BUFFALO (WBEN) - If you've been driving through certain parts of downtown Buffalo recently, you may have noticed a scene straight out of the 19th Century - carriages, gravel streets and people wearing 1800's garb.
What you're seeing is Hollywood in action, as film crews are working to tell the story of Frances Xavier Cabrini - the patron saint of immigrants - which is being produced by three-time Academy Award winner Jonathan Sanger.
"The project is a true story and it is an origin story of a woman who came from Italy to America to basically help the poor Italian immigrants who had come to New York in the 1880's and 1890's," said Sanger.
Sanger had such a good experience when shooting 'Marshall' a few years ago, that he recommended the team come take a look at Buffalo.
"Buffalo does have great locations for any period in the last century - the 40's, the 50's, even the 30's," Sanger continued. "There are some terrific areas that can be dressed and made to look just like they were back in the day."
The independent film features John Lithgow as one of the major names in the cast, and Sanger is hopeful it will be released in the fall of 2022.
Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner Tim Clark noted that it's becoming common place for major movie productions to utilize Buffalo and Western New York in recent years, saying it helps the economy a great deal.
"These are high-paying production jobs, as well as acting jobs and extras and all of the things that are associated with film-making, and also the imprint that they leave even on local businesses - lumber, paint, hotels, catering - it all just keeps money from other parts of the country or the world coming into Western New York," said Clark.
And Sanger believes the movie industry in Buffalo is just getting started.
"Buffalo, I think, has the opportunity to become a great film center, and a lot of other companies are beginning to realize that," he said. "I've been talking to the people at Paramount who made 'A Quiet Place 2.' I knew the heads of production there, and when they were about to come to Buffalo, they called me up because I had done 'Marshall' here, and they asked me how it was, and I gave them a ringing endorsement."