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Quanna: Temple Newsam pensioner's home becomes horror film set VIDEO
She's the septugenarian film fan from Temple Newsam who spent a week living the movie lifestyle.
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But for grandmother Mary Holmes, that lifestyle wasn't all champagne and fast cars.
Instead, it was the nitty-gritty of life behind the camera, as Mary allowed her Temple Newsam home to be turned into a film set for seven days.
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The film Quanna, which premiered in London last night, is a supernatural horror, based around the terrifying experiences of a man and his friends in a house inherited from his parents.
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Searching for a suitable home to film in, director Mumtaz Yildirimlar was pointed towards Mary's place in Temple Newsam by his friend, and Mary's grand-daughter, Lyndsay Holmes.
Mary prepared for their arrival by stocking up on teabags and warning the neighbours of the shoot, which included night-time scenes of a woman screaming for her life as she was burned to death.
The 79-year-old said that before filming started, she laid down some ground rules.
"I got the sleeping arrangements sorted, lads downstairs and lasses upstairs," Mary said. "As well as that, I told them to watch their language while I was around, not to smoke in the house, and that if anyone had too much to drink they went outside and cleared up any mess afterwards.
"The way it turned out, I didn't need to do any of that. They were all good as gold, and they were so busy all they wanted to do at the end of the day was go to sleep."
Mary named legends Frank Sinatra and John Wayne as her film favourites. She laughed: "Out of the modern ones, I like Brad Pitt, but I think there's a bit of a queue. I might have to share him, especially at my age."
Mumtaz said Mary's home was the perfect set, as it had a "grandma" feel about it.
He explained: "It was cosy, friendly, and the main character in the film had inherited his house so it fitted really well."
And the director said he would even consider Mary for a cameo in a future film.
He added: "She had a small cameo, as when one of the actresses was fighting to open a door, it was Mary on the other side holding it shut.
"She definitely has the star quality."
Lyndsay, whose family live in Farsley, said: "My nana is an absolute star. She took it all in her stride and everyone involved thinks the world of her."
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Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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