On a rainy October afternoon, Jeremy Garelick sat in his makeshift office. Wearing a gray Liverpool Warriors sweatshirt, he explained the New York state tax incentive that allowed him to set up shop in the small town.

But to Garelick, it’s not about the money.

“We’re here because we chose to be here,” he said. “We planted our flag.”

Garelick is the founder and president of American High, a full-service film production company operating out of an old middle school building. Garelick and his co-producers named the building “Syracuse Studios” when they purchased it in August 2017. Today, the company is finishing up its final week of production for their fifth film since opening for business last year.

While the New York native turned Los Angeles-implant has worked to give back to the area, Garelick and his company weren’t always welcomed with open arms. He said the people of Liverpool, a northwest suburb of Syracuse with a population of about 2,000, had doubts about whether or not American High would follow up on its promises of bringing in good jobs and stirring the economic pot.

Just a few years before the production company moved in, a state-built studio in the neighboring suburb of DeWitt flopped and left taxpayers up in arms. The Central New York Film Hub was funded by donors of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who are now facing federal corruption charges, according to The New York Times. Built under the assumption that the studio would benefit the community, Central New York Film Hub remained mostly vacant since its completion in 2015 and was recently purchased for just $1.

But going into the move, Garelick didn’t know what he was up against. American High was plagued early on by skepticism from locals.

“People like their quiet community,” he said. “A lot of people liked this building kind of sitting here empty, versus looking outside and having a hundred cars in the parking lot and not knowing who’s coming and who’s going.”

Jeremy Garelick and his co-producers named the former Liverpool school building “Syracuse Studios” when they purchased it in August 2017. Hieu Nguyen | Asst. Photo Editor

Will Phelps, head of production, said that the production team immersed themselves in the Liverpool community to earn the trust of the area, including those who live in the residential neighborhood where Syracuse Studios, the building that American High operates out of, is located.

Garelick, Phelps and Michael Schade, a producer at American High, even live together down the block.

“When we’re here, we live in a house down the street altogether,” Phelps said. “Every hour of every day is pretty much spent working either at the house or (the studio).”

Schade added that American High has built a team of 50 to 60 crew members from the local community who have spent holidays from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July with the production team.

“There’s a level of responsibility that we feel to try and keep this going,” Schade said. “Not only for ourselves, but for them, too.”

Garelick added that the company has not only made a financial investment in central New York — which he estimated to be near $8 million — but an educational investment, as well.

The production company has hired students from several upstate colleges and universities to full-time positions, including 16 from Syracuse University, four from Onondaga Community College and three from Le Moyne College. Garelick said they look to SU for interns, who, while unpaid, can receive compensation in the form of academic credit.

American High will finish filming for “Sid is Dead” the week before Thanksgiving and hopes to have it ready for distribution by Valentine’s Day 2019. Hieu Nguyen | Asst. Photo Editor

American High’s commitment to education in central New York has already contributed to SU’s film department being ranked No. 22 in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2018 list of the top 25 film schools in the U.S. Garelick believes that in the years to come, SU could break the top 20 — and eventually the top 10 — if American High continues its growth.

The production company doesn’t just make headlines for its accomplishments. During the past summer, Pete Davidson and Machine Gun Kelly were in central New York to star in “Big Time Adolescence” — the production company’s fourth film. Later, Davidson said Syracuse is “trash” and “worse than Staten Island,” in an interview with Howard Stern.

But press or no press, Garelick has plans to keep up his unprecedented pace of producing films.

“We’re pretty much in production or prep or wrapping up all the time,” said Garelick, whose previous writing credits include “The Break-Up” (2006), “The Hangover” (2009) and “The Wedding Ringer” (2015), which he also directed.

Filming for “Sid is Dead,” which they’re currently producing, will be completed the week before Thanksgiving. Garelick said the goal is to have a final product edited and ready for distribution by Valentine’s Day 2019. But some of the company’s work is already out — “Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever.” was released for streaming as a Netflix original in October.

“At the end of the day,” Garelick said, “whether we’re successful or not, we’re going to have a great story to tell.”

Published on November 5, 2018 at 12:57 am

Contact Jordan: jslazins@syr.edu