A movie is being filmed in Aylmer, and it has the town abuzz
Alana Repstock
Would you kill for me: The Mary Bailey Story is being filmed at the residence at 16 chemin Castelbeau, in the Rivermead area of Aylmer. The movie is based on the true story of Mary Elizabeth Bailey, who at 11 years of age was coaxed by her mother, Priscilla Bailey, into killing her abusive step-father, Wayne Wyers, then 29 years old.
The movie’s script was adapted from the novella My Mother’s Soldier, written by Mary Bailey herself, which outlines in a short, but thrilling, 134 pages some of the events from her nightmarish childhood, including the climax of Wyers’ murder and her following years in the foster-care system.
Although the story is set in West Virginia, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the movie is being filmed here in Aylmer. The location was found by Steve Boisvert, a local from the Ottawa/Gatineau region, who is both the producer and the locations manager for the movie. “This house is perfect,” said Boisvert. “The geography in the house is really important for the story. And it’s a necessity that there are no immediate neighbours—either in the front or to the sides of the house.”
Filming started on April 20 and is scheduled to wrap on May 11. The movie is expected to be released in the USA late this summer on the Lifetime TV network, an American basic cable channel and subsidiary of A&E Networks. Its run time will be 90 minutes with commercials. There is not yet a release date for Canada.
The movie is being directed by Simone Stock, filmed by André Dufour, and the executive producer is Pierre David. Melissa Joan Hart, who starred in the popular TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003), as Sabrina Spellman, is playing Ella, Mary Bailey’s grandmother.
Mary Bailey will be coming, in person, to view the film-set on May 6 and 7. Bailey now works as a nurse and is a successful businesswoman, having won the 2015 Business Person of the Year in Gaston County, North Carolina. She is also a published author.
The Bulletin was on set on the evening of Saturday, April 29, and will be posting behind the scenes footage on our Facebook page @bulletinaylmer.
Photo captions
Photo 1: A sheriff scene was filmed at 3:30 am on April 30th, at 16 chemin Castelbeau in Aylmer, Quebec. Photo credit: Film crew
Photo 2: Quiet on set! Filming of The Mary Bailey Story in progress at the residence at 16 chemin Castelbeau, Aylmer, Quebec. Photo credit: Alana Repstock
Photo 3: The film crew tests the Supertechno30 Technocrane, on which the camera will rest. Photo credit: Alana Repstock
