So! You wannabe in the movies? Well, perhaps not you personally, but what about the bricks and mortar surrounding all that you hold precious - in other words, your house? Even if you don't qualify for a starring role in the world's latest blockbuster, there's always the possibility your home might.
Aside from the stately homes and castles that you would expect to see appearing in the movies, an "ordinary" house rates up there with the best of them as long as it can reflect an authentic lifestyle when the location manager comes to town.
Take productions such as Saving Private Ryan starring Tom Hanks, Far and Away starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Dancing at Lughnasa starring Meryl Streep, The Mammy starring Angelica Huston and, more recently, About Adam, Gerry Stembridge's romantic comedy. All have relied heavily on a good Irish locations in houses that range from rundown country cottages to castles.
Well-known Dublin-born organist Peter Sweeney, whose Rathmines home was used as a location for the recently released About Adam, recalls "at one stage I counted up to 15 people in the room when the crew came to see if our house would be a suitable location".
A company in Bray called Leinster Locations had put Sweeney's house on its books after it won the prestigious Architectural Design Award in 1998, and it was from there that the initial contact was made. Prior to any agreement once the choice was made, there were several visits by About Adam's location manager, Kieran Hennessy, whose job it was to convince Peter and his partner Helen Roycroft that their home would be treated with the utmost care and returned to them intact once filming had finished.
Acting on strong advice from Hennessy, a contract was drawn up to insure the house for up to £500,000 (€634.870) against any damages that might arise and the deal was done.
"We had to be out by 7 a.m. and not return until at least 11.30 p.m. during the time they were filming," says Sweeney, "so in effect when I finished work, I was then obliged to eat out with a friend, maybe catch a movie, meet Helen for a drink and then find it was still only half past six! There was that sinking feeling when I felt acutely that I had nowhere to go. I never realised how much I liked my house until I was forced to stay out of it."
With all the options available in the city centre, oddly enough it was Sweeney's Rathmines mews home that was chosen to replicate an apartment in Temple Bar. Huge negatives placed in all the windows of his home showed a city streetscape, complete with views over the River Liffey. Although it is common to change the colour scheme to suit a particular production, little was changed, other than converting the living area into a bedroom for the famous love scenes in the film.
It took two days to prepare for filming, another day to prep the place and then the stars arrived and worked intensively from dawn to dusk. It was all over in less than a week and the reinstatement clause kicked in, which means once filming is over your property should be 100 per cent back to normal. "The whole process took about two months from beginning to end, much of it taken up in discussion," says Sweeney. "But it all became worthwhile when, audibly over the hushed cinema audience, an awe-struck voice exclaimed: `Wow, what a pad'."
Location managers usually work on a freelance basis, but years of experience translates to an invaluable database of people willing to offer their homes in some of the best or most unlikely spots in Ireland. Naoise Barry has worked as a location manager for films and commercials for the past six years. "The brief I get is very specific. I may have exactly what they're looking for because part of what a location manager has to offer is knowledge of what's out there. Alternatively, I do cold calling - in other words, door knocking when I spot a house which meets the brief," he says.
"Featuring in a movie is not everyone's idea of fun; some people are very protective of their home, while others think it's very sexy," Barry warns. "Sometimes people don't understand why their house isn't suitable. Sound is often an issue - a house on a main street with a flow of traffic would create a sound problem during recording, for example."
Payments to homeowners vary greatly depending on the time spent filming and the exclusivity of the location.
"In general if you were to film in a family home, they could expect to receive in the region of £750 to £1000 (€952 to €1270) a day, but this is negotiable depending on how keen the production company is to secure the property. However, it's a two-edged sword - there is an element of inconvenience that you simply have to bear and the recompense may not be worth it," he cautions. "It's by no means a get rich quick process."
Contact list
SIPTU 01 874 9731
Naoise Barry 086 813 7989
Northern Ireland Film Commission 04890 232 444
Ardmore Studios 01 286 2971
