News

Historic train depot gets a cameo role in Hallmark Christmas movie

Hendersonville’s historic train depot will be the setting for a scene in ‘A Biltmore Christmas,’ a Hallmark movie scheduled to air in November.

By Bill Moss, Published: January 11, 2023

Hendersonville’s historic train depot will get a cameo appearance in a Hallmark Christmas movie set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

The City Council approved a production company’s application to close Maple Street on Friday, Jan. 27, for filming of the train depot scene in A Biltmore Christmas, set to air in November.
“Each year we look for ways to create exciting, new holiday viewing experiences for our audience,” Samantha DiPippo, a senior vice president at 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.”
Starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha, the movie 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 Biltmore 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. The story follows Lucy as she navigates life in the 1940s and catches the eye of the film’s leading man Jack Huston (Polaha) before needing some Christmas magic to save the love story.
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.
“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,” said Jamie Carpenter, Hendersonville’s downtown manager.

“We've encouraged them and they've included in their application that they would go to local businesses and support them with their crews,” she said. “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.
In his application for the street closing, Jason Sallee of the movie production company said the crew would be staying at hotel rooms and renting equipment locally during their stay.
“In Hendersonville specifically, we are hiring local actors as possible, spending money locally on the day of filming for food and other services and will be hiring police officers for the day of filming,” he said.