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Kerry Washington receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Kerry Washington, best known for her role as Olivia Pope on TV’s “Scandal,” received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- A new Netflix movie, “An Innocent Girl” starring Kerry Washington, will film in Middletown, New Jersey.
- This is the second Netflix production in the town this year, following a series starring Adam Driver.
- Netflix is increasing its presence at the Jersey Shore, with a major production hub under construction at Fort Monmouth.
MIDDLETOWN ‑- The Netflix production of “An Innocent Girl,” staring Kerry Washington will be filming scenes on Navesink Road this spring, a township official confirmed to the Asbury Park Press.
It’s the second Netflix production in town this year, as the former Circus liquor store on Route 35 has been turned into Jep’s Xpress, a fictional truck stop offering gasoline, a free shower and $1 hot dogs, to serve as the setting of a new series starring Adam Driver called “Rabbit, Rabbit.”
Production started there in January.
“An Innocent Girl” has been described as an erotic thriller, and follows a young and ambitious woman who is seduced by a high-powered D.C. couple. She’s soon drawn into a dangerous world of sex, power and murder, according to Tudum, a Netflix companion site.
Along with Emmy-award winning actress Washington, the film stars James Marsden, whose prior roles include the Netflix black comedy-crime thriller series “Dead to Me,” with Christina Applegate; “Unfrosted,” a humorous look at the breakfast industry starring Jerry Seinfield; and lastly Chloe East, who started her career as a child actor in “Blue Bloods.”
Navesink River Road, a lush, scenic route overlooking the Navesink River, is home to former Gov. Phil Murphy and Hall of Fame rock ‘n’ roller Jon Bon Jovi.
Filming will likely conclude in June, with the movie expected to be released next year, according to What’s on Netflix, an independent source for Netflix happenings.
Netflix, which is in the process of a constructing a nearly billion dollar East Coast production hub at Fort Monmouth, called Netflix Studios at Fort Monmouth, is becoming a regular presence at the Jersey Shore.
Netflix productions of Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore 2” and “72 Hours” starting Kevin Hart were shot on location at the Shore last year.
Several Shore towns are looking to get on board as well, and have made themselves “Film Ready,” a five-step certification and marketing program that prepares communities to accommodate movie and television producers and effectively market themselves as film destinations.
It is run by the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.
Keyport, Little Silver, Ocean Township, Oceanport and Shrewsbury have received their certifications and more towns are in the process of doing so.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him at [email protected].
