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| Tuesday, November 18, 2008 |
| When Hollywood comes to Boston my Mom prospers |
 Boston has been abuzz this year with all of the movie and television projects being filmed in our fair city. This has been great for the city and everyone employed by these projects. Not so great for those whose parking spaces are suddenly cordoned off for street filming, etc. but overall most are happy Hollywood has been coming east.
My Mother is particularly happy since she has profited directly from one of these films. She heard that a set designer was looking for certain pieces. She had what he was looking for and a deal was struck for a rental fee of said items.
She is happy because she received the cash and now can brag that such-and-such in the background of so-and-so film is hers!
While there was a huge element of luck to her windfall, it still required her to react and follow-up on the opportunity.
Have you been struck by such an unexpected windfall? Tell the tale in the comments... |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 12:14 PM *
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| 10 Comments: |
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Hi Boston Gal,
I assume your Mom earned some decent bucks from the Hollywood set rental. But my windfall was a $20 bill found in the leaves during my early morning walk last week.
I am still thrilled with the find. I often find coins. I think people lose the money when fishing in their pockets for money for the parking meter. If something falls they either don't hear it because of the leaves, or can't see the lost money.
My early morning walks generally mean I am first along to find the money now visable in the sunlight.
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When I was 8 and I was coming back to the US from Singapore (where I lived) for summer break, I found a $100 bill just sitting on the fake fica tree in the line to immigrations (to have our passports stamped).
Another one, My first home. It was worth $175k at market value and it was a 25 year old home. This couple had gotten married and were going to move in (when it was first built) and the husband died. She did not want to move into the house because of the memories but did not sell the place. She died. The family decided to sell the place to the "Nice single dad" for what she paid for it. I got the house for $98k. I was transferred to Seattle the following year and sold it for $194k. :)
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Hi Boston Gal,
It's true that the Hollywood movie brings $$ into the state. My husband works for an ambulance company that was hired for many of the stunt scenes in the Boston area...so I'm definitely in favor of Hollywood east!
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Love those windfalls! We decided to design a few t-shirts and sell them through CafePress during this election season, as we'd done eight years ago. (We had not even visited the site in the past 8 years.) When we looked at our CafePress account, WOW!! Someone we did not know had clicked through our store to open his own store. Since CafePress has an affiliate program, we had made $680 because this guy sold a million t-shirts!!!! We've made less than $40 profit on our own sales, but we got the check yesterday for the $$$ that's been sitting unclaimed in our account for 8 years. YAY!!
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That's where all our production went! Mr M is a hollywood set designer, well was, hasn't been much work lately. The rental rates are insane through the prop houses, I wonder how much your mom charged. I know when I see the "replacement value" it's silly, pencils that cost 10 cents will be marked $1 for relacement. Never let them rent your place, they just destroy everything without a care. I've seen $200k antique tables get broken.
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Was it that set of dolls you talked about once? I assume you're talking about the Edge of Darkness which is filming now in Boston.
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I realize I was a bit vague on just what my Mother lent to the set and how much she was compensated. You can guess all you want, but I can't confirm since 1) it is my Mom's business, so I don't feel comfortable getting specific (if it was just me and I could disclose I would) and 2) the movie has not come out yet, so I have a feeling I am really not suppose to mention it.
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But I am happy to learn that others are profiting from Hollywood in the Bay state.
Keep the windfall stories coming - I really liked Katy's example, since it seems somewhat more achievable than say finding money on the street or getting a killer real estate deal (though killer deals might be more available now...) But then I would be pretty happy with any windfall at this time - some happy money news instead of all of the sad money news coming from my TV, radio, and the internet...
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Two of my girlfriends and I were meeting at the mall for dinner. One of them spotted something on the ground - a $100 bill!! We all had prime rib that night!!
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Several years ago, close to Christmas, I found a wad of cash ($280+) in a puddle in the parking lot next to my car. It was a strip mall. After debating what to do (which store to report it to?) I decided to 'keep it'. At the next supermarket I came to I gave some to the Salvation Army and that night mailed a check to the MSPCA for the balance. My reward was the charitable tax deduction for the MSPCA and I hope some good Karma.
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Hi Boston Gal,
I assume your Mom earned some decent bucks from the Hollywood set rental. But my windfall was a $20 bill found in the leaves during my early morning walk last week.
I am still thrilled with the find. I often find coins. I think people lose the money when fishing in their pockets for money for the parking meter. If something falls they either don't hear it because of the leaves, or can't see the lost money.
My early morning walks generally mean I am first along to find the money now visable in the sunlight.