Is it too early to start counting down to Christmas? Hallmark has just announced its first holiday movie of 2023, and the Yuletide-loving network has booked the dreamiest filming location. A Biltmore Christmas, which began production in January, will take place at the iconic Biltmore Estate — a National Historic Landmark in Asheville, North Carolina.
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A Biltmore Christmas is a time-traveling romance starring Bethany Joy Lenz (An Unexpected Christmas) and Kristoffer Polaha (We Wish You a Married Christmas). The Hallmark original marks the first time the Biltmore Estate itself has served as the setting for a film.
The Biltmore Estate (George Rose/Getty Images)
Built between 1889 and 1895 as the home of George Washington Vanderbilt II, the Biltmore Estate is a French Renaissance Revival-style castle still operated by Vanderbilt's descendants. Situated on 8,000 acres of lush greenery, Biltmore remains the largest private residence in the United States. Today, the home has been converted into a museum, and it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in Asheville.
A Biltmore Christmas follows Lucy Collins (Lenz), a screenwriter who lands the gig of a lifetime when she's hired to pen the script for a remake of the 1947 Christmas classic His Merry Bride! Lucy makes a pilgrimage to Biltmore House, the magnificent estate where the original was filmed. While touring the castle, she knocks over an hourglass and finds herself transported back in time to 1946. It's the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the original cast and crew of His Merry Bride! are filming the holiday classic at the estate. Lucy forges an undeniable connection with Jack Huston (Polaha), the film's dashing leading man. But her time-traveling has set off a chain of events that threatens to derail the production and alter the future in disastrous ways. With just one shot at returning to the future, Lucy must say goodbye to Jack forever — that is, unless some Christmas magic intervenes.
A woman out of time, a Gilded Age castle and a film within a film? Say no more. A Biltmore Christmas is bound to be the next snowy day classic.
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