Thursday, November 21, 2013

One More Report on The Hundred Foot Journey

If you were following my blog at all this summer you will remember that I was pretty much obsessed with a feature film that was being filmed in the French market town of
 St. Antonin.
The film, The Hundred Foot Journey, is produced by 
Steven Spielberg & Oprah Winfrey & stars
 Helen Mirren.

 Although the filming was winding down in St. Antonin by early October it had moved on to other pretty towns in the area. Before I left France I was able to visit a few of these spots & see just a little more of the production process.
The first location was a beautiful little village with a lovely old mill (above), which would be the site of a picnic scene. The actress Charlotte Le Bon waits with her bicycle for the scene to begin. Oddly enough most French people seemed rather disinterested in the fact that Helen Mirren was there but they were very excited to see this well known French Canadian TV star.
For the entire time of filming in St. Antonin, I was wondering where the actual restaurants, which are the main focus of the film, would be. But it was not until I took a trip to the tiny town of Carlus, just outside of Albi that I had my answer.

The premiss of the film is the conflict between two restaurants, an elegant French three star restaurant  & a loud & garish Indian new comer only a hundred feet away.  The old farmhouse will be the site of the Indian restaurant while the grand sedate French restaurant will be a complete false front. There is one tiny window at the top out of which Helen Mirren, who plays the haughty French chief, will no doubt be looking disdainfully at her unwelcome neighbors.
Because so many of the scenes will be set at night, a large crane is used to hoist heavy lighting. As you can see above this part of the film is being shot in a quiet, remote part of the countryside.

I did not get to see Oprah. It seems she arrived just after I left. I did get to see Helen Mirren several times. One Sunday morning she sat in the café at a table right next to mine. However, my attempts at taking a discreet photo unobserved were a complete failure. So I have borrowed one from Oprah's own Instagram page taken as you can see in front of the farmhouse pictured above.
The Hundred Foot Journey will open in August 2014. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product. It was an exciting experience to be able to follow so closely the production of a film like this. I am hoping that I will be back in France when it opens & that I will be able to see it with all of those that experienced it in a similar way. Because what better place to see this film but in my favorite cinema in the whole world right in St. Antonin Nobel Val.

12 comments:

  1. My husband really enjoyed this book and he asked who plays the father. I guess I'll have to look it up. And I'm definitely going to read the book before the movie comes out.

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    1. Paulita, Om Puri plays the father…I have a photo of him on this post http://sallytharperowlesbetweenherethere.blogspot.com/2013/09/and-action.html

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  2. Wow, that is really amazing and your story gives the feeling as if we had a film spy down in france observing all this incredible places and the technic and all that behind the scenes. Very very interesting!
    And this old mill is an incredible beautiful dreamy place, wonderful.
    Barbara Bee

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    1. Thanks Barbara, I did sometimes feel a little like a spy or at least a fly on the wall, watching the work on this film unfold. I am glad you enjoyed hearing about it.

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  3. Great experience! It will be a special moment when you will see the film next summer :)

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    1. Thanks Elsa, I really am looking forward to seeing the film in the very town that it was made.

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  4. Sally, The place where film was shot looks beautiful. I can not wait to see the film. Om Puri is a great Indian actor. I was a big fan growing up. Thanks for this little peek.

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    1. Sujata, I am so glad you enjoyed hearing about this. It was such a treat for me to be able to get to see these seasoned actors at work & all that went into the production. I was excited to be able to share it with all of you.

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  5. It's been interesting to view this process from your vantage point Sally. I heard Oprah talking about the film on the radio last week.This is definitely one to look out for!
    Thanks for sharing your journey and lovely photos.

    Ruby

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    1. Thanks Ruby, I wish I had heard Oprah talking about the film on the radio. I was so hoping I would get to see her this summer but it was not to be.

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  6. Thank you so much ; it's so amazing seeing our village in an american moovie...

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  7. How fabulous! I'll be very excited to see the movie whenever it makes it to small town Australia. I do wish they had chosen someone French for the lead, I think that was a mistake. Actually Kristen Scott Thomas would have been perfect. She lives in Paris and has what I consider impeccable French (well it's a hell of a lot better than mine), I'm sure she could do an accent.

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