Snooki and JWoww won’t be shooting their MTV reality show in Morristown after all.
“I think it’s safe now for Morristown people to come out at night,” quipped Mayor Tim Dougherty, who got an earful from residents worried that the town’s image would suffer if Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi shot episodes of her new show, Snooki & JWoww, downtown.
Filming was to have started around Aug. 9 and extend into October, according to the Daily Record. But the show’s production company, 495 Productions of Burbank, Calif., emailed town officials to say they are going elsewhere, the Mayor said on Thursday.
“Wanted to reach out to inform you that we will unfortunately be focusing our efforts in other areas due to the proximity of the show at this time,” Production Manager Jordan Nefouse wrote in his email.
“We would like to thank you and your colleagues for all your efforts to be so welcoming. As you may already know, we frequent your area quite often, and would love to revisit Morristown for future projects. Many thanks again for all your help.”
Discussions last week with the company were “very professional,” and producers had expressed willingness to comply with restrictions the town sought to impose, the Mayor said.
Although Snooki and Jennifer “JWoww” Farley are not coming to Morristown, they still may leave their mark. The Mayor said he has asked town Attorney Vij Pawar to study film permit laws in places like Hoboken, Montclair and Florham Park, to see if they make sense for Morristown.
The Mayor emphasized that Morristown welcomes anyone, “as long as they abide by our laws.” Scenes from the 1998 film One True Thing, co-starring Meryl Streep and William Hurt, were shot in his neighborhood, he said.
One of the restrictions the town sought for the Snooki show was no shooting after 10 pm. The Mayor said producers had indicated they were okay with that.
Snooki, who is expecting a baby named Lorenzo next month, reportedly has moved in with the baby’s father, her fiance, Jionni LaValle, in East Hanover.
“We thank them for considering Morristown” for the show, the Mayor said.
A question for realtors: Will Snooki help or hurt property values?
Rumor has it that they will be homeowners in the area (Florham Park, E. Hanover, Morristown) shortly.