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Benny's Haven Tavern
“With enough patience, the suspect will often interrogate himself.”
Augustus Landor (Christian Bale)
Wanting to recreate the chilling, gothic atmosphere of Louis Bayard’s novel, director Scott Cooper began shooting in the middle of winter in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. The action of the film, however, is supposed to take place in New York State, in the middle of the 19th century.
Gothic Inn
The Compass Inn Museum was one of the first filming locations for The Pale Blue Eye. Instead of settling in the inn itself, located in the main building, the oldest one, the team takes its quarters in the forge and enjoys its rough decoration. A few elements such as tables and a counter are added to create Benny’s Haven Tavern, while the entire forge is studded with candles.
New shooting in Pennsylvania
The Pale Blue Eye marks the return of Scott Cooper and Christian Bale to Pennsylvania, several years after the filming of Out of the Furnace. On the set of this project, the two men befriended Senator John Fetterman and his wife Gisele. The politician and his wife were hired as extras on The Pale Blue Eye.
Christian Bale, fascinated by John Fetterman’s charismatic face and stature, suggested to his friend Scott Cooper that he should play Fetterman in a scene in the tavern. The actor having justified his choice thus: “You know what, John has such a great face that looks like it comes from 1830. Why don’t we put him in the film?“
Netflix acquired the rights to The Pale Blue Eye for $55 million, even before filming began.
Compass Inn Museum
This two-and-a-half-story vernacular Georgian building is a Pennsylvania State Historic Site.
Built in 1799, this inn was enlarged in 1862 then consolidated in 1862. Closed for several years, it was properly restored in the 1970s and then became a museum in which local history is told. The estate also includes a barn and a blacksmith’s workshop. The Inn has been on the National Register of Historic Places since February 24, 1995.
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Cult! movies: 100 mythical places of cinema [French Edition]
Since the dawn of cinema, films have invaded the world and highlighted sometimes unexpected places. Every film location has its secrets. The latter are sometimes as exciting as the feature films themselves.
Did you know that the cemetery where the final duel of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was built from scratch and that no body lies there? Or that the bus ofInto The Wild has been moved to discourage fans from spending the night there? From the story of the construction of The Bridge on the River Kwai to the incredible encounter during the shooting of the last scene ofIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeembark on an exciting world tour with the greatest stars of the seventh art. Shiver in the real haunted house ofAmityville and discover the terrifying anecdotes of the making ofApocalypse Now in the Philippines. Visit the building of Blade Runner before stopping at Hogwarts and finally landing in Jurassic Parkin the middle of the Hawaiian archipelago. What if we also took you behind the scenes of the making of the Hobbits’ village of Lord of the Rings ?
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By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.