Americana: Fire Sale

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Hard times in the Michigan housing market have made life easy for some film people making a horror flick. A couple of weeks ago, word got out that officials from Universal Pictures were scouting the state for a Southern colo nial mansion and a Victorian farmhouse that they could buy—and then burn down—in the filming of a disaster movie called Firestarter. With labor costs skyrocketing, it is cheaper to burn an existing structure than to build a set. But the Hollywood arsonists had not counted on a having their job made so easy. "Everybody has dollar signs in their eyes," says Lillian Gates, a Grand Rapids Realtor. There are even people so desperate to sell that they are willing to see their homes go up in flames. One woman owner of a colonial manse in Holland, 25 miles west of Grand Rapids, plans to build a new home if her offer is accepted, explaining, "I don't like two-story houses. I like a ranch style better." Another helpful lady phoned to recommend her neighbor's house—without telling him—because it was "an eye sore." Director John Carpenter (Halloween) will make the final selection next month, but with the calls coming in from as far away as Houston, it looks as though he has discovered one answer to the real estate crunch: more horror movies.