Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Going Psycho

A sneak peek at the Bates Motel location!




An exact replica of the original Bates Motel resides in a secret off-limits location somewhere in Aldergrove, British Columbia.... currently being used for A&E's Bates Motel mini series... but being a working set doesn't stop curious Psycho fans from finding it every now and then and snapping a few quick pictures! Heck, who could blame 'em - I would love to poke around that set myself!!!

Here are a few shots as it looks today during it's second season, courtesy of Cecilia Flaming Photography, and a couple of season one pics I came across credited to yvrshoots where evidently they matted in the top of the Bates house using CGI in post production. Sometime just before filming for season two they managed to add a real one.

Psycho buffs will tell you, the original Psycho house on the back lot at Universal Studios was built to two-thirds scale to make it appear much higher and much farther away from the Bates Motel than it really was - but this one is full scale size, done so with the intention to enable it's actors to get up close and for the cameras to utilize it to it's full potential. Just as the previous houses were - the ones used in production of the Psycho movies that came after Hitchcock's original - the house is just a facade... and inside scenes for this current production are shot in Vancouver.

Regarding the Bates Motel itself only a few rooms are used as sets, the rest of the "rooms" are again, a facade. In an interview I saw recently with Vera Farmiga (who plays Norman's mother, Nora Bates) she revealed that in-between shooting scenes on cold nights they use cabin #4 to warm up in - as it's equipped with heaters and other comforts - and she said she believes that the ghost of Anthony Perkins must be making visits - as it always locks her in when no one is around, and usually a stagehand or someone else needs to be called upon to open it for her!! How's that for spooky, eh?

Well, after the pics make sure to check out the videos below where a reporter stays the night at the Bates Motel and lives to tell about it - and a clip from A&E's Bates Motel website that shows you more of what goes on behind the scenes as explained by cast and crew members.

Season Two, the house is complete (well, at least that's what your eyes will tell you)...




 Season One, The Psycho house was topless...


 

Inbetween seasons...

The windows and doors get all boarded up, fences go up around the house and the property, plastic tarps cover the motel, the steps and the neon sign, a security guard polices the area - and Hitchcock watches over everything! (Note the silhouette!)

 

A candid shot...

Alfred Hitchcock and Anthony Perkins, without whom none of this.......



Twelve cabins, twelve vacancies...






And last but not least,

Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates from Bates Motel) visits the original Psycho house at Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time...







3 comments:

  1. Awesome post! Neat to see the comparison from Season 1 to Season 2!
    Thanks for referencing Cecilia Flaming Photography!

    www.ceciliaflamingblog.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Cecilia, what makes the whole thing are your amazing shots. Were you snapping through holes in the gate, or did you have more access than that? Or would you rather not say? - heh heh heh!!

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    2. Note: I guess she'd rather not say. By the way - when the heck is Bates Motel supposed to RETURN? Last episode I saw is when Norman crazy-glued Norma's eyes open - and then just as it sank in that she was perhaps really dead for sure, and poor ole' Norman was about to blow the back of his head out with a gun in his mouth - Norma suddenly appeared as lively and as beautiful as ever, the whole Bates house lit up with twinkling Christmas lights - and everything looked hunky-dory!! Come on A&E, the wait has been long enough...

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