The Romeo Observer - Romeo, Michigan: Northern Macomb County's weekly newspaper since 1866

Breaking News

CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
GERVASE KILEY	MARIAN SUTTON
ORLO KIRKUM	SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
Browse Full Text...

» Inside

Public Notices
Links
About Us
News Stands
Subscriptions
Editorial Forms
Archives

» Deadlines

Friday, 2 pm
Inserts

Friday, 5 pm
Retail Display
Editorial

Monday, Noon
Classified Display
Service Directory Display

Monday, 2 pm
Service Directory Liners

Monday, 3 pm
Classified Liners

All Holiday Deadlines are One Full Workday Earlier

Perfect Place »!center image lonnie.jpg
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ROMEO! Above, crew members prepare to shoot a scene for the film "Leonie!", which is based in 19th century France. Below, Diane Jesmore sits in the parlor of her 1877 Second Empire French-style home, which now doubles as a set for the next three weeks.

(Observer photos by Chris Gray)

Film producers find
perfect 'set' in Romeo

1800s home close match to
what could be found in France

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      An historic home in Romeo will serve as the set of a major motion film.
       Over the next three weeks, a Shelby Township-based production company has taken over an 1877 home on Sisson Street to shoot scenes for the full-length feature film "Leonie!"

Aside from the cameras, bright white lights, extension cords and microphones, one would think they stepped into a time portal when crossing the 19th century home's threshold, which features a large piano, multiple ticking clocks and Victorian furniture.
       The home needed little tweaking to make it look authentic, said Director Joe Maher. He said the home is as close of a match they could've found for a movie set in France during the 1800s without actually going to the country.
       "As soon as I got here I said `this is it, this is the place,'" Maher said. "They've done a phenomenal job bringing the house back to the late 1800s."
       He said his location scouts were told to check the area while his executive producer's scouts spoke with the Romeo Historical Society. The society's president, Sue Kane, pointed them in the direction of the French Second Empire-style home.
       "This gives us a great chance to do something that isn't on a huge scale, a good starting point to get our feet wet in the film industry," said Kane. "It shows we're willing to work with people that are coming to town."
       Ron and Diane Jesmore, owners of the home for 23 years, said they were approached and asked if the production could basically take over the otherwise quiet house for the next three weeks.
       "They convinced me I wanted to do this, they're very persuasive," Diane said with a laugh. "They were very open with how this whole thing would be."
       She said having her house featured in the film is exciting, as well as a good showcasing of the unique historic nature of Romeo.
       "We believe that the only way these houses will survive is by people loving them and understanding them and seeing their uniqueness, so we're always pleased to foster that understanding," she said.
       Just over a third of the movie is scheduled to be filmed in Romeo. The rest is expected to be filmed at a monastery in Toledo, Ohio.
       Maher worked in the production industry for 15 years in Beverly Hills before moving back to Michigan in 1999. This will be his first major film since returning.
       Of course, it doesn't hurt that the production can take advantage of Michigan's tax incentives for filmmakers, with productions getting back 40 percent of what they spend.
       "We'll take advantage of all the tax incentives, but we already made a commitment to Romeo," he said. "Even if we didn't have the tax incentives we still would've come here."
       "Leonie!" focuses on the life of Leonie Martin, the older sister of St. Therese of Lisieux in Alecon, France. Leonie was considered a problem child: A slow learner, solitary, and rebellious. Through her life, though, she begins to understand herself and gains the friendship and support of her sister, Therese, in becoming a nun.
       "I call it the ultimate chick-flick, because there's only a couple of guys in the movie," he said.
       At first, the film was set to be a documentary, but Maher decided the emotional issues of dealing with the struggles of a problem child and her family was worthy of a feature film.
       "It's a story about parents who have to deal with a difficult child, which virtually every parent can relate to, and every child who has been a difficult child or the sibling of a child, so it's very experiential," he said. "With a feature film, you become part of the family, part of the situation."
       The 90-minute long film is expected to be released in the summer of 2010 all over the country.
       "We're looking for some distributors, but we already have a couple that are pretty interested," said Maher.
       ~