Wicker Man Stump Lake
In the 2006 movie, The Wicker Man, Nicolas Cage plays a California Highway Patrolman who is recovering from a tragic road accident when he receives a letter from Willow, his former fiancée telling him that her daughter, Rowan, has gone missing. He immediately makes the journey to Summerisle where Willow lives in a strange community and discovers soon after that Rowan is actually his daughter. He also discovers that the local residents are a community of pagans who practice ancient rituals with the hope of improving their harvest. As he searches for the girl he uncovers dark and disturbing truths about the community. A remake of an earlier movie from 1973, this latest version, directed by Neil LaBute, featured Cage as well as Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, and Leelee Sobieski.
Standing in for Northern California, the major accident scene in the film was shot at Hamilton Hill, a closed road above the Tourist Information Centre at the junction of the Coquihalla Highway (5) and the Okanagan connector (5A). The bend at Stump Lake, however, was used for filming a brief part of the movie, and has been used for a number of other commercials and productions as well. Several car commercials have taken advantage of the serene atmosphere and long winding roadway, rolling hills, in a picturesque setting that brings to mind a road of endless possibilities. Toyota, Hummer, Ford, and even Harley Davidson have used the area to promote their vehicles.
The nearby grasslands in the Stump Lake area have also been popular as a shooting location given their ability to emulate prairie, frontier, and otherworldly settings and the TNRD Film Commission works hard to promote the area to filmmakers from around the world. The clear transition of seasons and lack of signs of human impact make this area extremely valuable to filmmakers and advertising companies. In the pivotal scene in the finale of the updated version of Battlestar Galactica, this area hosted the cast and crew who filmed the death scene of one of the main characters in the grasslands.
A popular fishing and recreation lake in BC's interior, Stump Lake is a short 53 Km distance north of Merritt on the Old Merritt Highway (5A). The lake, which is popular for fishing, boating, and outdoor water recreation, is home to the historic Stump Lake Ranch and is rich in ranching and first nation’s history.
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