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Wicked Local Upton - If you think you see Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman or Betty White on Cape Ann in the next month, you probably won’t be mistaken. Disney is going to be filming “The Proposal” at several locations in Rockport, Manchester and Gloucester in April and May.

Filming in Rockport will begin next week, and in Manchester on April 22. Jim Duggan, administrative assistant to Mayor Carolyn Kirk, was meeting with the film representatives this week to discuss the logistics of filming in Gloucester.

Rockport will be first stop

The landscape that locals know well to be Cape Ann will play the part of the Alaskan coastline in the film. Scott Levine, unit publicist on “The Proposal,” said the locations that will be filmed, such as Rockport’s Main Street, Bearskin Neck and Bradley Wharf, can be dressed to look even more like a small town on the Alaska coastline.

“It’s always nice to bring major Hollywood movies into Rockport and show off our natural beauty, even though we will be standing in for Sitka, Alaska,” said Rockport Town Administrator Mike Racicot.

Ben Thomas, a location scout for “The Proposal,” said he was working with some of the business owners on Dock Square and Main Street for permission to put up different signs on the stores, because they are part of the script.

According to information from Levine, the movie is a romantic comedy for Touchstone Pictures centering around a publishing executive, played by Bullock, who forces her assistant, played by Reynolds, to marry her so she can avoid deportation to Canada. Anne Fletcher is the director.

Filming inside Rockport’s Haskins Building, home to the Rockport Chamber Music Festival (RCMF), is scheduled for April 15 and 18. The construction team began building the set inside the building on Tuesday.

“We were approached by the folks at Disney who asked to use the interior of the Haskins Building for filming a number of scenes in the movie,” said Kristen Harrington, general manager of the RCMF. “We are thrilled to be supporting the arts and specifically the film industry, which since 2006, according to the Department of Revenue, has generated over half a billion dollars in new direct spending in Massachusetts from filmmakers. This means jobs for artists, technicians, craftspeople and a positive economic impact on our state.”

Peter Webber, manager of the Rockport Chamber of Commerce, said most businesses are pleased to have the filming in town.

“My sense is that this crew is going out of their way to work cooperatively with property owners and the businesses to minimize any impact, and make sure it’s a beneficial and positive thing,” Webber said. “They seem to be doing all the right things and it looks like it’s going to be a good experience.”

Rockport Harbormaster Rosemary Lesch said the film company was looking into using some local boats for background, and that they are bringing in one or two of their own boats.

“Our harbor is small, but they’d like to use it,” Lesch said.

Filming in Rockport will take place April 9 and 10 on Bearskin Neck, April 14 and 16 at Motif No. 1 on Bradley Wharf, April 15 and 18 at the Haskins Building on Main Street, and April 17 on the water and on Main Street near the Old Fire House.

Manchester also a locale

The cast and crew will move on to Manchester for filming weekdays from April 22 to May 8. Town Administrator Wayne Melville said they are using town-owned property for parking, but not filming.

“The movie company has learned it’s much better to pay people for use of their private facilities than to make use of public facilities,” Melville said. “If you tried to [film] on Singing Beach, we would have to abuse them financially, charge them an enormous price, and crowd control would be a problem.”

Manchester is renting the town-owned parking facilities to the company. Although a price has not yet been determined, Melville said the money would go into the general fund.

The Singing Beach parking lot will become what Melville called a “base camp” for wardrobe, make up, and cast and crew trailers. They are going to be parking four tractor-trailer trucks on Old Neck Road and shuttling equipment and materials between the primary shooting site and Old Neck Road every day while they are filming, he said. Tuck’s Point parking lot and the Singing Beach Club parking lot will also be used for parking.

Gary and Diane Kaneb’s house on 5 Gales Point Road will be used for four days while a wedding scene is filmed, and a private beach will also be used. Melville said the film company has massive security needs, and it will consist of local police as well as private security.

“I think there’s going to be some degree of rubbernecking, people who are curious who are going to want to go down and catch a glimpse of somebody,” Melville said.

Levine could not confirm a release date for the movie, but according to The Internet Movie Database online at www.imdb.com, it will be released on Sept. 25, 2009.