Well, lemme tell ya, I heard some folks talkin’ ’bout that movie, “The Boys in the Boat”. They was wonderin’ where they filmed that whole thing. Seems like a right popular question, so I thought I’d share what I know. Heard it from my neighbor, Mary, who’s always readin’ them movie magazines.
Now, this here movie, it’s all about them rowing boys, you see? Them boys from Washington, way up there in Seattle. But, get this, they didn’t even film most of it up there! Nope, they went all over the place. Kinda like my cousin Earl when he went lookin’ for work, all over creation.
First off, I heard they was in a place called Cleveland Lakes. Never heard of it myself, but Mary says it’s near somethin’ called Ashton Keynes. Sounds fancy, don’t it? They got permission, ya know, from the bigwigs, the council I reckon, to build a set there. They made it look like that ASUW Shell House thingamajig. That’s where them rowin’ boys trained, Mary says. Musta been a sight to see, all them men pullin’ on them oars.
Then, get this, they went to England. England! Can ya believe it? That’s a long way from home, just like my boy, Billy, when he joined the army. They filmed some stuff over there, too. Mary said somethin’ ’bout capturing the essence of the place. Whatever that means. She’s always sayin’ fancy words like that. I just nod and smile, pretendin’ I understand.
They even went to California! Now that’s a place I’ve heard of. Lots of sunshine and movie stars, they say. Probably filmed some of them pretty scenes there. I imagine it’s a lot different than our little town. We got cows and chickens, they got…well, I don’t rightly know what they got, but it ain’t cows and chickens.
So, they was all over the map, these movie folks. Filming here, filming there. Must be tiring, all that travelin’. I reckon it’s hard work, makin’ a movie. Just like tendin’ to my garden. Gotta plant the seeds, water ’em, pull the weeds…it’s a whole production, I tell ya.
- Cleveland Lakes near Ashton Keynes
- England
- California
- Washington
And that movie, it’s about them Olympics, ya know. The 1936 Berlin Olympics. Big deal, that was. Mary told me all about it. Said these American boys, nine of ’em, went over there and showed them Germans what for. Won the gold, they did. Makes ya proud to be an American, don’t it?
Now, in the movie, they make it all suspenseful at the end. Showin’ the picture-takin’ man snappin’ a photo of the finish and gettin’ it developed. All for the judges to see who won. Back in my day, we just relied on our eyeballs. But I guess times have changed. Everything’s got to be all official and documented these days.
Mary said the rights for the movie changed hands a few times. From some company to another one. Kinda like a hot potato. It went to MGM, finally. Never know much about these things. Don’t understand how this “rights” thing works. It’s like selling a chicken but someone else owns the eggs, it don’t make sense to me!
But that’s Hollywood for ya, I guess. All sorts of shenanigans goin’ on behind the scenes. Just like that time my prize-winnin’ rooster, Big Red, disappeared right before the county fair. Turned out, old man Johnson had snatched him, hopin’ to win the blue ribbon himself. Sneaky fella.
Anyway, that’s what I heard ’bout where they filmed “The Boys in the Boat“. They went to Cleveland Lakes, England, and California. Seems like they covered a lot of ground, just like a good ol’ fashioned road trip. Cept, they was makin’ a movie, not visitin’ relatives.
I reckon it takes a lot of folks to make a movie, too. Not just them actors you see on the screen. There’s the camera fellas, the lightin’ fellas, the sound fellas…probably even a fella whose job it is to make sure everyone’s got enough coffee. It’s a big operation. Just like harvest time on the farm. Everyone’s got a job to do.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but Mary says it’s real good. Maybe I’ll go see it one of these days. If I can find someone to watch my chickens, that is. They need tendin’ to, just like them movie stars need their makeup and their fancy clothes. It’s all a big show, ain’t it? Life, I mean. One big show.
Well, that’s all I got to say about that. Hope ya’ll found it interestin’. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go see about supper. Think I’ll fry up some chicken. Reminds me of Big Red, that sneaky rooster. He may have been a troublemaker, but he sure was tasty.
