Actors Bethany Joy Lenz & Kristoffer Polaha and VP Of The Biltmore House/Family Member Chase Pickering talk to The Inside Reel about approach, locations, development, rules, chemistry and mannerisms in regards to their new Hallmark Christmas film: “A Biltmore Christmas”.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 - But I love the backdrop that you guys have created
00:21 at the Biltmore, but it can't work
00:23 unless the story works and the characters work.
00:27 - The first talk about, especially in this kind of scenario,
00:30 it's like a throwback.
00:31 Lucy sort of throwing back to the time
00:34 and Jack almost in a way being more modern in certain ways.
00:39 Could you talk about the characterizations
00:40 and finding sort of that balance between you two?
00:44 - I feel like it was, well, first of all, as you said,
00:48 filming in this location, that made a huge difference
00:51 in terms of the ease of modern and old and the past
00:56 coming together because that's what this place is.
00:59 They have taken the past and preserved it,
01:01 but there are so many, I mean, we're still,
01:04 we're here today in modern times.
01:05 And so I feel like that really helped us
01:09 when we came into this space because it's already,
01:11 the environment is existing as that.
01:13 And then for my character, yes, coming from modern times,
01:17 but being someone who grew up on old movies
01:19 and had this sort of lost sense of romance inside of her,
01:23 being able to come or go into the past
01:26 and experience someone who was grown up in that time
01:31 and was so, one thing I really loved
01:35 about how you play Jack was so curious.
01:37 He was someone who just had so much curiosity
01:39 and I think that really works well for the future.
01:44 (laughing)
01:45 - Certainly worked on the script.
01:47 I was like, yeah, get out of here, kid.
01:48 - Yeah, exactly.
01:49 - I got to play a character named Jack Houston
01:52 who you learn was a stunt man,
01:54 was a guy who just really, really wanted
01:57 to see his name in lights.
01:58 And he has a beautiful backstory,
01:59 which we actually learn in the film
02:02 where his parents were taken to the Nickelodeon
02:04 at Christmas and he would choose a picture
02:06 of his mother's liking 'cause he just wanted to see her laugh.
02:10 I love that.
02:11 That was a really beautiful scene.
02:12 And like, yeah, and we had such a fun time working together.
02:17 So our chemistry, and then you get to set it
02:21 in a time and a place.
02:22 And we're sitting with Chase Pickering.
02:23 Chase is fifth generation Vanderbilt.
02:26 This is his family's home.
02:28 And he was so awesome to open this place up to us.
02:32 So the film here really was like flipping the hourglass
02:36 and stepping back in time.
02:38 If you've never been to a Biltmore house,
02:41 you need to come and see this place because it is amazing.
02:44 It really is a testament to something extraordinary.
02:47 - Yeah, it's really an honor to be a part
02:50 of helping carry on this family legacy now
02:52 and it's fifth generation.
02:54 We're very proud that this is a family owned
02:56 and operated place here in Asheville, North Carolina.
03:00 Biltmore is known for our Christmas celebration.
03:02 So it truly was a perfect fit to come together
03:05 with Hallmark to make this movie.
03:06 These two did a spectacular job and it's a beautiful film
03:11 and it gets you in the Christmas spirit.
03:13 (upbeat music)
03:15 - Excuse me, do you know where I can get
03:26 some service around here?
03:27 - Well, crafties in front of the building,
03:29 they serve a mean cup of coffee.
03:31 - Funny guy.
03:33 Well, what is going on?
03:36 Why is everybody in costume?
03:37 - You're a funny girl.
03:39 We're making a major motion picture.
03:43 - His married wife.
03:44 What is that?
03:47 - You look just like him.
03:49 - Who?
03:50 - Jack Houston.
03:51 - Oh, I hope so.
03:53 I am him.
03:54 Who are you supposed to be in that getup?
03:56 - Mr. Houston.
03:56 - Yeah.
03:57 - They need you on set.
03:58 - What scene are we filming?
03:59 - 22.
04:00 - Well, hold on, give me a sec.
04:01 I'm talking to myself.
04:05 - Well, Chase, can you talk about that?
04:07 Because obviously looking at these different areas,
04:09 you know the property inside and out.
04:12 How do you sort of figure out,
04:14 'cause people from Hallmark,
04:16 there's so many great locations,
04:18 and this is another one they can come to.
04:19 Can you talk about finding the right locations
04:22 inside the Biltmore that worked for the store?
04:25 - Well, it's a great question.
04:29 This was a unique opportunity for Biltmore.
04:31 This is the first time that Biltmore House
04:33 has actually been portrayed as herself in the movie.
04:37 We filmed over 15 movies here,
04:39 but Biltmore House has a starring role in this film.
04:42 And there are actually nine rooms,
04:45 mostly on the first floor here,
04:47 the library being a main one here,
04:48 which we're in right now.
04:50 And it just presented this wonderful backdrop.
04:52 You know, a visit to Biltmore is time travel.
04:55 So it was a perfect fit to create a time travel movie.
04:58 And the hourglass just kind of tied it all together
05:02 really nicely for us.
05:03 - When you were developing this,
05:04 did you talk with Hallmark about like,
05:06 here's the rooms that we can and can't film in,
05:08 so did they kind of craft the script around?
05:10 - We did, yeah, very much.
05:12 We kept in mind, you know,
05:13 areas that we could get into and access.
05:16 And one of our requirements is that we would stay open
05:19 the whole time during filming.
05:20 So we actually were on night filming.
05:22 So we had to think very cleverly
05:24 about how to close down certain rooms
05:26 to not impact the guest room.
05:28 - Which was amazing,
05:29 'cause we actually got to meet the guests
05:30 while we were filming.
05:31 Like, it was like, that was cool.
05:32 It really did become meta because we were, you know,
05:34 in the movie waving to people
05:35 who were wanting to see the movie stars.
05:37 And then all of a sudden you look this way
05:38 and there were actual people, you know.
05:41 And so did you then, was the time travel aspect
05:44 something that you had brought to the table?
05:45 Or was that a-
05:46 - So we were in development.
05:49 Hallmark was nice enough to let us be involved
05:52 in the development of the storyline.
05:53 And we were, we had a team here,
05:56 we were walking through Mr. Vanderbilt's bedroom
05:58 and we were talking about this idea of time travel.
06:01 And one of the leads, she said,
06:02 you know, we don't want to use a clock.
06:04 Is there something different,
06:05 another vessel that we could use for time travel?
06:08 We pointed over to this ornate hourglass
06:12 that we have in our collection.
06:13 We said, okay, that's it.
06:15 And so then we recreated a prop,
06:17 which you see the prop that we used in the movie here,
06:20 kind of inspired by that original hourglass.
06:23 (dramatic music)
06:26 - Miss Bullock, what was with the disappearing act earlier?
06:29 - Don't they need you for the next scene?
06:30 - Nah, we're filming the final scene of the movie.
06:32 - Oh, last time I checked, you were in that.
06:34 - That's news to me.
06:35 - What do you mean?
06:36 - Whoa, watch your head.
06:37 - What do you mean?
06:38 No, Charlie gives up a chance at his wings.
06:40 He chases Rebecca out to the garden.
06:41 They share a final goodbye and she reunites with James.
06:43 That's the end of the movie.
06:44 - No, that's not the script that I read.
06:47 - It's not?
06:48 - No, but what made you say that?
06:50 Because I've been thinking of something along those lines
06:52 and nobody will go for it.
06:53 - I am Sandra.
06:55 (dramatic music)
06:58 - Starting to think it's me.
07:04 - For Bethany and Christoph, could you talk about,
07:06 'cause there's a timeless quality,
07:08 but that has to go into the costumes, the mannerisms,
07:11 the way you both talk.
07:13 Could you talk about that?
07:14 Because that takes you back and it's a very specific thing
07:18 and yet you have to be free flowing.
07:20 The energy has to flow between you.
07:22 Can you talk about those different levels of mannerisms
07:25 that you guys had to employ?
07:26 - Yeah, thank you, Tim, for what sounds to be very much
07:32 like we did our job, which is an honor.
07:34 (all laughing)
07:36 I think you've got the transatlantic speech.
07:38 There's a specific accent.
07:40 There's a cadence and a speed at which people spoke.
07:44 But then also there's something about the way people stood.
07:47 So if you look at Cary Grant
07:50 or if you look at a lot of those 1940s movies,
07:53 the men stood very erect, like their shoulders are back.
07:56 And it was a lot of, so the line was very,
07:58 so I think my job was to stand up tall.
08:00 (all laughing)
08:03 - Well, it's true though, 'cause once you put the costume,
08:05 I mean, for me, once I put the costume on,
08:07 it was so different being in modern day clothes
08:10 versus putting on those very, very structured suits
08:15 with the shoulder pads and the tights and the girdle
08:18 and the pointy bra and all the things that were,
08:20 that went into what women used to wear back then.
08:24 But that also did really help with the times
08:26 when Lucy had to drop in and pretend
08:28 like she was from that time period
08:30 and just call on all of her time growing up
08:33 watching old movies and trying to remember
08:36 that transatlantic accident and the kids and the movement.
08:39 - Now you listen here.
08:41 You can't just march up on a dame
08:42 and give her the what for, buster.
08:44 Hey!
08:47 Excuse me, let go of me.
08:50 I am not a piece of luggage.
08:51 - No, you're absolutely right.
08:52 Luggage comes with a tag.
08:53 It lets you know where it came from.
08:54 Who are you?
08:55 Where are you from?
08:56 We call it central casting and no one knows who you are.
08:58 Are you even Sandra Bullock?
09:00 - I'm Lucy Hardgrove and you may not believe this,
09:03 but I'm from the studio.
09:08 - Studio?
09:10 You don't say.
09:11 - Yes, well, Mr. Balaban,
09:14 he heard about all the discord on set.
09:17 He sent me to keep an eye on things.
09:18 - Really? - Yes.
09:19 He's a very busy man.
09:21 - Prove it.
09:22 - Oh, you took a bit part in "Meet Me in Poughkeepsie"
09:25 so that you could audition for this part
09:26 and get on the lot.
09:27 (laughing)
09:28 Do you know I camped in front of that parking spot
09:30 for three days?
09:32 How did you know that?
09:34 - Well, I told you Mr. Balaban sent me.
09:36 - All right, well, obviously this is a misunderstanding.
09:38 I apologize, Ms. Hardgrove,
09:40 and I hope there are no hard feelings.
09:42 (laughing)
09:45 - Of course not.
09:46 - I'm gonna go on a limb and say that this film
09:49 sort of transcends the genre.
09:51 There's a scene where Jack Houston, my character,
09:55 makes his way into his hotel room,
09:58 and then 80 years later,
10:00 Lucy, her character, is walking down the same hall,
10:04 and then you do this really cool thing
10:05 where you sort of drag your shoulder along the wall.
10:08 It is so, forgive me,
10:10 but it really is unlike any other homework movie
10:13 I've ever seen.
10:14 Like, we've done something with this film,
10:16 like I said, I think it transcends the genre,
10:18 and then you see both characters lie back in the same bed,
10:22 but 80 years apart, and it really is a magical moment.
10:26 And to bring it back to the house,
10:28 again, all of that becomes possible
10:30 because you're in living history.
10:32 So no matter where you are in the house,
10:35 so like the time travel, a good time travel movie,
10:37 you have to understand the laws,
10:38 the rules of time travel, right?
10:40 So Lucy's character is in this library,
10:43 and then she flips the hourglass,
10:46 and there are subtle changes that indicate
10:48 that she's just traveled 80 years into the past.
10:51 And we understand the laws,
10:53 they're laid out very beautifully
10:55 throughout the course of the film.
10:56 So it becomes understandable why and how,
10:58 and it's a great movie, I'm super proud of it.
11:01 (dramatic music)
11:03 (dramatic music)
11:07 (dramatic music)
11:09 (dramatic music)