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Volume CXXXIII, Number 2 |
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HBO to film Empire Falls scences at
Breckinridge Center
NOEL ROYCROFT
STAFF WRITER
Ten years after Mel Gibson brought his The Man Without A Face to film at Bowdoin, the College's Breckinridge Public Affairs Center in York will be featured in HBO's cinematic adaptation of Richard Russo's novel Empire Falls. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel deals with the relationships between wealthy and poor inhabitants of a small Maine town who are suffering after the demise of the local mill. Kennebunkport, Ogunquit, Waterville, Cape Porpoise, and Skowhegan will also be used as filming locations.
River House, the main building of the 25-acre Breckinridge estate, will be used to represent the Whiting Mansion, home of the character Mrs. Whiting. According to Bowdoin's Assistant Director of Communications Susan Danforth, the 25-room building was preferred as the perfect location over another site in southern Maine.
According to Danforth, Bowdoin is cooperating with the Maine Film Office by supplying them with photos of the campus and other college-owned sites. Production companies can then view and select photos. The production company selected Breckinridge as the site of the Whiting Mansion through photos that Bowdoin supplied to the Maine Film Office. This is not the first time Bowdoin has been courted by a production company-Mel Gibson's 1993 film The Man Without a Face featured Whittier Field.
The River House, built in 1905 and rebuilt 21 years later after being damaged by a fire, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house has remained virtually unchanged since the reconstruction. Former owner Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson donated River House to Bowdoin College in 1974. The house was originally built for Patterson's grandmother, the wife of tire businessman B. F. Goodrich. As a result of constant traveling Patterson felt that she was not able to spend enough time at the River House and donated it to Bowdoin College. However, Patterson still spent six weeks out of every summer at the River House until her death. The estate, which includes a swimming pool, cottage, and tennis courts, is now used for retreats, meetings, and classes. The swimming pool is also used by the citizens of York as a public swimming pool.
Some aspects of River House were altered in order to better represent the Whiting Mansion. According to Gail Berneike, caretaker of the house, the Green Room (the drawing room) had new drapes put up and several pieces of furniture were reupholstered. A gazebo will also be added on the edge of the tidal York River.
Filming is expected to take place at the River House over September and October, and according to Danforth, it should not disrupt the normal functions of Breckinridge in any way. Initial negotiations focused on not disrupting the normal schedule of meetings and retreats. If the shooting scheduling changes, a signed contract between both parties holds the production company responsible for compensating the Breckinridge Center.
The cast of the film includes Joanne Wood as Mrs. Whiting, Ed Harris
as lead character Miles Roby, Paul Newman as Roby's father, Helen Hunt
as Roby's separated wife, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Charlie Mayne.
Newman, who appeared in a previous Russo adaptation, 1994's Nobody's Fool,
is also the executive producer of the film.
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