Movie Magic in Acadia National Park

ACADIA NAT’L PARK — Otter Cliffs was abuzz with activity Tuesday, as a crew of 50 cameramen, caterers, crane operators and others descended on the area in preparation for several days of filming for “Ashecliffe,” a new Martin Scorsese movie due out from Paramount Pictures next October.

The lower spur of the Park Loop Road atop Otter Cliffs has been blocked off for the duration of the filming, which is expected to last into Friday. Automobile, bike, and pedestrian traffic can still pass freely through the upper portion of the road there.

The “second unit” shoot does not involve the director or any of the big-name actors who star in the film. Paramount Pictures crews are using a crane and a boat to get shots of a stuntman on the cliffs, as well as scenic shots that will be incorporated into the movie, said executive producer Chris Brigham.

The movie, based on the Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River,” “Gone Baby Gone”) novel “Shutter Island,” stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Mark Ruffalo as two U.S. marshals in 1954 who investigate the disappearance of a murderer from a hospital for the criminally insane. Well known actors Max Von Sydow, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams also star in the film.

Crews were busy rigging the area for the shoot on Tuesday, with filming expected to take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, said Lea Girardin, director of the Maine Film Office. The crews are made up largely of people from Boston and New York, with a small portion of people traveling here from Los Angeles, Mr. Brigham said.