Middletown Plays Starring Role In A-Lister Movie 'Miranda's Victim'

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — By now, it's well known that the "Mean Girls" movie revival will start filming soon at Mater Dei Prep, and they're looking for extras from the Middletown community.

Now, here's an update on yet another movie made in Middletown: "Miranda's Victim," about the origin of U.S. Miranda rights — "You have the right to remain silent" — and which was nearly entirely filmed in Middletown, Red Bank and at Monmouth University last spring.

While there is still no theater release date, the film — which stars Abigail Breslin, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Phillippe and Luke Wilson — made its world debut at the prestigious Santa Barbara International Film Festival this week. It is already receiving critical acclaim.

“We were happy that Middletown could play a vital role in recounting this important historical story," said Middletown Mayor Tony Perry. In fact, look for Perry and other town residents to appear as extras in some scenes.

"Miranda's Victim" was produced and co-written by longtime Middletown resident George Kolber, and financed by his production company Navesink River Productions. J. Craig Stiles is the co-writer and Michelle Danner ("The Runner") is director.

The movie was shot on location in Middletown, Red Bank and at Monmouth University over a six-week period last May.

"Miranda’s Victim" tells the true American story of eighteen-year-old Patricia "Trish" Weir, who was kidnapped and brutally raped in a conservative small town in Arizona in 1963. Her attacker was Ernesto Miranda. However, the case made U.S. legal history when his conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that Arizona police obtained his confession without a lawyer present.

The landmark 1966 Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona is why American police today are legally required to read someone their "Miranda warning rights" before being interrogated by police, among which are "You have the right to remain silent; you have the right to an attorney," etc.

The movie will also chronicle Miranda's victim, Weir, played by Abigail Breslin, as the teenage girl steadfastly determined to put her attacker in jail, risking her reputation and personal attacks from the public.

In Middletown and beyond, filming took place at:

• The old Middletown Township building (many in town complained about how old that building was)
• St. Mary's church
• Count Basie theater in Red Bank
• Stately private mansions on the beach in Long Branch
• Monmouth University campus in West Long Branch. Kolber said he specifically wanted filming there because of the historic, Roaring '20s architecture of Monmouth U's main buildings.
• Shuttered Port Monmouth Elementary School was used for costumes, make-up, wardrobe and props.

"This was a passion project for all of us," said Danner, the director.

See "Miranda's Victim" world premiere five days ago in California:

Why are so many movies being filmed in New Jersey?

This latest movie update comes on the heels of last week's bombshell news that a musical movie revival of "Mean Girls" will begin shooting in March, at the former Mater Dei Prep campus in Middletown.

And of course unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Netflix will open its largest filmmaking studio in the world at the former Fort Monmouth U.S. Army base.

This is because Gov. Phil Murphy has made it a key goal of his administration to increase movie and TV production in the Garden State. His administration has given tax breaks and incentives to many production studios in hopes of wooing them to make movies in New Jersey.

"New Jersey will further solidify its status as an emerging national leader in the television and film industries," said a clearly jubilant Murphy in December, the night Netflix announced it had officially inked the deal to move into Fort Monmouth. “This transformative investment will serve as a cornerstone in our efforts to create a thriving industry from whole cloth, bringing with it countless additional jobs and boosting the regional economy.”

According to Deadline.com, here is who will play which roles in "Miranda's Victim:"

• Breslin will play Weir, the 18-year-old woman who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by Miranda. A key part of Kolber's movie is her struggle to testify publicly in court and bring her attacker to justice.
• Wilson will play Lawrence Turoff, the county prosecutor who convinces Trish to testify and is desperate to put Miranda behind bars.
• Garcia will play public defender Alvin Moore, who represents Miranda.
• Sutherland will play the judge who ultimately convicts Miranda.
• Sebastian Quinn will play the role of Miranda. Quinn is a lesser known actor of the group, and has appeared on "NCIS" and "Dynasty."

Who needs Hollywood when ya got Jersey?

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Movie Filmed At Middletown School Tells Origin Of U.S. Miranda Rights (May 2022)

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