QVC+
Aside from her lengthy acting résumé, Lindsay Hartley (ex-Theresa, PASSIONS et al) has already directed several TV movies. Her latest directorial project, coming out on Friday, November 24, is titled THE RECIPE FILES. It’s a whodunit that takes place in the quaint New England village of Shady Oaks. “The genre is called a cozy murder mystery,” says Hartley. “When I first read the script, I thought ‘MURDER SHE WROTE.’ It’s a little cheeky and sentimental. It’s not a serious thriller. It’s supposed to be fun and the actors were great and the locations were fabulous because we shot in Massachusetts and I’m so partial to shooting there.”
The fact that the movie debuts on Black Friday was intentional, as this production will air exclusively on QVC+, the free-to-download streaming app of the QVC shopping channel. As soon as THE RECIPE FILES ends, viewers can shop for exclusive merchandise inspired by the film, with special deals on products like KitchenAid, David’s Cookies, Rastelli’s and Temp-tations. “The products are kind of integrated on the show, which makes it a special and fun experience for the audience,” explains Hartley. “It’s all pretty cute and everybody loves shopping for Christmas.”
The plot of THE RECIPE FILES centers around the latest arrival to Shady Oaks, Isabel (played by Morgan Bradley, who stars alongside Ashlee Simpson as Kate), a young woman in need of a reset after losing her job and fiancé. She impulsively buys a small bakery but a mystery soon rises after she comes across an old recipe book that may hold clues to the death of its former owner. Hartley was thrilled when she got unexpected help from QVC in setting the stage for the story. “They sent boxes upon boxes of clothing, cookware, pastries, cookies, lights, trees and decorations,” she marvels. “It was pretty amazing because we never get a big budget for production design! We had a warehouse full of stuff to choose from. It really made the sets and locations look extraordinary. It was the best-dressed location I ever had.”
There was even a little help from Mother Nature when it came to shooting some exterior scenes. The movie was filmed over the summer, but, reports Hartley, “For a couple of days it was overcast and windy, so even though it was still warm out, on camera it looked like it was cold. We had a snow blower machine out there and the art department made these really cool icicle things and the windows really did look frosted.”
Hartley even put in a cameo appearance, although you can’t see her face. “It wasn’t planned but when we were at the chocolate shop, I actually made that fudge with the owner’s son,” she shares. “I just wore the actress’s sweater and that was me doing the mixing. But don’t look too closely because our nails are different. I poured the fudge into a container and it was so heavy, but now I know how to make the best fudge.”
Hartley affirms that she would “absolutely” work on another movie with QVC+, though her director schedule is already crowded. “Right now there’s A CHRISTMAS FREQUENCY that started airing on Hulu a couple of weeks ago, with Denise Richards [ex-Shauna, B&B) and James Hyde [ex-Sam, PASSIONS; ex-Jeremy, Y&R] in the cast,” she notes. “I have one thriller in [post-production] and I start shooting another thriller next month, and after that another Christmas romance. It can get hectic but I love to be kept busy.”
