To Movie Location or Not To Movie Location, that is the question.
by pinkagendist
We’ve been approached by a production company because a film director wants to use Villa l’Africaine as a movie location. It’s great money considering we don’t have to do anything. The production company says they could bring us a lot of clients for photo shoots too… I think it would feel strange having people walking through my house; But, I suppose it’s a smart move to consider that as a business possibility.
I didn’t mention it because I was annoyed, but we received an offer last week, it was laughable. They wanted the house, the land and what is basically my life, and they asked for a discount of 933,000 euros. My life is not for sale at a discount. It’s not a discount, bargain basement life. I’ve spent over a decade perfecting this thing. I was very polite and didn’t say anything rude to the buyers about their offer. It wasn’t easy. It must be Mike’s influence. I have however spent much time considering what I would have said to them had I blown a fuse.
I’ve had fracking walls built with special recesses and lights for art. NO DISCOUNT.
Some things can not be bargained… period.
Absolutely! Did you bring us any peruvian recipes? Was there anything really wonderful you ate? I’m in the mood for something exotic
Nothing that I know how to make… LOVED the Chicharonnes (from post 1)…. all that ridiculously cooked pork makes me smile. It seems to me that your life is exotic enough for all of us Pink!
PS) oh how i’ve missed our repartee…
Chicharrones originated here where I live, Andalusia
Give me something else
There’s no way you eat Piranha where you are… that’s coming up in the Amazon section of the blog, but man oh man, DELICIOUS!
You’re right there… No piranhas for dinner. But I have been invited to dinner with bankers- isn’t that more or less the same thing?
Pretty much.
No, some things you don’t sell as a bargain offering. It is sort of strange why they would ask. Maybe they only see houses as investments, and see a lot of panicked sellers in Spain now and think that you’re one of those. They hope to make an investment so that when the market picks up again, they can make a profit. And they don’t see a home at all. I don’t know.
You’re on the mark ( no pun intended
). From reports in the Telegraph and the Daily Mail one would think people are giving homes away for free in Spain. If you add up all the headlines you probably get a negative number. House prices in Spain down by 50%, now another 40%, now 60%. Go to Spain and they’ll pay you hundreds of thousands of euros for you to own a house there + a free house!!!
And you’re right that they’re trying to make money, I didn’t take it too personally after someone we know told us the offer they received from the same couple was 1.1 million under asking price. They’re looking for someone who’s desperate, but the truth is that the really desperate people aren’t in this price bracket. If someone owns a home worth over a million, they’ve probably got some leverage and other investments. The people in real trouble are the middle class…
Hello dear, I know a bit about hiring out your home as a movie location… Your house will be highly trafficked, stuffed with lights, cables, camera equipment, things will be bumped and possibly broken. Please stipulate that your house will be returned to you in original condition, floors buffed, walls painted, damage repaired — film crews try to be very careful — just make sure you have everything clear with the location manager before you agree to have upwards of a hundred people in your house. Make sure you walk through the house and photograph everything prior to… It helps make everything very clear. Cheers and good luck
Thank you! Will do. Do they have special insurance for these things? Who pays for it? Do I have to be worried about paintings, rugs etc..?
Depending on what the shoot is, they’ll probably want to remove your artwork and hang their own since they’ll have the rights to it. Go through everything with the location manager, either they’ll roll up your rug, or if actors will be walking on it they’ll mark it as a “hot set” meaning the crew isn’t to touch it. If you rent it out to the shoot the film is financially responsible for any damages, but it wouldn’t hurt to contact your own insurer to see what their limitations are. I know, it sounds like a lot of trouble, but the fees they pay are very attractive. Oh, and a deposit check is a very common thing to ask for. Keep me posted, best, Vickie
I understand there are some Los Angelenos who make a living by renting out their various homes for movie shoots. The thing is, they don’t really live in these homes. I can’t even imagine it.
Personally, I’m with you. Hollywood promises you a set amount of money (doesn’t matter how much), then proceed to walk all over you and expect you to continue to smile.
You were absolutely right to say no, and good for you for holding your tongue as well!
You said you’ve received an offer but… are you actually thinking of selling that beautiful place????
Yep… we’re on the market. It’s much too big for two childless people. When we were very social it made sense, but I’m quite reclusive these days. We don’t do parties and big dinners and all that any more- apart from that, maintaining something this size takes a lot of time and work. Just keeping the glass doors on the ground floor clean with the dogs running around and pressing their noses to the glass is exhausting…
Ah, I see. So will you stay in the area or move to somewhere else entirely? I know my place will get to be too much for me at some point but for now I just can’t imagine living anywhere else.
The plan is to move permanently to France, to the Auvergne. I think the occasional big change in life is good to keep the mind going.
I stayed in the Perigeux area for a couple of months many, many years ago and I loved it so if the map is anything to go by the Auvergne should be amazing too. Colder than Spain though but I suspect a change of wardrobe won’t upset you too much
I LOVE Periguex, we considered it, but we want a smaller town. We’ve been looking at houses in a town called Moulins. It’s definitely colder than here. Today it’s going to be 37º C and scorching sun here in Sotogrande, while in Moulins it’s 24º and cloudy
I used to quite like the heat in my 20′s, now I kind of hate it. It’s debilitating. On the other hand I kind of miss snow in the winter. Mike says it’s grass is always greener syndrome, and he’s probably right. Every time I’ve lived in the cold I wanted heat and vice-versa; But from a financial perspective France makes more sense to us. I’d be on the London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna axis for auction houses and most of what I sell I source in France anyway…
At the moment I have to buy in France, have things shipped to Spain and then re-shipped to a buyer or auction house…
The little bit of Spain I’ve seen [Barcelona and suburbs] was lovely but if I were ever to leave Australia I’d live somewhere in the Perigord region. Not in Paris. Not in the north but right smack in the middle of all the food and cave paintings and glorious autumn countryside
I’m kind of envious Pinky. Maybe you could buy an old chateau and renovate it! Now there’s a challenge and a half. lol
Have you begun house hunting yet?
That’s exactly what I wanted to do, restore an old chateau- but Mike wants to take semi-retirement so our compromise is to buy an Hotel-Particulier (large townhouse) and restore that.
We’ve done more than househunting, we’ve found THE house we want, but we’re not buying it until we sell because for the first time since the crisis we’ve got a small financial reserve and we don’t want to be stressed as we had been for the past 4 years
Sounds lovely and maybe in time you can persuade Mike to go for that chateau
I agree re the stress. We all have enough of that already, no need to go adding more.
Hope you post some pics once it’s all settled. Won’t ask for any now because I’d hate to jinx things.
Having worked on films, I can tell you it probably won’t be worth it to you. You really need to think about it.
A major film will have an army tromping around your grounds, squashing your landscaping. In your home with their filthy fingers, possibly stealing, breaking things.
On the other hand, if the movie is major, that’s a selling point for your house. “This is the house they filmed GLADIATOR 2 in.” At least people in America love that sort of thing.
The film in question at the moment isn’t big big- it’s a French art film, but with a decent budget. We’ll know more in the coming days…
Just keep your eye on your furnishings, maybe a nanny cam in each room.
I would want to get a LOT of info before allowing them to film at your house…and where would you go, with the dogs, while they’re doing that? Stick to your guns on the selling price. Doesn’t sound like you are in a big rush to leave anyways, so you may as well wait it out and get what you think it’s worth.
We get to stay. They’d only use the tower and the pool area, and a moving shot from the pool to the tower and up the stairs.
I was in a hurry to leave… but I’m definitely not giving away something I spent so much of my time working on