EDMONTON - It's a Hollywood reality tour, Edmonton style.
Fort Edmonton Park later this month will offer wagon tours highlighting where key scenes of Brad Pitt's latest flick, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, were shot.
It will include "behind-the-scenes stories, little known facts and insider information about the film location," Jan Archbold, a city spokesman, said yesterday.
"We had people asking us, 'So, where did they shoot and what did they do?' They had all of these questions about the use of an Edmonton attraction in a movie," Archbold told Sun Media, explaining where the idea for the tours came from.
The flick - premiering in select markets Sept. 21 - tells the story of how James died at the hands of Robert Ford, portrayed by Casey Affleck. Pitt stars as James. Filming began in southern Alberta in August 2005, before moving north to Fort Edmonton Park.
Archbold said tour highlights will include the train cars refurbished for the movie and McDougall's General Store on 1885 Street where a robbery scene was filmed.
Visitors will be shown where the shell of James's home was constructed on 1885 Street. It was strictly a movie prop for outdoor scenes and has since been torn down.
"There were a number of shots of Brad Pitt on the veranda of this house, and you'll be able to know where it would have been."
The Kenneth McDonald house, also on 1885 Street, was used as the interior of James's home.
"It was an absolutely fascinating experience," said Dawn Linman, a city employee who was on-scene during the shoot, acting as a liaison. "It was just amazing to see how they could take something that looks so familiar to us and turn it into a completely different town."
Linman said she's definitely going to see the movie on the big screen.
"If you're there and someone stands up yelling, 'That's Fort Edmonton Park!' That will probably be me and I hope they don't throw me out."
During the shoot, Pitt was joined in Edmonton by his partner Angelina Jolie. The couple were routinely spotted around the city - shopping at West Edmonton Mall, picking up groceries at the Spruce Grove Safeway and dining at Julio's Barrio on Whyte Avenue.
While not officially part of the tour, Archbold joked visitors can also see the miniature golf course where Pitt, Jolie and her kids took a few swings on 1920 Street.
"No one can confirm whether they played an entire 18 holes of golf," she said.
The tours run Sept. 17-22.
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