Kim Basinger and the cast of ‘Schitt’s Creek’.Photo:Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; CBS/ NOT A A REAL COMPANY
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; CBS/ NOT A A REAL COMPANY
Kim Basingerunknowingly inspired a beloved sitcom!In 1989, the actress, now 71, purchased a town in Georgia for $20 million, only to sell it a few years later for a fraction of the price. Fast forward to 2015, whenDanandEugene Levyused her story as inspiration forSchitt’s Creek— and Basinger is just now finding out.“Who knew? I love that show,” Basinger toldVarietyin a recent interview. “So, hey, made for good material.”She then joked: “That would be lovely to have those royalty checks!”From left: Dan Levy, Eugene Levy and Kim Basinger.TheStewartofNY/WireImage; Jeremychanphotography/Getty; MediaPunch/ShutterstockIn June 2019, the father-son duo spoke withVanity Fairabout the success of the fan-favorite series, where they revealed that Basinger’s misfortune was what sparked the original idea.“We were in the early stages of figuring out what the backstory was,” Dan, who wrote and starred in the show, told the outlet. “We started to research different ways that people had lost tremendous amounts of money or gone bankrupt. In the process, I stumbled upon an article about Kim Basinger having bought this town in Georgia.”“We thought, what if that could be funny?” he continued. “The family bought the town as a joke because it had this terrible name, and it’s the only asset left after everything gets repossessed, because the government didn’t see any value in it…. Unfortunately, it took a probably very traumatizing experience in Kim Basinger’s life for us to get here, but yeah…It was the most unlikely of Google searches.”When Basinger purchased Braselton, Georgia 36 years ago, she intended to turn it into a tourist hotspot and build production studios. However, three years into her ownership, theChicago Tribuneinterviewed postmaster James Deaton, who said that the town was “deader than it was” when she bought it.According to the 1992 article, the only open businesses in Braselton were a furniture store and a dentist’s office, but the hardware store, department store and grocery store had all closed.Two years later, Basinger sold it.Kim Basinger attends the premiere of “The Nice Guys” at TCL Chinese Theatre on May 10, 2016 in Hollywood, California.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagicNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.It was around that same time that Basinger tied the knot with her second husband,Alec Baldwin, with whom she shares daughter Ireland. The pair divorced in 2005, and the actor went on to have seven more kids with his current wife,Hilaria Baldwin, and he isnow documenting their life onThe Baldwins.When thinking about her experience inspiringSchitt’s Creekand her ex’s new TLC reality series, Basinger toldVarietythat she has no interest in putting herself into the public eye anymore.“Your anonymity is like a helium balloon,” she explained. “It slips out of your hand, and that’s it. I found that out pretty young. Getting off airplanes all over the world and having people stalk your hotel rooms and bodyguards and police and this and that and thinking, ‘What?’ You’re just dumbfounded.”
Kim Basingerunknowingly inspired a beloved sitcom!
In 1989, the actress, now 71, purchased a town in Georgia for $20 million, only to sell it a few years later for a fraction of the price. Fast forward to 2015, whenDanandEugene Levyused her story as inspiration forSchitt’s Creek— and Basinger is just now finding out.
“Who knew? I love that show,” Basinger toldVarietyin a recent interview. “So, hey, made for good material.”
She then joked: “That would be lovely to have those royalty checks!”
From left: Dan Levy, Eugene Levy and Kim Basinger.TheStewartofNY/WireImage; Jeremychanphotography/Getty; MediaPunch/Shutterstock
TheStewartofNY/WireImage; Jeremychanphotography/Getty; MediaPunch/Shutterstock
In June 2019, the father-son duo spoke withVanity Fairabout the success of the fan-favorite series, where they revealed that Basinger’s misfortune was what sparked the original idea.
“We were in the early stages of figuring out what the backstory was,” Dan, who wrote and starred in the show, told the outlet. “We started to research different ways that people had lost tremendous amounts of money or gone bankrupt. In the process, I stumbled upon an article about Kim Basinger having bought this town in Georgia.”
“We thought, what if that could be funny?” he continued. “The family bought the town as a joke because it had this terrible name, and it’s the only asset left after everything gets repossessed, because the government didn’t see any value in it…. Unfortunately, it took a probably very traumatizing experience in Kim Basinger’s life for us to get here, but yeah…It was the most unlikely of Google searches.”
When Basinger purchased Braselton, Georgia 36 years ago, she intended to turn it into a tourist hotspot and build production studios. However, three years into her ownership, theChicago Tribuneinterviewed postmaster James Deaton, who said that the town was “deader than it was” when she bought it.
According to the 1992 article, the only open businesses in Braselton were a furniture store and a dentist’s office, but the hardware store, department store and grocery store had all closed.
Two years later, Basinger sold it.
Kim Basinger attends the premiere of “The Nice Guys” at TCL Chinese Theatre on May 10, 2016 in Hollywood, California.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
It was around that same time that Basinger tied the knot with her second husband,Alec Baldwin, with whom she shares daughter Ireland. The pair divorced in 2005, and the actor went on to have seven more kids with his current wife,Hilaria Baldwin, and he isnow documenting their life onThe Baldwins.
When thinking about her experience inspiringSchitt’s Creekand her ex’s new TLC reality series, Basinger toldVarietythat she has no interest in putting herself into the public eye anymore.
“Your anonymity is like a helium balloon,” she explained. “It slips out of your hand, and that’s it. I found that out pretty young. Getting off airplanes all over the world and having people stalk your hotel rooms and bodyguards and police and this and that and thinking, ‘What?’ You’re just dumbfounded.”
source: people.com