Produced by Greystone Films, an 18-minute feature, is being shot and produced at Mount Vernon.
Posted on 05/19/2006 6:12:01 PM PDT by Pharmboy
Produced by Greystone Films, an 18-minute feature, is being shot and produced at Mount Vernon.
Waiting in the wings for the command of 'action,' crew members aim fans at the actors
in order to introduce fake snow onto the set to replicate the weather when the troops crossed
the Delaware River.
In the role of Continental Army soldiers about to cross the Delaware River during
the Revolutionary War, actors wait on the set between takes as grips and crew members adjust lighting.
The film will be shown to visitors in the new Ford Orientation Center.
In the role of George Washington, Sebastian Roche has his costume and makeup
adjusted prior to filming a scene in which he leads the Continental Army across the Delaware River.
MOUNT VERNON--It was a warm, sunny spring day at Mount Vernon.
But it was snowing.
And George Washington was gravely contemplating crossing the Delaware. And striding away purposefully. And gravely contemplating. And striding away purposefully. And gravely contemplating. And striding away purposefully, fake flakes dusting his broad shoulders.
A production company was rehearsing a scene for an 18-minute film to be a focal point of the new $100 million orientation center and museum to open Oct. 27 at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens in eastern Fairfax County.
Mount Vernon wants to change the Father of Our Country's image from dour to dashing. They want to help young people relate to Washington.
It's billing the short film as "a mini-epic [that] will reintroduce visitors to the charismatic American hero."
The $5.2 million movie is being filmed primarily around Mount Vernon, with shooting to be completed today.
There tall, chiseled actor Sebastian Roche is endeavoring to show the world the Washington who historians say made women sigh and enemies tremble. Replacing the anything-but-sexy older man whose false teeth are bothering him on the dollar bill.
As he waited to film a scene in which George and Martha Washington meet, Roche talked about the challenge of playing a mythic and complicated figure who was both charismatic and reserved--and trying to change deeply held perceptions about an American icon in a matter of minutes.
Producer Craig Haffner said the film will portray George and wife, Martha, as "a couple who had chemistry."
It was an arranged marriage, Roche said, but "when she saw this 6-foot-2 hero, it must've been love at first sight."
Haffner characterized Washington as "a warm human being" whose "majestic" bearing is now incorrectly interpreted by many as cold aloofness.
James Rees, Mount Vernon's executive director, said the film will portray the real George Washington, whom he called "the 18th century's greatest action hero." The image-changing effort could make Washington "a new kind of American Idol."
Rees said he wants to wipe the slate clean of Washington's "old and stiff" dollar bill image.
As entrenched as that grandfatherly dollar bill image is in the American psyche, Mount Vernon and the filmmakers are confident they will succeed.
Emily Coleman Dibella, a Mount Vernon spokeswoman, said the film is to feature the risky crossing of the Delaware at Trenton on a wooden raft, a turning point during the Revolutionary War at Christmastime in 1776, and include flashbacks to the "brash and daring young soldier" who at 23 survived brushes with death during the French and Indian War.
As Washington and his fatigued, outnumbered men cross a frigid Delaware, there will be a "tender" flashback to his introduction to the young widow Martha Dandridge Custis, that will reveal his "flirtatious charm," Dibella said. Martha is played by Caroline Goodall, who has appeared in the films "Schindler's List," "Hook," and "The Princess Diaries."
The big-screen short is produced by Greystone Films, which has done programs for the Arts & Entertainment Network, The History Channel, CBS, NBC and ABC.
It will be shown almost continually in two theaters seating a total of 450 at Mount Vernon's new Ford Orientation Center. "Wheel of Fortune's" Pat Sajak will narrate a brief introduction to the film, appearing in Colonial garb in an introduction to the film, Rees said.
No portraits exist depicting a Washington younger than age 40, so Mount Vernon launched an ambitious scientific, historical and artistic project to create three accurate life-size models of Washington as a 19-year-old surveyor, a 45-year-old general and a 57-year-old president.
The models will be on display in the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center, which is to open with the Ford Orientation Center.
Roche, a Brit who was born in Paris of Scottish and French parents, is Americanizing his speech for the role, although some historians believe that the Virginia aristocracy of the time spoke with an accent that may have been close to his.
Ziad Ojakli, group vice president, corporate affairs, at Ford Motor Co., which has contributed millions for the center and the movie, called the film "a tool that will encourage exploration" of history.
Washington was born in Westmoreland County, grew up at Ferry Farm in Stafford County and spent his adult life at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac River south of what became Washington, D.C.
Roche, who has had classical theater background in "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" and had roles in television shows including "Alias," "CSI," "Law & Order" and "Charmed," said the fact that the film is brief isn't making him feel he has aggrandize his performance in order to make an impact on audiences.
"Eighteen minutes and two hours are the same if you do your job as an actor--if you make it real," Roche said.
If the film, which Rees said he hopes will protect Washington's legacy, succeeds it could have implications for the way history is presented.
Rees didn't say if Mount Vernon has future ambitions to replace the "old and stiff" Washington on the dollar bill with a computer-generated stud-muffin.
I went to see The Patriot when it opened along with several Freepers, one of whom is a reenactor and also expert in the uniforms of the time. He said that they were pretty much perfect in the film, other than the uniforms that Tavington's (Tarleton's) dragoons wore. Their jackets were actually green during the Revolution, but the writer and director believed that the audience would be confused if the Brit's side were not "redcoats," so they changed them to red.
"IN 1799, ON THE EVE OF A NEW CENTURY, George Washington died at his beloved Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. Over the next five decades the proud and stately mansion passed to a succession of familial owners for whom the financial responsibilities of upkeep were overwhelming.
By 1853, after failed attempts by Washington’s great-great nephew John A. Washington to sell the estate to the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, the property had fallen into a state of severe DISREPAIR.
IN THAT YEAR, South Carolinian Ann Pamela Cunningham founded the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, and began an unprecedented national campaign to purchase Mount Vernon and preserve it as an icon of American history. The effort came to be regarded as the birth of the historic preservation movement in America. The Association garnered the support of important political, financial, and intellectual leaders, and was able to take possession of Washington's home in 1860.
WITH THE ESTATE IN POOR PHYSICAL CONDITION and nearly devoid of Washington family possessions, the Ladies organized themselves into committees to restore the mansion and grounds. The result was efficient grassroots fundraising, effective public relations, and a heightened awareness of the importance of historic preservation.
The Ladies’ ability to raise an astonishing amount of money to buy and restore Washington’s home inspired women across the country, and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association became a model for other organizations that came into existence in the 19th century as the historic preservation movement gained momentum."
http://www.nbm.org/Exhibits/current/Mount_Vernon.html
Early accounts say that George was about 6'3" and 195lbs and was "very atheletic" (robust) in his youth, he was in his late 30's early 40's during the revolution. If you can't get a person with the same features you've lost the look...
Most Virgninians were taller and bigger, because of the hardy "stock" :)
You could tell the Virginian regiments aside from the others because of the size of the guys...
You aren't a thread counter are you?
The George Washington we all know is larger than life, an icon of mythic proportions. But before becoming "Father" of his country, he was a soldier. This unique, in-depth portrait of the Washington we don't always think about begins in 1753, when the 21-year-old obtained an officer's commission in the Virginia militia. While serving alongside British regulars, did brash and sometimes reckless decisions help ignite the French and Indian War? Washington retired from the militia in 1758, but continued to hone his leadership skills. Managing his vast Mount Vernon estate required many of the same talents as commanding soldiers in the field. When America declared independence, Washington was the consensus choice to lead the Continental Army. This is the epic story of Washington's journey to greatness--propelled by intense, often painful, transformation. The man who emerged was a warrior of the purest sort...a man who preferred liberty to power and justice to glory.
Montecito, CA is where Oprah lives sometimes. I hear she has some pretty impressive halls and statues too. ;)
I am sure Monticello would envy Oprah's wealth. All places like Monticello, Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, Museum of the Confederacy [Richmond, VA] are in great need of infusions of money [donations] and paying tourists.
I went to Mount Vernon a couple years ago and took the tour. The feeling of history was awsome. Next time I'm that area, I'm planning on going to Monticello.
I look forward to watching this tomorrow night.
The General is my Senior senior rater -- as he is of us all, unto this day.
Mount Vernon is, indeed, aweseome and we have been there many times. Washington's inclinations were those of the mother country. His taste was traditional and English. That is reflected in his home. It epitomizes America and the colonial traditions of Tidewater Virginia.
Jefferson's inclinations were for change from the traditional, such as abolition of primogeniture, and his taste was more exotic and foreign ... French. Monticello is not traditional and was located far from Tidewater. It was a disappointment and we never went back.
Chacun a son gout ... to each his own. One has only to look at voting patterns of the delegates to the Virginia Convention of 1787 [to ratify the Constitution] to comprehend the great disparity of thought between traditional Tidewater and the more rustic Piedmont.
If you are a great admirer of Jefferson you may be awestruck by his home ... which is certainly worth seeing and preserving. The setting is very pretty but lacks the grandeur of Mount Vernon's site on the Potomac.
If it were my choice I would return to Mount Vernon. One visit to Mount Vernon is not enough. If there is any possible way, you should go again.
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