Film Locale Changes For `Snow Falling On Cedars'

KETCHIKAN - The producers of the movie "Snow Falling on Cedars" have decided not to film in Ketchikan because of local opposition and a lack of period boats.

In a Nov. 26 letter to Patti Mackey, executive director of the Ketchikan Visitor's Bureau, the film's location director Paul Pav wrote that he was not sure he could guarantee a smooth filming experience "on the most important location of our film."

Filming was to begin March 16. About 100 people were scheduled to come to Ketchikan to work on the Universal Studios' production, which is based on the 1994 novel "Snow Falling on Cedars," written by David Guterson of Bainbridge Island.

Pav visited Ketchikan several times and said he was saddened by the decision.

A representative from Pav's office at the Kennedy/Marshall Company in Santa Monica, Calif. said the movie would instead be filmed in Washington state.

Pav also cited a lack of antique boats for his decision. The story, which takes place in a fishing community in Washington's San Juan Islands during the 1940's, centers on the trial of a Japanese gill-netter accused of murdering another fisherman. About 30 boats at Thomas Basin would have had to be hidden or disguised, Pav said.