Windermere Fire Apparently Won’t Affect ‘The Long Kiss’

A fire that destroyed a historic Canadian resort may have scorched the livelihood of the community that relied on it, but it apparently will have little effect on director Renny Harlin’s “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” which had been set to begin filming at the lodge Wednesday.

The cause of the blaze at Windermere House--a red and white wood and stone mansion built in 1869 and haunt of the local rich and famous as well as Hollywood celebrities--remained undetermined Thursday. But some Ontario fire officials suspect that it could have been sparked by electrical problems, according to local press reports.

While local authorities and a few representatives from New Line Cinema, producers of the film starring Harlin’s wife, Geena Davis, remained on the site Thursday, Harlin and crew had already moved to Toronto, 95 miles south, to continue shooting.

Meanwhile, the director has location scouts hunting down other Canadian resorts, reportedly in Quebec, as a replacement for the grand lodge. Harlin, whose last film was the costly and problem-plagued flop “Cutthroat Island,” declined to comment on the fire or its effect on the $65-million film.

The fire started on the building’s third floor. On Tuesday, a few hours before it erupted at 10:50 p.m., the film’s set decorators were inside prepping the first floor. A few large Klieg lights used in filming had been set up, but New Line said temporary power transformers were being used and not the building’s outlets.

The resort had been closed for the winter, and the pine structure had poor insulation. This was the resort’s off season, said John Young, mayor of the township of Muskoka Lakes, which includes Windermere. He noted that the only reason it was opened was for use of the film crew.

Ironically, some of the scenes Harlin had planned to shoot at the house did involve fire, Young said. In one, an oil tanker would have been blown up on the road near the building; the other involved blowing up a makeshift section to the building that the production had planned to install.

“This was not a film that left people totally at ease because of those planned scenes,” Young said. “But then again, they were never allowed to happen because of the fire.”

Another resort in the area was first considered, but its owner decided against it because of concerns about potential damage, said Joe Fullerton, editor of the local Brace Bridge newspaper.

Fullerton said several other films had been shot at Windermere, including the 1985 TV movie “Anne of Green Gables” and 1988’s “Switching Channels” starring Kathleen Turner and Christopher Reeve. “In the summer you would see Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn and Martin Short and the whole SCTV group dining here,” he added. “It was a favorite. Too bad it’s gone.”

A New Line Cinema spokesman said filming was actually a day ahead of schedule when the fire occurred. Since there were scenes originally scheduled to be shot later in Toronto, Harlin just flipped the schedule to make use of the down time caused by the fire.

The spokesman said only about one-third of the footage that was shot outside of Windermere House on Monday would have to be scrapped.

“The Long Kiss Goodnight” is based on a Shane Black script that sold for $4 million. Shooting began Jan. 10 and is expected to wrap in May, with the film tentatively scheduled as New Line’s Christmas release.