HOLLAND, Mich. — Lights, camera, action!
Filming for the movie "Holland, Michigan" starring Nicole Kidman is set to begin at Windmill Island Gardens this month.
"We know we’re an iconic spot. We know the windmill is an icon of Holland and West Michigan. It’s neat that they really recognize that and want to see that, promote that along with the movie. It does mean a lot to us," said the development manager for Windmill Island Gardens Matt Helmus.
The large scale production is majorly being filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, but for a few days the talent and production team will come to West Michigan to film at the iconic Windmill Island Gardens.
"Having this go national, I think is just wonderful. People see what is great about Holland, Michigan," said City of Holland's Assistant City Manager Matt VanDyken.
The city is rolling out the red carpet for the Amazon Studios' Production "Holland, Michigan".
"We have been talking to these folks for a number of months, so it has been kind of in the works," said VanDyken.
The thriller will use the gardens as a filming backdrop featuring the tulips, windmill and village.
"It’s a Tulip Time focused movie or it happens, a lot of it, at Tulip Time. It’ll be neat that it shows people that we have the windmill here. There is flowers, but we also hope that people see we are open for six months of the year, and there is beautiful flowers there that whole time," said Helmus.
The production is one of the largest in over a decade, and Helmus said a lot of planning has gone on to make it happen.
"We’re basically working with them on where they can and cannot have things and what rooms they can and cannot use to host people, where they can have catering and that sort of thing," said Helmus.
Helmus added the production team has been great to work with as they understand they're coming at a time when the gardens is busiest, at Tulip Time.
"We want to make it a win-win, and they do too. They realize we are a busy park. They want to make sure they get the iconic location, but we want to make sure we are still open for our visitors as much as we can be," said Helmus.
Filming dates have been set for the end of this month.
Windmill Island Gardens will be closed during those few days.
A notice of closure will be posted for visitors during that time, but make sure you double check if you're planning to make a visit around that time.
The filming of the movie will not impact Tulip Time.
