Filming locations for Brontë: somewhere in Yorkshire.

This is Bradford adds some more information about the Brontë, the film. Some days ago we published information about the cast of Nathalie Press and Emily Barclay (see our post) as Emily and Anne, respectively. Now we have more opinions of the producer Alistar MacLean-Clark and the Brontë Parsonage Museum director, Alan Bentley:

Film co-producer Alistair MacLean-Clark, of AMC Pictures, said the company had still to decide on filming locations.

"It would be ideal to film in Haworth but there is a booming tourism industry and that could be affected by a film crew spending a very disruptive eight weeks there.

"Also, the Parsonage simply doesn't look like it did when the Bronte's lived there. It's been extended and there were no trees around there then. It was much bleaker."

Mr MacLean-Clark said an option was to build exterior and interior scenes in Yorkshire to function as the Haworth of the day a solution that would allow the production team to move the set around as required.

He said the film was sure to benefit from the massive worldwide interest in the Brontes.

"Quite a buzz has built up since word has spread about the film. We have had e-mails from around the world from people wanting to know more or asking for a part in it. It shows the incredible popularity and resonance of the Brontes' work.

"With them dying so young and the backdrop you could say it would be a depressive film, but they had such a wonderful creativity to provide a sense of balance."

Alan Bentley, museum director at Bronte Parsonage, said he was pleased about the film's intentions of historical accuracy.

"Having spoken often with AMC, I am sure the film will be unlike the 1946 Bronte biopic, Devotion, which transforms Haworth into a kind of Cotswolds, chocolate box place.

"In fact, Haworth was quite a tough, harsh place to live in the Brontes' time. There was an open sewer down Main Street, for example not the healthiest of places.

"The sisters had a hard life. They had social standing but were not well off. Death was all around them, from the graveyard by the parsonage, the death of their two older sisters and mother and the part of their father's job of conducting funerals.

"I am hopeful the film will reflect that kind of background."

He added: "They were an incredibly creative group of young people and perhaps unlike families of the time in that Patrick encouraged the girls to read widely and to take the newspapers. They would discuss the issues of the day with their father.

"You only have to look to Jane Eyre to see a woman who was not afraid of making herself heard before people who were her supposed betters."

Mr Bentley said the Parsonage had enjoyed close contact with the filmmakers and offered the library there to help the scriptwriting process.

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