Colonial Williamsburg Setting for HBO's "John Adams" Miniseries
Scenes for HBO’s 7-part epic miniseries "John Adams" were
filmed February through May 2007 in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic
Area. One of four shooting locations, Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic
Area offered a setting painstakingly faithful to the 18th century. Watch
a preview of HBO's "John Adams."
"John Adams" stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John
and Abigail Adams, and will focus on the first 50 years of a post-revolutionary
nation. Based on David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography
"John Adams," the miniseries is executive produced by Tom Hanks
and Gary Goetzman, directed by Emmy-winner Tom Hooper, with the screenplay
written by Kirk Ellis.
Scenes Filmed Throughout Historic Area
The Greenhow store’s exterior served as a Trenton, N.J. tavern
that Adams frequented. The Wythe House stood in for the president’s
house in Philadelphia, a brick facade masking its wooden fence. A tent
and 40 coffins arranged on Palace Green suggested Philadelphia's 1793
yellow fever epidemic. For both scenes, sand was scattered on the streets
to mask modern pavement.
The Palace Green was the backdrop for a public riot staged in front of
the George Wythe house, which represented the president’s residence
in Philadelphia. British officers ransacked an abandoned Continental Army
war room in a separate scene set in the Robert Carter house. Scores
of extras were called upon to crowd the Palace Green.
Adams' winter 1776 visit to Continental Army troops encamped at Harvard
Yard was staged in front of the Public Hospital, where the ground and
trees were blanketed with special-effects snow. The College of William
and Mary's Wren Building represented a Harvard interior. Scenes also were
filmed at the Governor's Palace.
Cast of Acclaimed Actors
John and Abigail Adams are portrayed by Academy Award® nominees Paul
Giamatti and Laura Linney, respectively. The miniseries also stars Stephen
Dillane as Thomas Jefferson, Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin, Danny
Huston as Samuel Adams, David Morse as George Washington, Sarah Polley
as Nabby Adams, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as John Quincy Adams, Rufus Sewell
as Alexander Hamilton, Justin Theroux as John Hancock, and Guy Henry as
Jonathan Sewall, and Zeljko Ivanek as John Dickinson.
Of interest :
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Historic Triangle
