Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hollywood came to Long Beach recently, as film studios eye the barrier island for its alluring beachfront locations such as the Allegria Hotel, where parts of the upcoming movie “Petunia” starring Thora Birch was filmed.
“Petunia,” a dark comedy starring actors Eddie Kaye Thomas and Birch, filmed for two days at the Allegria after its directors saw the hotel during a two-day film location and studio tour hosted by County Executive Mangano last December.
Following the tour, the directors changed plans and decided to shoot scenes at the Allegria, which were originally going to be shot on a cruise ship.
“Filmmakers are always looking for the perfect location. Well, I have good news: they will find what they are looking for right here in Nassau County,” Mangano said. “I’m proud to represent a County that has more production days than any other county or borough in New York outside of the city itself.”
The film location tour, held in December 2010 for producers, directors and film scouts, included visits to Sands Point Preserve and Old Bethpage Village Restoration; the Nassau County Correctional Center, Gold Coast Studios and Grumman Studios. It is just one of the many initiatives County Executive Mangano has launched to bolster the motion picture industry in Nassau County.
“Petunia,” is slated for release later this year. According to the Internet Movie Database, the film revolves around an off -beat, dysfunctional family of New Yorkers who must come to terms with their own misgivings about life, relationships and the unpredictability of love. The movie weaves together the lives of brothers played by Tobias Segal and Kaye Thomas, as they unlearn everything their psychoanalyst parents have taught them. Thora Birch plays the role of Vivian — the wife of Michael, played by Kaye Thomas — who discovers she is pregnant while the family is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
