April 25, 2008 01:19 pm

Cut and paste version of story Photos A couple of signs were hung on Motif No. 1 to make it look like it is in Sitka, Alaska, for the Disney film "The Proposal." Sitkans say the lobster buoys spoil the realism — there are no lobsters there. File photo Homes in downtown Sitka overlook the ANB Harbor, a southeast Alaska fishing community tucked between snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Associated Press Alaska state champion baseball coach Ed Conway, center, with daughter Emily and son Kevin stands before Sitka's actual welcome sign in 2005. Both children where born in North Andover. Courtesy photo When the Disney movie "The Proposal" was in Rockport filming, Billy Jones painted a "Welcome to Sitka" sign made out of plastic foam that look like old wood. File photo

Residents of the real Sitka feel left out of movie magic

"I wonder how they will handle sunset shots, shoot them at sunrise and run them backwards?

By Jonathan L'Ecuyer
CNHI News Service

ROCKPORT, Mass. — Rockport and Sitka — the Alaskan panhandle city Rockport recently portrayed during filming of the Disney/Touchstone Pictures production, "The Proposal" — do have some notable similarities.

Both municipalities are located on an island, their economies depend heavily on the tourism and fishing industries and both even boast an area known as Halibut Point.

The movie, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, is expected to hit theaters next year and tells the story of a high-powered publishing executive, played by Bullock, with an expired visa who is trying to avoid deportation to her native Canada by persuading her assistant, Reynolds, to marry her.

Filming on Cape Ann gained national attention last week after a vehicle transporting Bullock and husband Jesse James was struck by another vehicle in Gloucester. The driver of the other vehicle was charged with drunken driving. No one was injured.

Publicity spurred by the filming has led several Sitkans to hunt for information on the Internet. Many are disappointed with the production company for not shooting the film in Sitka, while others have voiced their thoughts on the project in a more tongue-in-cheek manner.

One Sitkan, Rich McClear, who is more curious about the project than disappointed, took the time to e-mail Rockport's selectmen on Wednesday all the way from Prishtina, Kosovo.

"Apparently your town is masquerading as my town," McClear wrote. "I feel like the victim of identity theft. I am curious if you feel likewise violated, having your town's identity changed into my town's identity. Just curious about reactions in Rockport, MA."

McClear, a USAid contractor training journalists in Eastern Europe, also forwarded a copy of the letter to the Gloucester Daily Times. McClear managed the Sitka public radio station for 13 years and was introduced to pictures of Rockport's transformation into Sitka by his son.

"My reaction is that the pictures look a little like Sitka without the mountains; they got some of the small touches right," McClear said Thursday. "I wonder how they will handle sunset shots, shoot them at sunrise and run them backwards? One friend on my e-mail list said it looked like Sitka, only less littered."

McClear explained that his fellow Alaskans are used to having other places standing in for their home state in Hollywood productions. The sled dog film, "Spirit of the Wind," was filmed in Ely, Minn., and the TV show "Northern Exposure" was actually shot in Washington state.

Some Sitkans are disappointed the film crew didn't make the trip to Alaska and have already spotted errors in pictures of the Rockport production.

"It looks nothing like our town," said Sitka Hotel employee Kendra Esparza. "The big shed (referring to Motif No. 1) in the picture with the native paddles also has lobster buoys, but we don't have lobsters here; as a local we notice things like that."

Sitkans have been posting thoughts about the movie on their local Cape Ann Online-like Internet forum known as Sitka's Voice. Some say the town was overlooked because despite its natural beauty, it has litter problems while others refute that sentiment, saying it's a beautiful place that simply didn't offer the same type of financial incentives as Rockport.

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Jonathan L'Ecuyer writes for Gloucester Daily Times in Gloucester, Mass. L'Ecuyer may be contacted at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.