Mark Hamill in Manitoba: Star Wars actor films Stephen King adapted movie

September 10, 2024

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Mark Hamill in Manitoba: Star Wars actor films Stephen King adapted movie

From the Millennium Falcon to a military Jeep.

Star Wars icon Mark Hamill rode through the streets of Stonewall, Man. last month filming scenes atop what looked to be an Army vehicle for the upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Long Walk.”

According to ACTRA Manitoba, the Lionsgate feature was scheduled to shoot in our province from mid-July until this week.

Business owner Kirsten Ellison got a front-row seat to the movie-making magic last month.

Traffic in front of her Main Street body sugaring and aesthetics business was shut down for the production on Aug. 27, transforming the roadway for a few days with vintage cars and new business facades.

A vintage police cruiser used in the filming of “The Long Walk” on Main Street in Stonewall, Man. is pictured on Aug. 27, 2024. (Kirsten Ellison)

In the days leading up to the shoot, Ellison said she couldn’t get confirmation as to whether Hamill himself would film scenes there.

But when the director called action, with Ellison watching from her window, it was plain to see.

“It was pretty obvious as he crossed the street. You can’t miss Luke Skywalker,” Ellison told CTV News Winnipeg.

The book, published in 1979 under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, was the first novel the legendary author penned. It tells the story of a brutal walking competition in a dystopian, near-future America ruled by a totalitarian regime.

Ellison said many films have been shot on Stonewall’s main drag, mostly Lifetime and Hallmark movies, which have become the meat and potatoes of Manitoba’s film industry.

See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"

While Star Wars has a notoriously rabid following, Ellison said the project is exciting to her based on another iconic presence in the project.

“I’m a massive Stephen King fan,” she said. “So I was very excited about this.”

Mark Hamill cruises by in a military-looking vehicle while filming in Stonewall, Man. on Aug. 27, 2024. (Kirsten Ellison)