Soft light on an evening on Bellevue Avenue...

Yes, we really did return to Eileen's mansion for one last shoot, the evening of Tuesday, June 29. We had some additional scans provided to us by Eileen's daughter Beryl Slocum Powell, which production assistant Brenda Rourke handles; a sound-recording of Patricia Painter, the diarist voice of Eileen, which musician/soundman Lonnie Montaquila oversaw; and an on-camera interview of granddaughter Phyllis Trevor Higgerson, which Dave and I conducted. That's Phyllis, back to camera, and me in the distance, in this photo by Dave.
Phyliss beautifully narrated an important era in her grandmother's life: her coming of age in 1930s New York City society; her engagement to richest-bachelor-in-the-world John Jacob Astor VI, whose mother was pregnant when she survived the sinking of the Titanic (the second Titanic story in the film, by the way); and the eventual meeting and marriage of Eileen and her husband John.

Final, final, we keep saying final...

And obviously, we don't quite mean it. I was in Newport last evening to scan some great vintage photos in the personal archives of Betty "Boop" Blake, now 94, and as charming and delightful as ever -- and what a memory. She shared some shots of Bailey's, the Glamour Girls, Palm Beach, Southampton and more that we would never find anywhere else. She will be our guest of honor at the
Newport premiere, 2 p.m. August 14 at Salve Regina University.
And very early this morning, Dave and I were at Brown University for some exteriors to illustrate Eileen's Brown family ancestry.
And, yes, we have at least one more trip to Newport... this is the price of being two perfectionists.

HEDGEROW approaches...

With the premiere now less than two months away, we are intensely editing. I spent a couple of hours today with Dave, pictured here, in the studio helping refine the opening sequence, Folks, it's starting to look kick-ass.
Information about the 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10 world premiere at Vets Auditorium in Providence can be found through this ticket link, and as always, more is at the official movie site.
And please join the Facebook World Premiere events page. There will also be a Newport premiere at 2 p.m., Aug. 14, Bazarsky Lecture Hall, Salve Regina University.

Newport venue changed

We are moving the Newport premiere to Salve Regina University. But nothing else has changed! Hope to see you at one (or both) of the premieres:

The Providence premiere will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10, at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence, R.I., 02903. The Newport opener will be 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14, in Bazarsky Hall, O'Hare Academic Building, Salve Regina University, 100 Ochre Point Ave., Newport

Ticket information is available at the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival, and at the HEDGEROW site.

World Premiere tickets on sale now!

Order your tickets now for the world premiere, 7 p.m., August 10, 2010, with VIP soiree to follow, at beautiful Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Providence, in the shadow of the State House.

Very Final Shoot (?)

We had a crew in Newport for part of the afternoon, shooting a few more interiors at 459 Bellevue, and several exteriors, including Ochre Court, the main administration building for Salve Regina University, which has been enormously helpful to us. These are establishing shots that will find good use at the opening to the film, as we bring you past some Gilded Age landmarks into the private world of Newport Society.
This is Dave, shooting Ochre Court, which was a private mansion before the school. If you look at the chimney, you can see a sundial -- and it told the correct time!
The lighting in this is stunning, and can only be better in HD.
Thanks to Salve for their generous permission to shoot on their property.

Premieres set!

NEWPORT DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES SET

May 13, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– BEHIND THE HEDGEROW: Eileen Slocum and the Meaning of Newport Society, the exclusive and first-ever movie about the secret world of old-money aristocratic Newport, will have its world premiere as the feature event of the opening night of the 2010 FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival on Aug. 10 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, it was announced today.

Its official Newport premiere will be Aug. 14 at Bazarsky Hall, Salve Regina University, in the City by the Sea. Both screenings will be followed by receptions –– with the Newport reception, “a Gilded Age tea party,” hosted by members of the late Eileen Gillespie Slocum’s family.

“We are honored to have these two prestigious venues to launch HEDGEROW, a documentary that provides a unique look at a one-of-a-kind woman who ruled atop a unique class at an extraordinary period of American history,” said writer/producer G. Wayne Miller. 

“The screening of this special motion picture promises to be the must-attend event of the summer,” added George T. Marshall, RIIFF Executive Director and executive producer of the film. “The screening also marks the return of Flickers to its home base of Newport, where it began 29 years ago. We could not be more delighted to bring summertime viewing back to the City by the Sea.”

Part history, part contemporary look, HEDGEROW is told through the focus of Slocum, Newport’s last grand dame, who died in the summer of 2008. Slocum’s family has granted the filmmakers exclusive access to her archives and private Bellevue Avenue estate, where much of the film was shot over the last year. The film is currently in post-production.

The Providence premiere will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 10, at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence, R.I., 02903. The Newport opener will be 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14, in Bazarsky Hall, O'Hare Academic Building, Salve Regina University, 100 Ochre Point Ave., Newport

Ticket information is available at the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival, and at the HEDGEROW site.

BEHIND THE HEDGEROW is the second title from Eagle Peak Media, the production company founded in 2008 by Miller and Bettencourt. ON THE LAKE, its first title, premiered in February 2009 to critical acclaim. PBS broadcasts in major national markets began in March 2009 and continue today. ON THE LAKE has been nominated for an Emmy by the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Awards will be presented May 22 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., home of the New England Patriots

For news, links to the HEDGEROW blog and Facebook page, and more, visit www.BehindTheHedgerow.com


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