After learning crews from the AMC Revolutionary War television show “TURN” would be filming in front of her house in Yorktown, Teri Hodson thought she’d make a treat for the actors and crew who passed by.
“I made homemade bread and homemade quiche and thought I would invite them over,” Hodson said. But to serve all the people who transformed current-day Nelson Street into an 18th-century battleground, she would have needed a loaves-and-fishes-caliber miracle. “It turned out to be thousands of them,” Hodson said with a laugh.
The cast and crew for the show didn’t quite total a thousand, but dozens of producers, special effects staff, colonial townspeople, American soldiers and redcoats marching shoulder to shoulder in neat rows passed her house over and over again to film the battle scene.
The road, covered in yellow gravel to hide the black pavement, was littered with broken chairs, wagons, baskets, crates and even a couple of mannequins appearing as fallen soldiers. Rifles sparked as simulated gunshots rang out over the sound of fifes and drums and an officer’s command to “Push on, men!”
“TURN” is based on Alexander Rose’s nonfiction thriller “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring.” The story is about Abe Woodhull, a farmer living on British-occupied Long Island. Woodhull, played by Jamie Bell, and his childhood friends become the Culper Ring, a group of spies who aid George Washington, played by Ian Kahn, and lay the framework for espionage techniques still used today.
Along each side of Nelson Street, dozens of people watched the filming process. “I took the day off of work to come here,” said Linda Blanchard, who lives in York and works for the county. Blanchard and her husband, David, said they were big fans of the show and did not want to miss the opportunity to see it filmed so close to where they live.
David Blanchard said he appreciated the attention to history the show paid, adding that the show has lived up to the many books about the American Revolution he has read since moving to York 14 years ago. His wife said she loved the action of the show, presenting history in an exciting rather than a clinical way.
Lynn DiVito, who visited Yorktown from Williamsburg, said she was accustomed to the colonial garb and scenery the show brought to Yorktown after working for years with the York Historical Committee. But she still got a kick out of seeing Owain Yeoman, who plays Benedict Arnold, eat a banana in front of her.
“Hot day for war, isn’t it?” Yeoman said while taking a break between shots.
DiVito said she looked forward to the episode airing so she could pick out familiar buildings. “I’ll be looking for this scene, all 10 seconds of it, maybe 20,” she said with a laugh.
The crowd of people who gathered to observe production were not sure what specific battle or events crews were filming in Yorktown. The rumor that circulated, but was never confirmed, was that the British soldiers were marching on Richmond.
Along with the locals who flocked to the corner of Nelson and Main streets to watch the filming, sheriff’s deputies, park rangers and county employees slipped out of their offices nearby to catch a glimpse of the action.
Rob Wyco, an extra dressed in a brown colonial suit, said filming in Yorktown was similar to most other work days for him, at least as far as travel time is concerned — he usually commutes from his home in Gloucester to the Coast Guard Training Center in York, where he works with Lockheed Martin. “This breaks up the monotony of my day job,” said Wyco, who has been an extra in shows that have filmed in Virginia, such as Fox News’ “Legends & Lies.”
Warren Walker, another extra, said filming “TURN” in Yorktown was his second visit to the area. He first came about 40 years ago with his son. Walker, who lives in Elliston, near Roanoke, called the area beautiful and said he was glad to be on the show, which combines his interests in acting and historical re-enactment. He said his first experience as an extra was in Steven Spielberg’s 2012 movie “Lincoln,” and since then he’s caught the acting bug.
“Jumping into different roles and getting to be different characters, it’s awesome,” he said, adding that meeting famous people has been a fun way to spend his retirement.
From her front yard, Hodson was able to rub elbows with some of the famous people, like Yeoman and Bell, whose folding chairs for the time between filming were stationed under a tent in front of Hodson’s porch. She invited the neighborhood to watch the filming from her front yard, and some passers-by wandered onto her property.
“I went up to a few strangers and told them the property owner was charging $5 to stand in her yard,” Hodson said. “Their eyes got big, and then I said I was kidding and told them they were welcome to stay.”
“TURN” first aired in April 2014, and the season being filmed will be released in 2017. A release date for the season has not been set. Wednesday marked the show’s first visit to Yorktown, the site of the final battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781 but not its first visit to Virginia. The show has previously filmed at Colonial Williamsburg, Richmond, Petersburg, Tuckahoe and the College of William and Mary.
Reyes can be reached by phone at 757-247-4692.
