When actor Kevin Spacey set out for Trinity, Newfoundland to shoot his next film, The Shipping News, a $29 million film adaptation of E. Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, he brought five security guards. By the end of the week, he sent four of them back stateside. Seems Spacey could walk through the small town of Trinity, population 200, relatively unscathed by press or obsessive fans. Director Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat) told Reuters he picked Trinity for the film’s location because “it feels like the last untouched part of the world.” John Fisher, who owns Fisher’s Loft Inn, said his guests were “extraordinarily good at being ordinary people”–even Spacey returned his dishes to the kitchen. Fisher believes the production will leave more than $6.5 million in Newfoundland, the poorest of Canada’s 10 provinces.
According to Reuters, production designer David Gropman told a tourist-industry meeting that working in Newfoundland has been “the most fabulous, wonderful and enriching experience for all of us. Everyone has been incredibly wonderful and accommodating. I have been so impressed with everyone’s wit, wisdom and grace.” Maybe Spacey has found his perfect vacation spot.
