If the production company behind MTV's "Jersey Shore" is planning on filming upcoming episodes in Wildwood, as a report by US Weekly suggests, Mayor Ernie Troiano knows nothing about it.
"That would be news to us," he told Wildwood 365 this evening, going on to confirm that 495 Productions was not issued permits to film in town.
"We had some talks several months back, earlier in the year. But, they were not approved for a license to film here."
Troiano noted that a permit would not be necessary for filming at a private residence or business, but that would limit production to interior locations and non-public areas.
The US Weekly piece states that the original "Jersey Shore" cast will be moving into a house in Wildwood on July 15, after failing to gain filming permits in Seaside Heights - where the show gained notoriety nearly a decade ago.
Troiano said that he had mixed feelings about the idea for "Jersey Shore" to film in Wildwood, in its "rebooted" form, but that, ultimately, the opposition of Wildwood's business community won out.
"The way it was originally presented to me, it seemed that this would be presented as a group of older, more mature people moving on with their lives," he said. "Not a bunch of party animals acting like fools. There's a chance it might have been good exposure for Wildwood, but the name comes with a stigma."
It's a risk that the business community was unwilling to take.
We reached out to John Donio, president of the Wildwood Business Improvement Disctrict (WBID), to get his thoughts on the matter. He had this to say:
"While the business community of Wildwood, as a whole, encourages filmmakers, television studios, and social media personalities to film here and promote Wildwood, we feel that the message "Jersey Shore" sends doesn't match up with our commitment to keeping Wildwood a family friendly beach and Boardwalk resort community. "
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