WATCH FOR FOSTER, GERE IN BATH WOODS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 17, 1992                   TAG: 9201170516
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Chris Gladden
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
WATCH FOR FOSTER, GERE IN BATH WOODS
A Civil War movie starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere is likely to be shot in the George Washington National Forest in Bath County. Work on the project is expected to begin late this month or early next month.
Terry Smith, the national forest's public affairs officer, says final approval from the forest supervisor is expected by next week.
The Virginia Film Office wouldn't confirm the project. But Smith says Regency Films has requested a special-use permit to film a Reconstruction movie at Warwick Mansion, an antebellum plantation in Hidden Valley, about six miles northwest of Hot Springs.
The structure was built from 1848 to 1851 and was the home of Judge James Woods Warwick. Ron and Pam Stidham, an Ohio couple, are renovating the mansion to serve as a bed and breakfast under an agreement with the forest service.
Smith says the film company plans to build a settlement near the mansion that includes full structures, such as a church and several false-front store buildings.
Slave quarters also will be built adjacent to the Greek Revival mansion, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Regency Films, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, expects to spend $2 million to $3 million on restoration and filming, Smith says. It could mean a $10 million impact on the local economy.
The working title of the movie is "Sommersby," the name of the Gere character's Tennessee plantation.
"It's about a man trying to put his life together after the Civil War," Smith says.
"Sommersby" may be the first of a wave of Civil War movies and television projects to be filmed in Virginia.
According to the film office, there is a heightened interest in the Civil War among filmmakers because of the success of Ken Burns' documentary, "The Civil War," on public television.
This apparently would be the first movie to be filmed in the George Washington National Forest in its 75-year-history. Lexington also may serve as a location for "Sommersby."
Filming could start in April and run into June.
Smith expects the crew to "start puttering around" with site preparation and construction as soon as Monday. "We do not expect any delays," he says.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB