Hometown Hollywood: Small Kentucky town becoming movie-making mecca

By Christopher Harris

CNHI NEWS SERVICE

It’s no secret that tourism is big business in Pulaski County. From the summertime allure of Lake Cumberland to events like the recent Somernites Cruise and July’s Master Musicians Festival, those who come to this community from somewhere else help support those who call it home.

Now, in addition to the Ohio Navy, Pulaski can count on another entity to contribute to the local economy: Hollywood.

While it’s been exciting for local citizens to know that their hometown is getting the big-time treatment, it’s just as invigorating for area tourism officials to see what the attention is doing for their own efforts.

“I think it’s been a tremendous impact, economically but also socially,” said Leslie Ikerd, City of Somerset director of tourism. “It’s been something that’s brought our community members together; they’re excited about something new that we’ve really not been a part of here before. So I think it’s just another one of those things that show what a great community we have, and we’re experiencing that now through a different lens.”

A different lens indeed — six of them, in fact. That’s the number of productions that veteran TV movie producer Danny Roth talked about doing here in Somerset with Ikerd and others. The first was “Christmas at the Amish Bakery,” which wrapped up filming toward the beginning of April and most recently, crews have been filming “Sparks,” a romantic comedy set in the world of car culture. It finished up last week, and the third movie will start filming in May — believed to be called “Night Lily,” another rom-com.

It’s not like the company signed a contract to film six productions, likely to be aired on Lifetime or affiliated channels, with the local entities, noted Ikerd — it was just a verbal agreement, and grows out of the interest Roth had in the area when Ikerd first let him see what Pulaski County had to offer.

“The visit he made with (Michelle Allen, executive director of the Somerset-Pulaski County Convention & Visitors Bureau) and myself, we had about an hour with him to give a tour of everything that we thought would, asset-wise, would be what we thought was the best of our community,” Ikerd said. “... After an hour, he went back home. When he came back at the end of January, he was ready to start filming. It moved very quickly.”

Said Allen, “When they first came, Leslie and I took the producer around the entire community and pointed out spots, ‘You gotta go here’ or ‘If you want the lake, come here to Lee’s Ford, it would be a great backdrop if you need it to.’ We showed them around to say, ‘Look at all the opportunities,’ before they even decided that they were for sure coming to Somerset.

“We knew they were thinking about a couple (of projects),” she added, “and then when it worked out so well and they had so many people that were volunteering to help, they said, ‘Hey, we’re going to stay even longer and make more.’” Allen noted how the arrival of everyone involved with the production has made a substantial economic impact on the area — not unlike any other aspect of Pulaski County tourism that brings in visitors.

“The crew is staying here, they’re using locals for a lot of things that are being paid, they’re staying either in hotels or in cabins, they’re eating with us, they’re getting fuel,” Allen said. “That’s the main purpose of trying to get movies to be produced and made in your community, is that they leave something behind for that community.”

The lodging sought by the producers is not just for the crew — it’s for the screen as well.

“He really liked to see residential areas,” Ikerd said. “... It’s probably been the most difficult to try to rent people’s personal homes. So I tried to transition him to switching over to Airbnbs, and it’s gone really well. That’s something they can still rent, and that helps our local homeowner who owns those rental properties, but it also has a house that’s already set.

“That’s again where we go back to the economic impact,” she continued. “You’re helping the locals out in different ways.”

Ikerd was particularly proud that “Sparks” was able to film in front of the “I Love Somerset” mural on the side of the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce office. She’s also been impressed by the interest of individuals in appearing in the productions, even just as faces in the background.

“At first, it supposed to be kind of hush-hush until they got through the first one, and towards the end they needed extras, and I was like, ‘You’re going to have to let me share this because if the community knows, they will want to be a part of it,’” she said. “I think the first one towards the end, they had 100 or so (extras), and this last one, when went ahead early on and put out the call for extras, within a day or two they said they had 300 people. That’s incredible.”

LEFT: Crews were downtown filming in front of the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce building’s mural on Central Avenue for ‘Sparks,’ the second of six television movies scheduled to shot in Somerset. RIGHT: Haney’s Appledale Farm in Nancy served as the setting for ‘Christmas at the Amish Bakery.’

Contributed photos