I’m returning the Tremond house location today with a closer look inside the house from Episodes 2002 and 2009 of Twin Peaks. Unlike other home interiors from the first two seasons of the show which used soundstages, these scenes were shot inside a private residence in Agoura Hills, California.
WHERE IS THE TREMOND HOUSE LOCATED?
Part of the Malibou Lake Mountain Club, the home that served as the interior set was located at 29371 Lake Vista Drive (approximate coordinates are 34°06’26.3″N 118°45’51.8″W).
Sadly, the home was destroyed during the Woolsey Fire in November 2018. The area has many No Trespassing signs and the community is serious about those warnings.
Property records were unavailable since it was part of this private club. From my research, I learned the home was originally built in the 1940s and changed hands a few times over the years. The Hoecker family may have lived here during filming in 1990.
Thanks to a more recent sale of the home in the early 2010s, I found a listing on Trulia.com which described the property:
Malibou Lake~~One Story With Separate Guest House–Main House Is Approx 2500 Sq.Ft.~~ Guest House Is Approx 1000 Sq.Ft 2 Bedroom 1 Bath, Screen In Porch.Over 26000 Sq Ft.Usable Lot.
DONNA HAYWARD DELIVERING A MEAL
The scene begins with Donna Hayward outside the Tremond house as she carries a hot meal from her Meals on Wheels delivery. You can read more about the exterior shots in these two articles – Tremond House and Harold Smith’s House.
This episode’s script was penned by Harley Peyton between July 7-18, 1990 with a few revisions along the way. The scene was most likely shot between July 23-27, 1990. I know the Double R Diner scene was shot on July 25 that week, so it was either before or after that day. The episode first aired on October 6, 1990.
ENTERING THE TREMOND HOUSE INTERIOR IN SEASON 2
Peyton’s script describes the scene differently from how it appears on screen:
INT. TREMOND APARTMENT – DAY
A shadowy interior. Pill bottles of every size and description on litter the room. An old woman, MRS. TREMOND, reclines in bed. A SMALL BOY stands before her. He wears a dark suit. The boy’s hands move gracefully through the air, perform a magic card trick. The old woman expectorates quietly into a handkerchief. She mutters.
On screen, the grandson is seated and doesn’t perform card tricks.
Donna actually enters through the backdoor of the former home. One thing to note is you can barely seen Mrs. Tremond’s pink-hued blanket as Donna opens the door. This was the first clue that convinced me the scene was shot inside the home.
The camera cuts to another shot inside the home as Donna enters the room.
Thankfully, OpenDoor.com had images of the home’s exterior and interior when it was on the market several years ago. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw the image above. It’s the same room (just from a slightly different angle).
APPROACHING MRS. TREMOND
The script continues from the earlier setup
TREMOND
Again.
The little boy repeats the magic trick. The old woman spits into the handkerchief, mutters. It’s as if Donna was invisible.
DONNA
Mrs. Tremond?
The old woman gestures toward a coffee table, more pill bottles, nearby.
TREMOND
Please.
Lynch kept part of the described action when Mrs. Tremond spits into a handkerchief – “The old woman expectorates quietly into a handkerchief.”
THE GRANDSON
Watching Mrs. Tremond spit, Donna offers a sympathetic face until she is startled by the grandson.
In a mysterious tone, the grandson (Austin Jack Lynch) says, “Some times things can happen just like this.”
[SNAPS] The grandson snaps his right fingers and then folds his hands again.
In this episode, the grandson is played by David Lynch’s son, Austin Jack Lynch. He was born September 7, 1982 which makes him almost eight years old when this scene was shot.
Austin Jack is no stranger to his father’s movie sets. This image from the Facebook page for Blue Velvet – Revisited shows David with his son on the set of Blue Velvet.
A Tumblr account also posted this contact sheet with David holding Austin Jack on the same set.
For Twin Peaks – Fire Walk with Me, the grandson role was recast with Jonathan J. Leppell
Here is Leppell from 1992’s feature film and how he looked in 2015.
DO YOU SEE CREAMED CORN?
Unlike the script, Mrs. Tremond removes the cover to her meal in the broadcasted version. She asks Donna if she sees creamed corn on her plate.
Donna sets the tray upon the table, removes its cover. Reveals the meal beneath. The old woman shifts, peers down at the hot food.
There is an insert shot of a plate with chicken, rice and creamed corn. Mrs. Tremond tells Donna that she requested no creamed corn be served.
Donna acknowledges that she sees creamed corn. The script contains an interesting tidbit from Mrs. Tremond as to why she requested no creamed corn.
TREMOND
Cream corn. “I requested no cream corn.
DONNA
Sorry.
TREMOND
We detest yellow food.
DONNA
Next time, I’ll…
Of course, we later discover what creamed corn symbolizes (I still can’t eat the stuff after this scene in Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me.
DISAPPEARING CREAMED CORN
Mrs. Tremond asks Donna again about seeing creamed corn.
This time, the creamed corn has disappeared from the inset shot.
My gut says the empty plate was shot first and then the creamed corn was added. I created an overlay picture using the empty and full plates. You can see how the chicken remains in the same exact spot. The corn covers part of the rice. From a production standpoint, this makes practical sense (why dirty two plates?).
The grandson magically removes the creamed corn and is holding it in his hands.
A close up shot of the grandson holding the corn. This is probably a separate shot as Jonathan’s hands and shirt sleeve are in different positions. I thought it could have been a two-camera set up that Lynch prefers to use but most likely it isn’t.
The corn again magically disappears from the grandson’s hands. This action is not mentioned in the script.
Mrs. Tremond tells Donna that her grandson is practicing magic. I wonder if more magic tricks were shot. The Mauve Zone published this great publicity shot of Austin Jack as the Grandson performing another magic trick on set. The scene has some odd cuts and sometimes the pacing seems off which indicates to me that certain dialog and action were probably shot but later removed. More Missing Pieces that I’d love to find one day.
WHO ARE YOU?
On screen dialogue contains snippets from Peyton’s script. For example, a hospital food reference which happens later in the scene. You may recall the running gag from Episode 2001 about hospital food.
As they speak, the little boy carries the tray to the old woman, arranges silverware. A playing card slips into view, settles amidst warm chicken and rice.
TREMOND
My niece is a nurse. Sent me hospital food. Can you imagine?
DONNA
Uhm, no.
TREMOND
Tastes like paste. I ordered Meals On Wheels myself. Laura Palmer brought them to me. She’s dead.
DONNA
I’m taking over Laura’s route.
The little boy cuts a piece of chicken, holds it toward the old woman. She takes the food in her mouth, chews slowly. Donna stands mute, ignored for the moment.
DONNA
Did you know her well?
TREMOND
No.
The old woman’s reply is abrupt, final. She does not desire further conversation. Donna sighs. She will learn nothing here.
DONNA
Enjoy your meal. I’ll remember the corn.
LEAVING THE TREMOND HOUSE INTERIOR
After realizing she won’t get any additional information from Mrs. Tremond or her grandson, Donna heads for the exit.
Donna steps toward the door. Suddenly:
TREMOND
Young lady.
(off her look)
You might ask Mr. Smith next door. He was Laura’s friend. Mr. Smith does not leave his room.
DONNA
Thank you.
One thing that caught my eye is the windows in the Tremond house are not glowing white (an indicator that a scene was shot on a set). You can actually see outside the windows unlike the Palmer house set which had faux plants added to create the illusion there was an outside.
Check out the artwork behind Donna. I’m guessing the crew added pictures and props to this home’s interior. I’d love to know if any of the owner’s items were screen used.
There is no mention of the Grandson’s French phrase – “J’ai une me solitaire” – in the script. Instead, there is a nod to more magic.
The little boy steps to Donna’s side. He produces a red rose, sleight of hand, and offers it to her. Donna smiles.
As she departs we catch a glimpse of the set decorating. Notice that pink pill box on the shelf is the same one in the publicity shot from the Mauve Zone.
GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDSON
After Donna leaves, we get some additional shots of the Grandson and Grandmother.
I’d love to identify all those frames on the wall but that may be a difficult task to complete. Maybe one day.
The Grandson’s final dialogue about how Donna was a nice girl doesn’t appear in the script either.
TREMOND HOUSE INTERIOR IN EPISODE 2.009
When Donna returns with Agent Cooper and Deputy Brennan in Episode 2009, we see the house’s interior has completely changed.
I wonder if these items were actually the original home owner’s property of if they were added. It seems like that curtain wall in the distant background could be blocking the view of the interior.
Sadly, unless the previous owner contacts me, we may never know. There had to be additional photos of the home during the shoot, and I’m guessing someone has them in a photo album or box somewhere.
TREMOND HOUSE INTERIOR
I did find a handful of photos of the interior. None of them match the set from 1990 but I’m sharing for posterity since the home is long gone, like a turkey in the corn. These all come from OpenDoor.com when the home was up for sale in the mid-2010s.
