By Bill Parry
During his 32 years in the bar business since moving to the United States from England, Paul Flynn has never seen a winter like this one.
“Snowstorm after snowstorm, I really can’t believe how hard it’s been on the business. Nobody is going out these days,” he said.
The owner of Flynn’s Garden Inn, a cozy pub at 46-08 Skillman Ave., is looking forward to the spring thaw while appreciating a keen decision he made this past summer.
Flynn turned his saloon over to a group of 20 of his regular customers so they could shoot a movie.
“The Black Knights of Skillman” was shot during a five-week period beginning last July, using Flynn’s saloon as a sound stage and headquarters. The production of the short film, called a psychedelic odyssey of psychosis by director Tommy Turner, created a buzz in the neighborhood and a boost to Flynn’s business during a slow part of the year.
“Business-wise is was a tremendous success,” Flynn said. “The summer is traditionally a quiet period for bars because so many regular customers go on holiday.”
The cast and crew kept the register ringing during the frequent shoots and Flynn kept the bar open for business.
“That helped with the walk-in trade. There were so many people who were curious to see a real movie being shot and the place was packed when they had the premiere here on Sept. 1. It gave a whole different exposure for my bar to people who normally wouldn’t try a place like this,” Flynn said.
Flynn’s Garden Inn was known primarily as a hangout for soccer fans since its opening three years ago, but the Liverpool native noticed a shift in the last few years in Sunnyside Gardens.
“Many of the Europeans, mostly the Irish, moved out of the neighborhood and they were replaced rapidly by an art scene drawn to the proximity to Manhattan and Brooklyn with more reasonable rents,” Flynn said.
It became evident when Flynn hosted an Oscar Night party last March in honor of Benh Zeitlin, who was nominated for best director for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”
“We did our Zeitlin night because he was born and raised here in Sunnyside Gardens and I began to realize how many people here were connected to the film industry,” Flynn said.
Turner noticed as well.
“Film is exploding in western Queen. I can come in here any night and put together a crew with the people who hang out here — sound people, make-up artists, camera people,” he said.
“The Black Knights of Skillman” was Turner’s first film in 20 years after a prolific run of underground avant-garde films in the 1990s.
“I did all of my films on Super 8, a format that’s now obsolete, and I was wary of digital technology,” Turner said.
The project became possible when freelance editor Terry Murphy became his neighbor last year, moving in with a Cannon DSLR camera and a Final Cut editing system.
Murphy became Turner’s cinematographer and Flynn gave them the space to shoot.
“That was a great decision. It electrified the summer and the carryover has helped keep us going during this horrible winter,” Flynn said. “Just this past Saturday it was dead as can be, then Terry came and next thing you knew a half dozen people connected with “The Black Knights” were here. Had we not done that project, Saturday would’ve been a wash.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718.260.4538.
