the actor comes across as a regular guy who still shrugs with disbelief when a group of giddy girls swarm him at The Bean. “It’s amazing that they actually let us film on this island- it’s so beautiful,” Dane says between scenes. “It’s also amazing that other films haven’t been shot here, but I think that’s a testament to this town and how they want to conserve the beauty of this place.” He adds, “I’m having a good time. I love the island. It’s fantastic. I get why you guys live here.”
After seven seasons playing Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on the ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Dane has transitioned into the role of action hero. Just before coming to Nantucket, he finished up ten episodes of Michael Bay’s new TNT series The Last Ship, a post-apocalyptic drama airing this year that had the actor doing his own stunts. “I like it-it’s physical,” he says. “It’s hard work, but I like hard work. At the end of the day you feel like you’ve accomplished something-but you do take a beating.”
Here on the set of The Grey Lady, Dane is acting alongside such stars as Academy Award nominee Amy Madigan and the breakout beauty Caroline Stotesbery. Of the director, Dane says, “John is not a good director; John is a great director. The working combination between him and [cinematographer] Andrzej Bartkowiak is stellar. John is so good at working with the actors and Andrzej is so good visually.”
Indeed, the film’s cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak is instrumental in capturing the island’s look and feel having spent forty years here. Known most notably for his Academy Award-nominated films Terms of Endearment and Prizzi’s Honor, Bartkowiak brings an eye for action that’s made him one of the best in the biz. He moves around the set casually, tinkering with the myriad of movie minutiae that go into each shot. Amidst the set’s frantic pace, Bartkowiak is composed and lighthearted. He shares Shea’s vision and seems to know exactly how to bring it to life.
Another major player in bringing Shea’s film to life was executive producer Wendy Schmidt, who’s been collaborating with Shea and Bernstein over the last few years. “The three of us shared this essential and deep understanding that the island could play a unique role in the film,” Schmidt indicated over an email from abroad. “In its off season, in its quiet mystery, its bare landscapes hide more than they reveal. We love Nantucket in all her seasons, and thought this film could feature her as a kind of character in a murder mystery story.”
All those involved are pretty tightlipped about how the story of The Grey Lady will ultimately unfold. Shea and Bernstein repeatedly have to force themselves to stop talking about the script so as not to spoil all the movie’s twists and turns that have been seven years in the making. “This is my favorite kind of filmmaking,” Shea says as he’s called back on to the set, “the kind of film that transports you to a place you’ve never been before and you believe that you are there.” Indeed, when it comes to transporting people to the Grey Lady, few are more qualified than John Shea.
© N Magazine
Excerpt from A Delicious Lifestyle 6/7/14: John Shea
My life on a Nantucket movie set…
- June 7, 2014
Part One: For five weeks I gave my life to The Grey Lady, a romantic murder mystery written and directed by Nantucketer John Shea. In return, I got to be a part of an intense, all-encompassing creative project.
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I got the pleasure of working with John who conceived of, wrote, and was intimately involved in every step along the way. John had been working on this project for seven years and in many instances he had certain locals already identified, down to who he hoped would be sitting on the bench outside The Hub. There is no one who worked harder on that set, or touched more details than John. And he did it with love, kindness, and patience - while running at marathon speed.
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Nantucket Thanks YOU, John Shea!
- June 8, 2014
Part Two: John Shea wrote The Grey Lady with Nantucket in mind. And in return, Nantucket opened her arms to support John in this movie.
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John, we thank you for inviting so many of us to be part of your movie about Nantucket!
© A Delicious Lifestyle
Excerpt from Cape News 6/23/14: John Shea
Falmouth's Rocky Rodriques lands a part in 'The Grey Lady'
By: JOANNE BRIANA-GARTNER, June 23, 2014
Gym owner, ferry terminal worker, real estate agent, mentor, and all around nice guy, Paul “Rocky” Rodriques of East Falmouth can now add movie star to his resume. The infectiously outgoing and gravelly voiced Mr. Rodriques, who goes by Rocky, recently returned from a month on the set of “The Grey Lady,” an upcoming romantic thriller starring actor Eric Dane, who is best known for playing Dr. Mark Sloan in the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. The movie was filmed in Boston and on Nantucket, where director John Shea has a home.
Mr. Rodriques met Mr. Shea, who is probably best known for his role of Lex Luther in the 1990s sitcom, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” as a result of his position at the Steamship Authority in Hyannis where he works as a terminal worker, loading the boats for departure. “I first saw Mr. Shea five years ago. I was on the job at the high speed terminal,” said Mr. Rodriques. “We were loading and I saw a group of people around this guy who turned out to be John Shea. I learned that he’d just bought a house on Nantucket.”
“Over the years I’d see him going back and forth and eventually I introduced myself. I said, ‘you’re John Shea, hi, I’m Rocky Rodriques.’ ” With introductions out of the way, Mr. Rodriques made his pitch: “I’m an actor too,” he said, “next time you do a movie, I want to be in it.” To Mr. Rodriques’s surprise, Mr. Shea said, “you know what? With your voice I can probably find something for you.” “I said, ‘okay, don’t forget.’ And that was the end of it,” Mr. Rodriques said.
A few years later Mr. Rodriques was at work again and he ran into Mr. Shea. “I said, ‘don’t forget about the movie,’ and he said, ‘it’s funny that you mention that, I’ve been talking with a writer about a movie on Nantucket.’ He said he wanted to involve people from the island in the movie,” said Mr. Rodriques. “I said, ‘okay, let me know,’ but I didn’t really think I’d hear from him again.”
Last April Mr. Rodriques got a call from Mr. Shea saying, “Look Rocky, I’m working on this movie. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I definitely want to get you involved. There’s something about you that I like.” Then in November it really happened. “John called and said, ‘I have a part I want you to audition for.’ ”
The part was small, the role of Junior, a native Nantucket Cape Verdean. Mr. Shea and executive assistant producer Ashley Eakin showed up for the audition at Rocky’s Gym in East Falmouth, which is owned by Mr. Rodriques.
© Cape News
Excerpt from Irish Independent 7/8/14: John Shea
Eilin in a new film by Emmy winning director
MARIA HERLIHY Published 07/08/2014 | 05:26
Eilin O'Dea spent one month filming on Nantucket Island in the US on the film, 'Grey Lady'. The movie is about a Boston-based homicide detective named Doyle, who is played by Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane. He goes to Nantucket Island after his partner is murdered. Eilin plays the role of Clara Burke, an Irish artist living on Nantucket Island who is best friends with Melissa, who is played by Natalie Zea. There is a "love interest" between Doyle and Melissa. However, Melissa is targeted by killers seeking vengeance on Doyle. O'Dea's work has primarily been in theatre and in particular with her one-woman performance of 'Molly Bloom.' The award winning actor John Shea, who is best known for his role as the evil Lex Luthor in the early 1990s 'Lois & Clark : The new adventures of Superman', had watched her performance of Molly Bloom and in turn asked her to perform it on Nantucket Island in 2012 as part of St Patrick's Weekend festivities. In addition, O'Shea's film, 'Southie', which he directed, was also shown that weekend. Eilin said O'Shea had told her he wrote the role of Clara Burke with her in mind to play it.
© Irish Independent