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Helene Wagner

Screenwriter and film teacher Helene Wagner founded Virginia Film Tours three years ago.

Group Tour Spotlight: How did you get involved in tourism?

Helene Wagner: I’m a screenwriter and the founder and director of the Virginia Screenwriters’ Forum in the state, now in its 18th year. I’m also a film teacher. I wanted to create a class about a Hollywood movie filmed in Richmond. When I began my research to pick a movie, I discovered the great wealth of Hollywood movies filmed in Richmond over the last quarter of a century, and I became like a mother hen. I couldn’t just save the history of one film; I wanted to save the history of the well over 100 movies filmed throughout the commonwealth. That history would be lost. People forget, there are so many scenes in a movie, and so many different locations, and it isn’t long before people are saying, “Didn’t they shoot a movie here once?” That just couldn’t happen. I wanted to save that.

I began in Richmond because not only is Richmond the beautiful capital of Virginia, it is also the capital of filmmaking in the state with close to 50 movies filmed in this area. We were named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the Top 10 cities in the country for independent filmmakers and traditionally we have been one of Hollywood’s favorite shooting locations. Last year the acclaimed HBO Emmy-nominated mini-series “John Adams” filmed primarily in the Richmond area.

Group Tour Spotlight: Why is Virginia so popular with filmmakers?

Wagner: What Virginia has to offer first and foremost to filmmakers is our natural beauty; the topographical landscape of mountains, waterways, and ocean; plus our architecture. Our beautiful historic architecture allows us to play either the South or the North. We could be Philadelphia, Boston, or Washington, D.C., which our Virginia State Capitol in Richmond is often called upon to play in the movies. With the help of the great folks from the Virginia Film Office, Director Rita McClenny and Mary Nelson, my husband, Tom, who has 31 years experience of a running a company and I created the Virginia Film Tour program. It took a year to do. There is such a wealth of information and so many movies, scenes, and locations.

Our tours visit some of the state’s most beautiful historical locations where many of the movies were filmed. The tours are designed to educate our guests not only about the movies but also about Virginia’s rich historical past where they were filmed.

Group Tour Spotlight: Do you have a company motto?

Wagner: Yes, “Where Hollywood Meets History,” which we hope says it all.

Group Tour Spotlight: What are some of your most popular tours?

Wagner: Certainly the Richmond Film Tour. Our city has so much history, it wouldn’t be exaggerating to stay you can throw a stick just about anywhere in Richmond and something historical has happened there. The same is true with the movies. Our Richmond Tour visits the historic locations where movie scenes were actually filmed: the notorious Belle Isle, a Union prisoner of war camp during the Civil War; the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson; and St. John’s Church, site of Patrick Henry’s famous speech, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” We go to historic Church Hill and the five-star rated historic Jefferson Hotel, host to 11 presidents, numerous movie stars, and celebrities, including: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra. Many of the movie stars stay at the Jefferson while here during filming. Anthony Hopkins stays at the Jefferson, and he enjoys playing the piano in the lower lobby in the evening. Our rich history and the content of many historical movies scenes filmed in Richmond, such as the Civil War blockbuster, “Cold Mountain,” often historically intertwine to make a perfect match.

We also offer a Historic Plantation Film Tour where we visit three of Virginia’s most beautiful plantations: Tuckahoe Plantation, home to Thomas Jefferson as a child; Berkeley Plantation, where settlers observed the first Thanksgiving in America; and Westover Plantation, a national landmark and premier example of Georgian architecture used in movies and TV series. While visiting Westover Plantation last year, serendipity struck when HBO’s “John Adams” was filming during our visit, and we were fortunate to have the HBO location manager give our group a lecture and tour their base and show us the costume trailer. It was really exciting for all of us.

This tour offers guests an opportunity to experience the imaginative and valuable use of how art imitates life to show us the historical past, the present, and perhaps the future. Guests learn the role each plantation played in America’s history and learn about the historical Hollywood movies filmed at the plantations, such as “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal,” “The New World,” about the founding of Jamestown, “Iron Jawed Angels,” “The Love Letter,” “John Adams,” and others.

	Helene and Mac