Sandwiched between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Nantahala National Forest is Fontana Lake, a 10,530-acre man-made reservoir reputed to offer the best bass fishing in the Southeast.
But come spring, visitors may be flocking here for more than the small-mouth.
Tucked into an isolated cove on the lake’s south shore is a rustic cabin that looks like it might have existed since pioneer days. Instead, it is a bit of Hollywood scenery left behind by the makers of the movie “Nell,” which was filmed in the southern mountains of North Carolina last spring and summer. Film buffs already have been inquiring about the cabin-as well as other nearby locations featured in the movie. A local resort plans to offer boat trips to the site this spring.
In the meantime, anyone with a little perseverance and a sturdy pair of walking shoes can make the hike and experience a bit of moviemaking in the rough.
Director Michael Apted wanted a spot of unspoiled beauty for “Nell,” which is the story of a woman raised in the wild who learns to speak her own strange language. Jodie Foster has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the title role. Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson play the doctor and psychologist who argue over whether to bring her back to society.
Lance Holland, a local historian and special projects director at nearby Fontana Village Resort, suggested this site miles away from civilization.
“Apted wanted it to be remote, so the cast and crew would really feel the thing,” says Holland. Because the cabin is on national forest land, it’s open to the public-“if you can find it,” he cautions.
On a recent morning, Holland steers his pickup truck down a rural stretch of blacktop and parks in front of a metal gate blocking the entrance to an old logging road. He has the keys to the gate, so he drives right through. Others will have to hoof it the remaining 3 1/2 miles. Although the road is wide enough to drive a catering truck through, flatlanders might find the bumpy terrain a bit challenging. That’s why the forest service is encouraging visitors to take a guided boat tour once they are available this spring.
This time of year, however, tourists might be better off making the trip by land. Fontana Lake is part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system and is drawn down each fall in anticipation of the spring rains. The lake begins filling again in February and March. In the meantime, the water level is as much as 70 feet below normal.
In some places, including Nell’s cove, the lake is completely dry, making access by boat a little tricky.
Once visitors have reached the cabin, they’re free to wander around inside. The cabin seems smaller than it did in the movie and that’s because the back room, where Nell is originally discovered, has been torn down. (Some interiors also were shot in an abandoned skating rink in nearby Robbinsville.) Otherwise, the cabin looks like it could have been here for 150 years. The logs were cut locally and made to appear hand-hewn. The floorboards were taken out of old barns. Yellowed copies of the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph from the 1920s paper the walls.
The kudzu on the roof is fake, however, since the real vine could have posed environmental problems. The glass in the windows “came from the old glass store in L.A.,” Holland says. And the rocks that Nell plays on in the water: Hollywood set dressing.
One location that didn’t require a lot of set dressing was the town of Robbinsville, N.C. Located about 65 miles south of Knoxville, Tenn., it appears often in the movie (using its real name) and provides Nell’s first glimpse of civilization.
If the moviemakers were looking for an authentic mountain setting, they found it in this town of around 7,000 residents. Founded in the early 1870s, Robbinsville is the county seat of Graham County and once was the center of a thriving timber industry.
Despite hard economic times, Robbinsville has never actively courted tourism, Holland says. There are a few small family-run motels and none of the touristy gift shops that clutter other mountain towns. Robbinsville’s most outstanding physical feature is the fact that you can see the mountains from any place you stand.
“Robbinsville has no `motif,’ ” Holland says. “It just is what it is.”
But for a few days last spring, the town got a taste of Hollywood magic. Carol Ward watched most of the action from behind the plate-glass window of Snider’s Department Store, which has been in her family for 79 years. The store, which has stocked just about everything from fresh meat to plow parts, was one of several Robbinsville locations featured in the movie. Others include the county courthouse (circa 1941), the Blue Beacon Pool Hall and the Joyce Kilmer Restaurant, which hasn’t increased its prices despite the publicity.
Local residents also make cameo appearances. Marlon Jackson, a local EMT, plays a male nurse. Hazel Buchanan, the 79-year-old cashier at Snider’s Department Store, appears as herself.
Robbinsville officials expect some increase in tourism as a result of “Nell.” In fact, the Chamber of Commerce held a meeting recently to discuss how it might capitalize on the exposure.
But Carol Ward doubts it will change the town much.
Robbinsville is “just a small town,” she says.
“We don’t lack for anything we need that we can’t get somewhere real quick and get.”
DETAILS ON SIGHTS AROUND ROBBINSVILLE
Getting there: Robbinsville is in southwestern North Carolina, roughly 95 miles west of Asheville, where U.S. Highway 129 meets N.C. Highway 143.
Robbinsville: Go to the area around Main Street to see most of the locations featured in the movie, including Snider’s Department Store, the courthouse, Joyce Kilmer Restaurant and the Blue Beacon Pool Hall.
Nell’s cabin: Boat tours are planned from Fontana Village Resort starting in the spring. For information, call 800-849-2258. To get there by land, take N.C. 143 north from Robbinsville to N.C. 28. Turn left and follow N.C. 28 about 2.9 miles to SR 1242. (It’s the first paved road to the right after you pass Tuskeegee Baptist Church.) Go about 2.5 miles until the pavement ends, then continue about a quarter-mile on the gravel road to a four-way fork. Park your car, making sure not to block the gates. Walk around the gate to the left and follow the logging road about 3.5 miles to the cabin.
“The Cave”: One of the movie’s pivotal scenes occurs near a small cave situated by an idyllic waterfall. (Stop reading here if you haven’t seen the movie.) Director Michael Apted wanted this to be the most beautiful setting in the film. And it’s as good a place as any for a picnic lunch.
Take U.S. 129 south from Robbinsville, then go north on U.S. 19 about eight-tenths of a mile just past the Nantahala River put-in. Ledbetter Creek will be on your left. Park your car and follow the trail across the railroad tracks about one-quarter mile. Be careful! The trail is slippery. Shortly after the trail intersects the creek and becomes steeper, you will see a crevice tucked under a large stone on the right bank. In the movie, this is where the skeleton of Nell’s twin sister was found.
Information: For information on the region, call Smoky Mountain Host at 800-432-HOST. Or call North Carolina Travel and Tourism at 800-VISIT-NC (847-4862).
