Trinity Bay seduces Hollywood stars for film remake

Trinity Bay in eastern Newfoundland is famous for its picturesque seascapes and foggy coves. But something else is putting the region on the map today — a big movie.

Shooting for The Grand Seduction — an English remake of a popular comedy from Quebec — is currently underway, with the main set at New Bonaventure.

For Hollywood A-listers like Taylor Kitsch — who played the lead in big budget movies like John Carter and Battleship — filming in a tiny Newfoundland town is a refreshing change.

"Sometimes when it becomes a huge film, a lot of variables become more and more out of your control," Kitsch told CBC News.

"With this, it's just nice to come and just get the muscles working again. I’ve been doing press for a year almost straight, so it’s nice just to get on camera again and be working."

Kitsch plays the role of Dr. Paul Lewis, a worldly doctor being begged to stay by residents of a small community.

"I won't give away too much of the plot, but once you pluck someone who's used to the big lights, theatres, restaurants, big city things, and you put them in this kind of surrounding, there's some hilarity that really ensues," he said.

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, along with Newfoundlanders Cathy Jones and Gordon Pinsent, also star in the film.

Pinsent said the Newfoundland location is compatible with the storyline of the 2003 Quebec original.

"It seems to fit perfectly," Pinsent said.

"I can imagine somebody looking at it and saying, ‘If we go with this again, where would we plant it?’ So they’re planting it right here, and telling the story in the best possible way we can, with the wryness and the humour and the dryness of wit and understanding in life. It has a marvellous feeling to it — really quite special."

The Trinity Bay area was the location for another big movie — 2001's The Shipping News, which also starred Pinsent.

Filming for The Grand Seduction is expected to wrap up by the end of September.