My cousin's house is a big antebellum mansion known as Cliff Lawn. While my mother and I grew up spending time over there and feels rather "homey" to us, albeit in a grand style, it is quite impressive and is often used—interiors and exteriors—in movies. I was watching the promo for the new hot TV show Nashville and had to stop the DVR and say, "Hey! That's Barry & Went's dining room!" A bunch of other shots are on a old bridge down by the creek, not that anyone but us would recognize it (our children and teen portrait photos were shot there too). Some of the younger cousins live nearby in a development made off part of the family land, and their home is used for the interiors of another family on the show. Now that the show has been picked up, for a full season, it's becoming a bit more of an inconvenience, but I image the cash that comes with that eases the discomfort considerably. Personally, I love seeing places I know on TV. I haven't really considered why but there it is.
A generation above moved out of Clifflawn when their family grew with four children (the children being of my parents' generation) and build a bigger house next door. Since their death, the house has been renovated somewhat but never sold and always rented out for extended periods, usually by other socialites or luminaries constructing or renovating their own homes over a year or so. When not a residence, it is sometimes a video or movie set.
The new Nicole Kidman (now a Nashvillian) feature Stoker was filmed in this house. During the funeral week last year, they called my mother and offered her a tour of the house and the set as something to give us a break from everything at home for an afternoon. Cousin Anne (3:30 is almost 4:00...) lead us around the old mansion with her stories. They moved in about 75 years ago.
It was an astounding transformation, and I had no idea how they were going to return the home to the previous condition, as is the usual agreement. The black and while tile floors were recovered with hardwood, all of the murals were covered, and the bedrooms underwent massive transformations. Very cool. And I got to meet the set dressers, who are often my favorite people on set. And in true Nashville fashion we were only one person removed.
The trailer for Stoker is now out, and a lot of it is what I saw that day, particularly the odd pod sort of swing hanging from the tree out back. All the exterior shots of the house and the shots of the grounds are all the same house.
I took a few pics with my iPhone before I was asked not to, so I won't share them until after the movie is released. But still, kinda cool.
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