Kittanning Prepares for “Mindhunter” Filming

by Jonathan Weaver

Next weekend, snow may be flying in Kittanning with plunging temperatures – but that’s exactly how the leadership behind Netflix’s next series wants it.

Scenes for Netflix’s psychological crime drama “Mindhunter” will be shot on the streets of downtown Kittanning January 21 and 22.

Yesterday, local police departments - including officials from Kittanning Borough, East Franklin Township, West Kittanning Borough and the Pennsylvania State Police - met with MH Productions Associate Producer Bill Doyle to finalize details and schedules.

In an exclusive interview with Doyle, he said Kittanning was decided to act as the town of Altoona (Blair County) in the late-1970’s approximately 17 months ago.

“I spent six or seven weeks going through seven states plus Canada to figure out where to put the show. When I was in Pittsburgh – in late June/early July 2015 – I was here in Kittanning. I shot this town for the use exactly how we’re doing it when we’re doing it next weekend,” Doyle said. “The exact use – we never looked for another place.

“(Director) David (Fincher) and I flew in here in September of 2015 – I took him several places (Greensburg Prison and here) – and it was ‘sign on the dotted line’ at that point. Everything we’re doing is exactly how we wanted to do it. We just had to wait for the right season.”

The series filming moves from the studio zone around the 31st Street Studios in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh to Kittanning. Filming also took place in places such as Butler, Coraopolis, Tarentum and Vandergrift for season 1.

Altoona’s storyline spans a few episodes in the middle of the season.

“We wanted to make sure that the scenes we were doing were very wintry – no leaves on the trees, the skies were going to be gray,” Doyle said. “There’s such an amazing diverse amount of locations to film here. Everywhere we look is another great diner, courthouse or street, and there’s very-minimal amount of work that we have to do to return it back to that feel and that time.

“It’s important stuff – it really sets a tone for the same reason why we waited until January to shoot it.”

Background actors and actresses are still being cast and pre-1980 cars or trucks are still being sought for the television series. Interested parties should email mindhuntercasting@gmail.com with their name, phone number, photo and basic sizes immediately if they are interested.

Look for more on the new series with Doyle in the free January 13/14 Kittanning Paper Week-End Edition.

3 Comments

• 

  By jorn jensen, January 12, 2017 @ 7:43 AM

  Nice compliment for our area “and there’s very- minimal amount of work that we have to do to return it back to that feel and that time.”

  Effectively, we’re stuck in the 1970’s and haven’t made much progress. Fact or fiction?
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  By ktown_kid, January 13, 2017 @ 9:14 AM

  You should send some photos of your cars jensen. Would be pretty awesome if some of the cadet gang got in the pictures
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  By jorn jensen, January 13, 2017 @ 9:47 AM

  Did that ktown.

  It is a supply and demand challenge - supply low, demand high because it is winter in western Pennsylvania. The cars are put away, clean, dry, warm and covered. I have two that I’m willing to subject to snow, ice, slush, freezing temperatures, and salt - I’ve offered those two. They want pictures - the vehicles are put away, clean, dry, warm and covered. I guess the pictures would look like ghosts.

  Thanks for the suggestion - did that.

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