Ready for Our Close-up

Mother Fair transforms into Hollywood movie set

Each December, the Westminster atmosphere is charged with a special energy: students are pulling together their end-of-semester projects and prepping for finals and everyone is filled with a festive holiday spirit and looking forward to some winter break down time. But this December was unique, and the catalyst for this special buzz? Westminster’s featured role in an upcoming star-studded movie.

Westminster’s center quad—surrounded by Old Main, McGill Library and the Browne and Ferguson residence halls—was handpicked for the upcoming Netflix Feature Films and Cross Creek Pictures movie, “The Pale Blue Eye,” starring Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson and Robert Duvall.

Disguised to recapture the look of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the 19th century, the transformed campus quad was one of several Western Pennsylvania locations used in the film. Produced by John Lesher and directed by Scott Cooper, the thriller revolves around a veteran New York detective (Bale) investigating a series of West Point murders with the help of a young military cadet (Melling), who will later become a famed author—Edgar Allan Poe.

While a handful of Westminster students and staff were chosen to suit up as cadets to serve as film extras, other students had the opportunity to work with crew members to gain behindthe-scenes experience. For the rest of the campus community, most just hoped to catch a glimpse—or a chance encounter—with one of the film’s stars.

The film is expected to be released by the end of 2022.

TANNER MONDOK| NEW CASTLE NEWS

Above, a line of cannons at the ready sitting adjacent to Weisel Senior Terrace. // Center, actors take a moment before cameras start rolling. // Bottom, extras posing as West Point cadets march across the quad before filming.