Hometown Hollywood: How the film industry's interest in Pulaski is helping the community
Apr. 22—It's no secret that tourism is big business in Pulaski County. From the summertime allure of Lake Cumberland to events like this weekend's 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 the month and most recently, crews have been filming "Sparks," a romantic comedy set in the world of car culture. It finished up this week, and the third movie will start filming in May — believed to be called "Night Lily," another romcom.
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," said Ikerd. "... 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.'"
They've been staying in contact, said Ikerd. She serves as a contact reference and Roth often reaches out, she noted, while Allen gave Ikerd credit for being the one to make the relationships with the producers — "When they've got a phone call or a question, that's who they're calling," she said. "She's setting them up for whatever they need."
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," said Allen. "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," said Ikerd. "... 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 last Sunday, "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,'" said Ikerd. "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."
People aren't the only ones getting glimpsed on screen though. Consider Haney's Appledale Farm in the Nancy area. It's been a local agribusiness institution for generations here in this area, well-known by almost everyone who lives in Pulaski, it seems. But thanks to the "Amish Bakery" film, Haney's became a set for a story that will play out on TV screens seen all over America.
"It's really neat," said Ikerd. "When we first started scouting as they were unfolding what the movie was about, immediately Haney's came to mind. ... Everything that I would suggest, we had to turn in for the producer and the director and the lighting director and production to then go check those places out. They obviously had things in mind when they wrote (the script).
"Basically it was 'An Amish Christmas,' and after going to Haney's they fell in love it it, and they changed the name of the movie to 'Christmas at the Amish Bakery,' because that was kind of the foundation of what they wanted that movie to be about," she added.
A recent article addressing the projects in the Lexington Herald Leader has only served to put the spotlight on what Pulaski County offers even within the borders of the Bluegrass — and beyond.
"I've had different media sources reach out over the last month since we released the first press release (about movies filming here); since I've been here for 10 years in tourism, I haven't seen that big of an interest," said Ikerd. "I've had a lot of TV outlets wanting to do follow-up stories. When the new film incentives, it really has got a spotlight on Kentucky.
"A lot of people have used Georgia (to film projects) for so many years," she added. "Kentucky has really diverse topography like Georgia does — the state of Kentucky, from eastern to western and everything in the middle, you're going to see every type of landscape. So it's a state that's primed and ready ... (and) more communities want to be involved. I've reached out to other tourism offices, and if we're not able to meet (a production's) needs and what they're looking for ... we can reach out to them and get them plugged in. So it also helps our region, not just Somerset."
Allen said that the incentives — up to $75 million in tax credits annually, or $10 million per project — have been "one of the best things that has been brought back to the state for tourism" because it means they don't have to spend as much money as they would in California, where most of the industry is located.
But while Kentucky might have had some incentives for filmmakers in the past before previous state administrations — the program began in 2015 and was discontinued three years later — prompting tourism professionals in Kentucky to lobby to have film companies come to this area with the Kentucky Film Association, what the region is seeing now is seemingly much more active now than it was before.
"Not at all," said Allen when asked if the area was seeing this kind of interest in the past. "A lot of it is because the focus has been leaving California. The focus has bene trying to find more opportunities, better backgrounds, your nice home towns. Plus, the southern hospitality, you just can't beat it!"
As a tourism professional, does the increased attention on this area make it easier to do the job of promoting what it has to offer?
"Heck yeah," said Allen. "For one thing, it doesn't come out of my budget. It's free advertising. It's longevity too. Not only are we getting the marketing for it now, you're going to get the marketing for it when the movies actually come out too. It's a long way to be able to say, 'Hey, don't forget we've got these movies now. They're coming out.' It's wonderful for us, and how exciting it i for our community, just to know people like us and they want to be here and they want to show off what we have in our town."
Whether or not Somerset remains a mini-Hollywood on Lake Cumberland remains to be seen, but those charged with putting the area's best foot forward like Allen and Ikerd are staying alert for additional opportunities in the future — it's just one more tool in the toolbox for fueling the economic engine that drives the area forward.
"It's a great opportunity that's come to us because of somebody that knows somebody that somebody, and once you grab onto that opportunity and run with it, every phone call you take is just as important one because you never know who that person is going to be," said Allen. "It has been wonderful for us, but the important thing is not just the movie and that people can see what Somerset looks like, the important part is the economic impact that they're leaving behind."
