Books & Movies about Nashville? (Brentwood: floor, moving to, food)

[CountryGirl2b=]

I have Netflix on my iPad and have been catching up on movies. Wondering about movies either filmed or set in Nashville? Besides the obvious "Nashville"? Could even be ABOUT Nashville, or TN but not actually filmed here. I like history. Maybe there are some good PBS films about the Civil War?

Also, books. Widow of the South was a great introduction. Any other books that 'feel' like Nashville?

Having moved here later in life, in order to get more flavor (besides SWEET TEA which I still have not sampled) for the area I thought it would be a good summer for a literary and cinematic Nashvillian (and TN in general) culture immersion!

(Besides, it's still too darn hot to mulch . . . )

Thanks for any suggestions!

[vivelafrance]

The Thing Called Love (93). A cute film about a girl moving to Nashville to be a singer.

Country Strong, a film that came out maybe last year with Gwyneth Paltrow. I haven't seen it though.

[nashvols]

There have been a handful of movies shot in Nashville, but not very many (to my knowledge) that are set here, aside from the ones viva mentioned.

IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Nashville, Tennessee, USA"

There's a list of the movies that have had scenes shot in Nashville. Of course that includes minor scenes, too.

The old Tennessee State Penitentiary has been used a number of times...notably for The Green Mile and The Last Castle.

[shinestx]

Movies: Starman; Walk the Line; The Cradle Will Fall (TV movie); Country Strong; Nashville 99 (aka Stoney) television series in the late 1970s; skyline shots in Roadtrip; Marie; A Death in the Family; Sweet Dreams; All the Ernest movies; At Close Range; Last Dance; The Green Mile; and of course Nashville.

[BirdieBelle]

A ton of scenes in Coal Miner's Daughter were filmed in Nashville, and all the scenes of Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones driving around the WSM radio tower were filmed on the old two-lane (pre-growth) Concord Road and Knox Valley Drive in Brentwood in 1978-79.

[Kevin south of Nashville]

Not sure if this is what you mean, but the ‘Nashville: The 20th Century in Photographs’ from NPT special is fantastic. Here is the link:
http://www.wnpt.org/productions/memories/photos/index.html

[IngleDave]

You'll run into lots of people who were extras in Coal Miner's Daughter, including yours truly. I played an expectant father in a hospital waiting room with Tommy Lee Jones. It was the only time I've ever shaved my moustache...and they cut the scene. So much for greatness.

Kevin, I'm glad you found that link. I was looking for it last night, but got distracted. You're right, absolutely amazing for those who want to really know Nashville, from its soul, inside out.

[Kevin south of Nashville]

@IngleDave First, that's an awesome story LOL (sorry) and second, loved that series and enjoyed learning more about the local history of Nashville through those photographs.

And I forgot to mention, @CountryGirl2b= YOU HAVEN'T TRIED SWEET TEA??!? Is there not a forum rule against this sort of nonsense??!? Outraged ;-)

[DonCorleone]

Originally Posted by shinestx

Movies: Starman.

The scene where the tractor trailer blows up was filmed essentially where Skyline Medical Center is today. Before Briley Pkwy was a continuous loop, it basically dead-ended right before Dickerson Road. That's where that scene was filmed.

Kevin is right...PBS has produced some great Nashville documentaries. Seems like every year they come out with something new in the "Memories of..." series. Last year was Memories of Opryland, a few years before it was Memories of Downtown Nashville. It is very interesting to see old photos of the city and how different things are today.

I'd also suggest visiting the 2nd Floor of the Downtown Library. They usually have an interesting photo exhibit from the city's past. The photo archives of the Nashville Banner (the once prominent, now defunct evening newspaper) are at the Downtown Library so they have a plethora of interesting photos to show. It also gives you an excuse to explore the awesomeness that is the Downtown Library.

Recently a Civil War diary of a young Nashvillian named Maggie Vaulx was released (though I don't think it's been published) that sounds very interesting. There was an article on the Tennessean about it, but now all I can find is a cached version of it here.

Also, a literati person should be interested in visiting the annual Southern Festival of Books (http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/festival/ - broken link) in October. I've yet to go myself...every year I say I will but never do. Same goes for the Nashville Film Festival.

And yes, you really need to try genuine sweet tea. Not fast food sweet tea, but real, gen-u-ine sweet tea.

[brentwoodgirl]

Cecelia Tishy has a series that takes place in Nashville. They aren't great books, but they do very much relate to Nashville. Even when the characters are going from place to place, it mentions the street names and parts of town- which would have made the book really tedious if I was from another city. The main character moved from New England to Nashville at the start of the series, so they might be interesting since she is just discovering Nashville also.

Here is a link to a list of books set in Nashville, including the ones by Tishy:
"Novels Set in Nashville" by nashvillepubliclibrary [WorldCat.org]