The Legend of Van Dorn (TN)
“A kind of mini-Hollywood:” Confederate general biopic wraps in Columbia, raising the town’s cinematic profile
Filming for “The Legend of Van Dorn,” a movie about the life and death of Confederate General Earl Van Dorn, was wrapped at a crew party at the Mulehouse on Sunday, Sept. 29. The film was shot in six weeks in and around Columbia.
Bernard Porter, who served as director of locations for the production, spoke to Main Street Maury about the experience of making the film. After a 40-year career financing and producing Hollywood movies, he and his wife bought the antebellum Brierson-May mansion in downtown Columbia in 2021. Porter’s friend, director Shane Stanley, asked to use his mansion as a set in a Civil War-era film.
As the owner of such a significant property, Porter had made friends with many local leaders and stakeholders. One such friend is David Hill, the CEO of WireMasters, Inc. and the owner of the historic Skipwith estate south of Columbia. Porter spoke to Hill, who then offered the filmmakers the use of not only his property, but also of his huge collection of 19th-century relics for props and set pieces.
“We used a lot of his artifacts in …