Posted in: Amazon, MGM, Movies | Tagged: amazon studios, Emerald Fennell, mgm, saltburn

Saltburn Was Shot on Location and the House "Itself Feels Alive"

Saltburn director Emerald Fennell discusses finding the right location for the film "because the thing about the Saltburn house is the place itself feels alive."

When it comes to movies where the location is part of the film itself, shooting on location is all the more important. When you have a film like Saltburn, which explores the decadence and insanity that comes with the upper class, you need a location that will capture that. Director and writer Emerald Fennell knew that the house was not something they could build; they would have to find it, and they did it. As she explained in the new issue of Empire, the house needed to be something, and when she found Drayton House, a grade 1 country house one-mile southwest of Lowick, Northamptonshire, England, she knew she had found the Saltburn home and the location of her film.

"We were incredibly lucky because the thing about the Saltburn house is the place itself feels alive," Fennell explains. "We all had that feeling we were about to lose our minds. It really did feel so special being able to do that, rather than just being on a soundstage."

Fennell explains that the location and all of the little details really help bring to life the fact that, as she explained, "Everyone's judging, even though they're pretending they're not. Everything is a tiny, 'Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.'" You need something over the top because it has to be; that's what people like this do with their money. They have to make sure everyone knows that they are rich, and they have to make sure everyone also knows exactly how they spend their wealth. It's not just about having money, it's what you do with it, and in Saltburn, it's also about exploring what that kind of mindset does to a person. Or, in this case, what it does to a family.

"The Cattons collect people," Fennell teases. "I think that's something that you will find again and again with any person who has a power centre. It's a savior complex, but ultimately, the family is the family. Everyone else is walking on eggshells around the Cattons, dancing to their tune."

Fennell's last film, Promising Young Woman, was the misfortune to premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival before the COVID-19 pandemic threw all of that into chaos. The film never really got its chance to shine, but boy, did it spring up some heated debates amongst those who watched it. MGM and Amazon Studios seem to be pushing Saltburn pretty hard, so maybe this time, a movie by Fennell will get the chance to spark the discussion it deserves, whether good or bad.

Saltburn: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) brings us a beautifully wicked tale of privilege and desire. Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.

Saltburn is written and directed by Emerald Fennell and stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, and Carey Mulligan. It will be produced by Emerald Fennell, p.g.a; Margot Robbie, p.g.a; Josey McNamara, p.g.a, and will be released limited on November 17th, and on November 22nd, it will released wide.

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