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She shows off a local bank, which has its real name on the front side of its sign and “1 st National Bank,” which was the fictional setting in the Big Fish bank robbery scene, on the other. These are just the daytrip “locals” whose interest is piqued by “Home Town Takeover.” There’s a family from Knoxville, Tennessee. In a short span, she meets a group of friends from up the road in Hoover, a couple from Atlanta who are returning from Nashville and wanted to make the detour.
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Or the fact that Whitfield seems to be showing others around and is open to new conversations. Maybe it’s the name tag that draws the curiosity seekers. In a one-hour walking tour on a steamy Thursday morning, visitors stop Whitfield on the street for questions about where to go and what to see. The subject of HGTV’s recent “Home Town Takeover” has made this small Central Alabama town on the banks of the Coosa River into a star of its own. No, it’s the fact that Wetumpka has gone from the big screen to the small.
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But that’s not the reason for the latest rush of curiosity seekers. Whitfield lives in the Big Fish House, which gained notoriety as the set and setting for scenes in Tim Burton’s 2003 fantasy filmed in Alabama. “My son says in the time it takes him to cut the grass, 50 people take pictures of him.” “I have 100 to 150 people taking photos of my house every day,” said Whitfield, the executive director of the Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce. When Shellie Whitfield’s son takes an afternoon to mow the lawn, he knows his work won’t go unnoticed.