Union musicians rehearse with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players at City Center. From left are AFM Local 802 members Steve Shulman, Terry Szor and Rich Titone. Photo by Summer Smith.

By Kwame Patterson
March 1, 2007 - Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, a musicians’ union based in New York City, helped play and act in the hit romantic comedy Music and Lyrics.  In addition to film producers taking advantage of the “Made in NY” tax credit program, they also utilized 802 musicians to help record the score for Music and Lyrics.  The musicians appeared in front of the camera, when a number of them played roles as musicians and band members in the film. Most of their acting was in the form of “sidelining”-- the use of professional musicians rather than actors.

Ben Butler is a guitarist and 802-member who sidelined in Music and Lyrics, which was primarily shot in the city. He said the film’s writer and filmmaker Mark Lawrence chose union members as actors to heighten credibility to of the film scenes.  "Judging by the subject of the movie, [the writer] is obviously a big music fan and it was important to him that the musicians look believable," said Butler.

It’s also no surprise that in a movie about music, the producers choose New York as the site for all of their production and post production work.  Lawrence, the director, believed audiences would judge New York City as the most credible place for a story about the music business. 

Contractor Jill Dell Abate, who hired the musicians for the film, concurred.  “On top of having the highest caliber of freelance studio musicians, New York City is also home to two of the most prominent orchestras in the world, The New York Philharmonic and The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.”

The film follows a washed up 80s singer (Hugh Grant) who is given a short deadline to compose a chart-topping pop hit. Though he's never written music lyrics before, he links up with an offbeat younger woman (Drew Barrymore) with a flair for words.

Another music-themed film, which 802 scored and that is currently in production, is August Rush. The film tells the story of a young guitarist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and a sheltered young cellist (Keri Russell) who have a chance encounter above New York's Washington Square, but are soon torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, August who grows up performing on the streets of New York and cared for by a mysterious stranger (Robin Williams).