(Editor’s note: A Norcross family recently had their house featured in a movie, “Mother’s Day”, to be released in next May. Previously, the same family had their house in a movie currently on screens, “A Walk in the Woods.” We asked about their experience. Here are their thoughts.—eeb)
By Julie Foster | It was a thrill seeing our home and scenes of Norcross on “the big screen” while watching A Walk in the Woods recently.
Foster
Several times, location scouts have knocked on our door after stumbling upon our home while driving through the area looking for possibilities. Twice, our home has been chosen as a location for major films. Both times, we had a positive experience. We found the crews very respectful of our home and us.
On occasion, they upset something in the house. But they were great about fixing items. We had the added benefits of having the bushes in our yard trimmed, our driveway power-washed, and the interior of the house painted.
During both films, the production crew, which includes the director and producers, were California-based. However, they hired local crews for the filming. Many of the workers live in Gwinnett County. The crews include hundreds of workers, grips, construction people, set decorators, painters, catering, security and many more. The most workers around our house at one time was about 250 people when they were filming a birthday party in our back yard. Then they had a petting zoo, waterslide and many extras for that. Fortunately, it was only one day.
Foster house on Ridgecrest Drive.
I used to bemoan the expense of a movie ticket until I saw first hand how hard it is and how much work it takes. Crews are skilled and dedicated. While filming, the crews ate in our local restaurants. When they needed to pick up materials, they shopped locally.
Given the scope of filming, it is incredible how well they restored our home back to its original condition. They made sure we were satisfied with how they left our home.
During both films, our family was encouraged to stick around and watch. The kids especially were excited. The crews allowed our son to work the clapboard and boom microphone and watch the scenes with the directors. My husband, Tom, was thrilled with the financial gain. In Mother’s Day, we were able to be extras. Robert Redford, Emma Thompson, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Aniston graciously posed for photos with us.
It was surreal watching the movie seeing Emma Thompson and Robert Redford in our bed and her serving tea in our kitchen. During the recent filming, when the crew was there over two weeks, we spent five days at the Wingate Hotel on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. I took a week off from work, and checked in on the house, and watched some filming.
If anyone is approached about their house for filming, I would say “Do your homework.” Make sure you are dealing with reputable people, and get it all down in writing. Document the condition of your home before they begin. Set very clear expectations and ask many questions so you know what to expect. It can be very disruptive. Remove valuables and sensitive info before the crews arrive. We had 40-50 strangers in and out for 21 days, one week for set-up, a week for filming, and a week to restore our home.
The going rate for such rentals, we learned, is $2,500 per filming day, and $1,000 per day for set-up and wrap. Both times the film people came to us with lower numbers before we agreed.
Most neighbors were excited to watch the filming. Some brought chairs and watched the outdoor scenes from across the street. Most were patient when filming caused delays and created traffic.
It’s an exciting experience. Yep, we would do it again!
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