Asheville é paradinha, mas de vez em quando...

Fiquei sabendo hoje que Presidente Obama vai chegar em Asheville amanhã, isto é, vai chegar amanhã e passar o final de semana no hotel Grove Park Inn, o melhor da cidade, perto da Biltmore House, que fica no lado sul, onde eu moro. Vem pra descansar e se divertir. Thomas ficou sabendo pq a empresa onde ele trabalha está realizando reformas neste hotel e amanhã ninguém irá da empresa irá trabalhar por conta da chega da família do presidente. Não sabemos ainda se ele atenderá a algum evento, Thomas vai se informar melhor sobre isso. Engraçado que na semana passada houve um evento em um cinema que fica exatamente ao nosso lado - nosso vizinho, e nós não sabíamos. Ficamos desconfiados quando vimos vários carros estacionados no local, muito mais que o normal, até em lugares proibidos e quando checamos, era um evento sobre filmes de ação. Chuck Norris esteve lá, também mais dois ou três atores, o barulho estava horrível, um homem gritando no microfone e junte-se a isso demonstrações de explosões, de incêndio...gente pulando de paraquedas..foi uma festa, acho eu. Estava tão cansada, tinha tomado remédio pra alergia, só queria me deitar...nem o barulho me atrapalhou, hehehe.
Bom, apesar de ser uma cidade razoavelmente pequena, Asheville de vez em quando é destaque em alguma coisa. Lista de alguns filmes que foram feitos aqui:

Last of the Mohicans - (A trilha nas montanhas é incrivelmente bonita)
Based on the novel by James Fennimore Cooper, Western North Carolina became 18th century upstate New York. With Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role, this movie, widely-known for its stunning scenery, was shot exclusively in the mountains around Asheville. Chimney Rock Park, a private park just southeast of the city, was showcased during the film and continues to receive calls whenever the movie is shown on television.

Dirty Dancing - (Lake Lure tem uma praia falsa, com areia e tudo, ;-)
Past Chimney Rock is Lake Lure, where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey starred in this 1980s hit that started a dancing craze. The view of the lake and surrounding mountains is majestic. Dirty Dancing Festival.

Hannibal
Biltmore Estate was chosen as one of several locations for this film. Hannibal cast and crew also filmed in the venerable Florence, Italy. The magnetic and horrifying character of Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, resurfaces after his escape in "Silence of the Lambs," the movie that precedes this.

SongCatcher
Filmed in 1999 in the mountains around Asheville, this movie stars Aidan Quinn and Janet McTeer as musicians around the turn-of-the-century in rural Appalachia. Lead actress Janet McTeer praises the mountain region, saying, "Having a chance to hear the ballads sung in their natural home was very moving."

28 Days
This movie starring Sandra Bullock was filmed the summer of 1999 at a Black Mountain conference center that is substituted as the mental institution in the movie.

Patch Adams (Aquela cena da borboleta foi feita no Blue Ridge Parkway, a vista das montanhas é de tirar o fôlego..)
Released in late 1998, this drama is based on the real life of Doctor Adams. Featuring Robin Williams, much of the film was shot on Biltmore Estate and the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Several scenes of the Appalachian Mountains were shot off the Blue Ridge Parkway on Elk Mountain Highway in Asheville.

Nell (Sim, até hoje turistas vão ver a tal cabana)
Shot in 1994 at Fontana Lake, this film starred actress/director Jodie Foster. Tours of the cabin used in the film are available by either a 3-mile hike or by guided boats.

Forrest Gump
Several of the running scenes in this Academy Award winning movie were shot in and around Asheville.

Richie Rich
Featuring Macaulay Culkin as the cartoon character Richie Rich, this 1994 comic spoof transformed the famed 250-room Biltmore House into Rich Manor, where Richie, along with a team of kids, fought off "bad guys.

The Fugitive
This national blockbuster, starring Harrison Ford, utilized several mountain locations, including the small town of Dillsboro for the spectacular train crash. Today, visitors on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway can view the site of the crash. The Railway’s steam locomotive was used in the movie This Property is Condemned starring Robert Redford, Natalie Wood, and Charles Bronson.

Acima, minha cena favorita do filme Patch Adams e que, na verdade, mostra bem o Blue Ridge parkway, que corta a parte sul da cidade.