By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Monday, March 19, 2007 12:00 am
Corvallis native's California house used as movie set
Tim Patterson's little corner of Valencia, Calif., has become sort of a mini-Hollywood in recent years. The Santa Clarita Valley has seen shows from HBO's "Big Love" to "Deadwood" filmed in studios and on location, and many of his neighbors have had their homes featured in films and television shows.
Patterson, a 1974 graduate of Crescent Valley High School, always wondered what it would be like to have a show filmed in his home, but being in the business himself (he owns his own small production company), he hesitated to bring the chaos of the industry into his house.
That opinion has recently changed, since a knock on his door gave Patterson and his wife, Jill Jones, a chance to have their home featured on the new FX series "The Riches." Part of the show is being filmed in a studio five miles from their house, but many of the scenes are done on location.
"They liked our house," Patterson said, and when he heard that one of his favorite actors, Eddie Izzard, was both an executive producer and star of the show, he and Jones decided it might be okay to turn their place upside down for a little bit.
"We thought, 'What the heck,'" Patterson said.
And after filming three episodes so far, they haven't regretted their decision.
Their home was built in 1988 by Patterson's father, Thomas Patterson, a long-time Corvallis home-builder who has since retired. The style of the home, and its furnishings, fit in with the upper class look the producers wanted, and they did little to alter the house during filming. Although the exterior shots are filmed at a different location in nearby Chatsworth, the Patterson home is used as the interior of character Nina Burns' (Margo Martindale) home.
Nina is Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver's neighbor in the new show, and her home becomes a sort of refuge for Driver's character. Nina is an artist who makes erotic pottery, so the family art studio doubles as a potting studio during filming, and pieces of erotic art pop up around the house.
Filming usually takes three days, one day to set up, one day to shoot, and one day to break down. Patterson said the crew, which includes about 60 people, has been very conscientious about not damaging the house, and pad and protect furniture, walls and floors during filming.
Patterson is compensated for use of his house, and has been hired as site manager as well. This means he gets to stay on set and has more control over how his home is used. He also gets to interact with some of the actors, including Eddie Izzard, which has been a real pleasure, he said.
"Eddie was great," Patterson said. "He came marching in here and said he loved the house."
In fact, Izzard told him, "Of all the houses we're using, I'm giving your house the best house award."
So far, they've filmed in the living room, kitchen, art studio and master bathroom. The shots appear on the first three episodes of the show, and as filming is still continuing, they may appear in some future episodes as well. The project has been so much fun, Patterson said he hopes the show gets picked up and continues in future seasons.
He's looking forward to more filming, and wonders what will happen next.
"You never know what future episodes are going to require."
"The Riches" airs on FX tonight at 10 p.m. The Patterson home will be feature in tonight's episode, as well as the following two episodes.