Upon its premiere in April of 1990, “Twin Peaks” immediately set itself apart from anything else on TV. Built around the irresistible mystery of who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl…
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Upon its premiere in April of 1990, “Twin Peaks” immediately set itself apart from anything else on TV. Built around the irresistible mystery of who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), a beloved prom queen with as many secrets as the eponymous Pacific Northwest town in which she grew up, co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost’s television series starred Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper, the FBI agent whose interactions with oddball (and often occult) locals generated big ratings and even bigger questions from viewers.
Variety recently spoke with MacLachlan and co-creator Mark Frost about the hit serial drama, which ran for three seasons — first on ABC and later revived in 2017 on Showtime. The cult-favorite whodunit has maintained a dedicated fan base that still flocks to Washington to experience for themselves the rustic ambience of the landscapes where it was shot. “There’s a kind of a magic to them,” MacLachlan says of Snoqualmie, Washington’s arboreal locale, and embodiment of Cooper’s characterization as a place “both wonderful and strange. And a little bit of a danger as well.”
Frost adds, “We didn’t have to change a thing. I mean, it was spooky. … The town is a principal character. The fact that we found the town itself, intact, was really kind of astonishing.” Snoqualmie and neighboring towns played host to the cast and crew. But it’s the Salish Lodge and Spa, which was frequently used as an exterior location for The Great Northern Hotel and whose back yard features the gorgeous waterfall that opens every episode, that has become a mecca for fans.
“It felt utterly authentic to what we were trying to create,” Frost says of the hotel, which appeared in the series’ pilot. “We used it as a template, everything we found out there, and I think a couple of times we set up a second unit to pick up transition shots.”
For Season 3, known as “Twin Peaks: The Return,” Frost and Lynch once again chose the Salish Lodge and Spa as an exterior location. “When we went back [in 2015], we were up for there the first six weeks, [and] shot all the ‘Twin Peak’ stuff there,” says Frost. “That time, both David and I did stay at the Lodge and had a fantastic time.”
As the series’ virtuous leading man and a real-life Washington native, MacLachlan has made several “nostalgia visits” to the Salish just for fun over the intervening decades. “I’ve been back a few times since then. I’ve actually had dinner there, sat out and watched the waterfall, which is magnificent,” he says of Snoqualmie Falls, renamed White Tail Falls in the show. “The falls are really spectacular, and surprisingly kind of in the middle of where you wouldn’t expect something to be there like that.”
MacLachlan says he doesn’t announce his trips, but has enjoyed crossing paths with fans who travel to the lodge grounds to trace his character’s footsteps. “I just drove up, parked the car and just walked out myself to the viewing point,” he says. “There were clusters of people there, and a few people were doing double-takes. A couple of people asked for photographs and some people just went on their way.” He admits that the natural landmark is gorgeous enough to attract even visitors who don’t know the show, but likes giving those who do a neat little surprise.
“They were there probably just to look at the lovely falls so they had no idea about ‘Twin Peaks’,” MacLachlan says. “It’s really a beautiful little spot and it’s so convenient off the highway. It was a little magic moment.”
After three seasons and almost 35 years, the show’s legacy is deeply imprinted on the town of Snoqualmie. “Snoqualmie Falls became ‘Twin Peaks’ as much as ‘Twin Peaks’ became Snoqualmie Falls. I think that’s pretty unusual in terms of a location that’s central to a show’s identity,” Frost says. “It’s a unique experience for a location to be used as the embodiment of a written place that’s central to a story that attracts a lot of attention — and then, sort of, becomes the place itself. [Locals] often said ‘Twin Peaks’ tourism helped save our town, and that was a great outcome.”
Watch the full episode of Variety’s “Locations: Hotels on Screen” above.
