Photo:Courtesy of MGM and Amazon Studios
Courtesy of MGM and Amazon Studios
The owner of the sprawling estate featured inSaltburnsays movie fans are breaking into the grounds to take photos at an alarming rate.
Charles Stopford Sackville, 63, told theDaily Mailthat in the wake of the release of the 2023 psychological thriller starringJacob ElordiandBarry Keoghan, there has been a deluge of tourists and social media influencers trespassing onto his property to take videos and photos.
“I never envisaged the amount of interest there would be. It’s quite weird,” he told the outlet. “I don’t take it as flattering.” As a result, he says, he has been forced to hire additional staff and security to patrol the area.
The uptick is likely due in part to the posts of U.K. TikTokers, who are sharing videos with directions to the Northamptonshire property.
MGM
Just last month, TikTok user Rhian Williams shared two videos filming herselfvisiting the 700-year-old property, which in reality is called Drayton House, via a public footpath that runs alongside it. After sharing her first clip — which garnered over 2 million views on the app — she made a second video in response to fans’ questions about how to get to the trail, complete with a map. Her follow-up received more than 3 million views.
Since then, fans of the Emerald Fennell-directed movie have filmed themselves standing on the property, often dancing to Sophie Ellis-Baxter’s 2000’s pop hit “Murder On The Dancefloor,” which was featured prominently in the film.
According to Sackville, whose family has owned the estate since the 18th century, “more than 50” fans have trespassed onto the property.
“Most people are fairly good, but some get a bit inquisitive, let’s say,” he told theMail.
Williamstold the BBCthat she considers it a “shame” that fans are trespassing on the property rather than viewing the house from the public trail.
“When I made my TikToks about the location of Drayton House, which I discovered online, I never dreamt they would get 5.6 million views,” Williams told the outlet on Sunday. “It’s such a shame that people are trespassing as there is a public footpath through the estate that everyone should stick to if they want to visit.”
“I do think it’s important that younger generations, like so many who have enjoyed theSaltburnmovie, are encouraged to walk in the countryside and get fresh air,” she added, “And it’s brilliant to see such a hidden corner of our beautiful Northamptonshire in such a major film likeSaltburn.”
Fennell, who also directed the hit 2020 thrillerPromising Young Woman,toldTown & Countryin October 2023that the mansion was the perfect setting for a film that explored class and power.
“A place as unreal as Saltburn,” Fennell said, “always had to feel real.”
Chiabella James/Prime Video
Despite the indie movie’s box office success (it has taken home over $21 million worldwide since November, according toBox Office Mojo), the estate’s longtime owner is still hoping that interest in the medieval mansion subsides.
“How would you feel if people were taking pictures outside your house?” Sackville said. “I’d prefer the interest to blow over but I can’t make it blow over.”
source: people.com
