Location Location Location
Poorest castle in the richest village or richest castle in the poorest village?
A Castle in Ireland or a castle in California?
A castle in California compared to a castle in Ireland would never match to the richness, authenticity, and majestic beauty of a 12th century medieval castle in Ireland.
That’s what I thought
Scouting locations for Woodhaven appeared to be an easy task. So I thought. Checking the location box for a location was easy. Ireland. Onto the next task.
Not so fast
logistically speaking, Ireland has a film hub with a catalog of film crew and actors readily accessible listed. Everything else from film set bathrooms to catering to accommodate a film production team on a whim. Simple enough right?
What about budget?
That is the million dollar question. Because I don’t have a million dollars, I began looking into locations closer to home. Racking up the cost of filming Woodhaven was mounting. To lower the budget, a castle location had to be shifted to an in state location.
Found me a castle
A castle within a half day drive. A castle that checks all the boxes. A castle that has been in several Disney films, and last but not least, available to indie filmmakers for a reasonable cost. Sorry Ireland. Maybe in a future Woodhaven episode.
But is it authentic?
Does it have to be? Look at it, it looks real enough. A massive and masterful replica right?
Wrong, this castle is as authentic as a 13th century, European castle as they come. This castle was conceived and built by a fourth generation winemaker. A guy who was passionate about medieval architecture.
Construction
A million imported antique bricks
Wood and iron rom Europe
8,000 tons of local Napa stone