LEWISTON — The Catholic Church has withdrawn permission for Buckfield filmmaker Michael Miclon to shoot scenes this August inside the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

Monsignor Marc Caron, who leads Lewiston’s Catholic churches, was mistaken when he gave the production permission to use the landmark for the film, a comedic version of Shakespeare’s “Richard III.”

Theatrical productions violate church rules, Caron said.

However, the production will remain in Lewiston for its planned coronation scene. And it’s getting help from the church.

As a consolation, the Prince of Peace Parish offered to let Miclon’s production use the former St. Patrick’s Church on Bates Street.

“They’ve come up with the best secondary solution I could ask for,” Miclon said. “I’m pretty pleased.”

The project has been in the works for years. Miclon wrote a version of Shakespeare’s play for the stage at the Oddfellow Theater, which he founded. On New Year’s Eve, Miclon closed the theater in Buckfield and focused on the film.

It’s titled “Richard 3.”

Miclon has been raising money, visiting locations, drawing storyboards, revising his script and casting. Shooting is slated to begin in August. The dates are unchanged, even if the setting is different.

“I was bummed, obviously,” Miclon said. The scenes would have made the production look huge. “It’s stone. It’s marble. It’s amazing. That was going to be fantastic.”

Once Caron told Miclon, he said, “I went, ‘OK. That’s the way it is.’ What else can you do? St. Patrick’s is still a beautiful church and it’s still got enough grandeur. The way we shoot it is going to have to change.”

The Sun Journal was unsuccessful Friday in its attempts to reach church leaders for comment.

Miclon has visited St. Patrick’s and is excited about the possibilities for the century-old building, which has been vacant since it was closed in October 2009.

“They’ve done a lot of deconstruction in there,” he said. Stained glass and other amenities have been removed.

However, since it is no longer a church, the movie production will have more freedom to set up equipment and cover places that fit either the story or its setting in 15th-century England.

Plans still include the filming and costuming of hundreds of extras.

Though Miclon is hoping some hobbyists come forward who already own costumes, he plans to outfit hundreds more to fill the church pews.

St. Patrick’s will be perfect, he said. “We’re going to make it work.”

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