A new movie about Vivien Leigh, the British actress best known for her Academy Award-winning roles in “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951), just wrapped filming in Philadelphia — and Chestnut Hill played a role.

According to Jayce Bartok, writer and producer for “Vivien and the Florist,” the office space at 8430 Germantown Ave. — formerly Diamond Spa — was used as a place to store costumes and do fittings for the actors in the film.

Film-adelphia

Chestnut Hill was selected as a location for costume storage through Brooke Bennett, a costume designer who lives in Mt. Airy.

“Brooke was recommended highly by some New York costume designer friends of mine and happened to be a Philly local, so that’s how the Chestnut Hill space came about,” Bartok told the Local. “[The office] afforded Brooke space and focus. And all the actors that went there were like, ‘Wow, what a lovely neighborhood. It’s so cool.’”

The use of 8430 Germantown Ave. began in December during pre-production for the film. According to Bartok, the first check the production team sent to a vendor was to Bowman Properties, the landlord for the Chestnut Hill location. With plenty of locations to secure, costumes to acquire, and permits to obtain, pre-production was a busy time for the crew.

In mid-January, filming began and lasted for about a month. With the main production office in Rittenhouse Square, filming locations included Old City, Glen Foerd mansion, and Laurel Hill East Cemetery among other spots in and around Philadelphia.

The production utilized the Pennsylvania film tax credit, which is a rebate for qualified expenses to entice filmmakers to work in the state. Bartok said the production had a sharp focus on hiring local crew members and department heads.

“A lot of us are New York based, so there was a temptation to set the film in New York at one point,” Bartok said. “The Pa. film tax credit office really encouraged us to stick by our guns and set the film where it was factually located, and that definitely benefited the look and the feeling of the film.”

The movie’s details

“Vivien and the Florist” is set in Philadelphia in 1966 and is based on a true story. Bartok’s co-writer on the film, David Kelly, is related to a florist named Joseph Dellapenna that worked in Philadelphia in the 1950s through 1980s. Kelly showed Bartok a shoebox of letters that Leigh had written to Dellapenna.

“Some were bordering on love letters and some were simple correspondence, but there was enough to fill a box,” Bartok said. “I thought at the time that would make an amazing movie. Why was this movie star — arguably one of the greatest actresses that ever lived — writing a local Philadelphia florist intimate letters?”

After talking about the movie on and off for roughly a decade, Bartok decided to write a first draft during the COVID-19 pandemic. The story focuses on Leigh’s time in Philadelphia acting in a play called “Ivanov” before the show went to Broadway.

For most of her life, Leigh suffered from mental health issues and received electroconvulsive (ECT) therapy. Every time she received treatment, her ex-husband, Laurence Olivier, would send her flowers. This is likely how she came in contact with Dellapenna.

“Vivien and the Florist” stars Carla Gugino as Leigh and Matthew Modine as Jacob Penn, a shortened version of Dellapenna. Additional cast members include Charlie McDermott, Jack Davenport, and David Hyde Pierce. The film is directed by Nick Sandow, known for his work on “Orange is the New Black,” and co-produced by Lauren Hale-Rieckhoff, Kelli Reilly, Tiffany Bartok, and Shawn Arani.

According to Bartok, the movie likely will be released by the end of 2026 or in early 2027.

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.

This article was edited to include additional producer credits.