\n<\/p>\n
13. Because Stark insisted they film on location, the cast trucked down to Louisiana. “It helped that Natchitoches is gorgeous,” said Harling. “Anywhere you point the camera you’re going to frame a good shot.”<\/p>\n
But bringing in the necessary equipment, plus finding rental accommodations for the big-named stars, turned the production into an extravaganza. As Harling put it, “The circus had come to town.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
14. Every night Parton and her squad (an assistant, bodyguard and hair stylist) dined at the same spot, “a restaurant called Mariner’s out on Sibley Lake,” resident Tom Whitehead<\/strong> recalled to Garden and Gun<\/em>. As a result, the seafood spot remained sold out for the whole of the shoot as “people filled it up to see Dolly Parton eating in the back corner.”<\/p>\n 15. Louisiana in the summertime presented some challenges. But while MacLaine admitted most of the cast were “always complaining” about the heat, there was never a peep from Parton.<\/p>\n “There was Dolly with a waist cincher no more than 16 inches around and heels about two feet high and a wig that must have weighed 23 pounds,” said the star. “And she’s the only one who didn’t sweat.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Even when a Christmas scene required her to swelter in a cashmere sweater. “Julia said, ‘Dolly, we’re dying and you never say a word. Why don’t you let loose?'” Harling recounted. “Dolly very serenely smiled and said, ‘When I was young and had nothing, I wanted to be rich and famous and now I am. So I’m not\u00a0going to complain about anything.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n