From Staff Reports 

HENDERSONVILLE — Hallmark is filming a new movie set primarily at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, but a landmark in neighboring Hendersonville will be featured in the film alongside the historic Biltmore House.

On Jan. 27, Maple Street will be closed from 8 a.m, to 6 p.m. to allow for filming in front of the Historic Train Depot, according to a special event application approved by Hendersonville City Council in its consent agenda on Jan. 5. 

Seventh Avenue and sidewalks will also be closed intermittently during filming, which is estimated to be only two or three minutes at a time, according to the application.

The Hallmark Christmas film, “A Biltmore Christmas,” will be released in November.

“The scenes take place in the 1940s era, which will require us to make sure there are no modern vehicles,” the application stated. 

“We would like to film these streets on the sidewalk in front of the railroad depot, as well as the parking lot to the north of the depot.”

“Each year, we look for ways to create exciting, new holiday viewing experiences for our audience,” Samantha DiPippo, a senior vice president of Hallmark Media, said in a news release.

“We know fans will love being transported back in time and the iconic, beautiful Biltmore Estate is the perfect setting to help fans get into the holiday spirit.”

The film, which will star Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Poloha, follows Lucy Collins (Lenz), a screenwriter, who lands the job of a lifetime when she’s hired to write the script for a remake of a fictional Christmas classic filmed at the Biltmore House in 1947.

As Christmas approaches, Lucy travels to the historic home for research. On a guided tour of the grounds, she accidentally knocks over an hourglass and is transported back in time to Biltmore as cast and crew are preparing to film “His Merry Bride!” (First filmed in 1947 at the Biltmore House, “His Merry Bride!” had long been “a beloved holiday movie,” according to the script.)

The story follows Lucy as she navigates life in the 1940s and catches the eye of the film’s leading man, Jack Huston (Poloha) before needing some Christmas magic to save the love story.

The Hendersonville Lightning noted in a story in its Jan. 11 edition that, “two weeks from now, the 1902 depot will be bustling with crowds in a way it has not commonly been since passenger trains arrived decades ago.

“A crew of about 70 people will be on hand — and 30 extras will be in the scene.”

 Further, the Lightning quoted Hendersonville Downtown Manager Jamie Carpenter as saying that “they’ll be filming just the exterior of the depot and then doing a lot of things in post-production, as far as making it look like it was from the 1940s.

“We’ve encouraged them and they’ve included in their application that they would go to local businesses and support them with their crews. So I’m sure some of those businesses, especially bakeries, Daddy D’s, the coffee shop and everything, will be pretty busy with about a hundred extra people right there that day.

“We’re excited to see it and excited to have our depot the backdrop of a movie here in town and we’re looking forward to seeing when the movie comes out,” Carpenter told the Lightning.

What’s more, the Lightning also reported that in the application for the street closing, John Sallee of the movie production company said that “the crew would be staying at hotel rooms and renting equipment locally during their stay.”

The Lightning then quoted Sallee as saying, “In Hendersonville, specifically, we are hiring local actors as possible, spending money locally on the day of the filming for food and other services and will be hiring police officers for the day of the filming.”