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April Killian
Movies That You May Not Know Were Filmed in Mississippi
3 hours ago
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Mississippi may be a long way from Hollywood, but with it's beautiful countryside and friendly towns, many directors and producers have discovered that Mississippi is a great state for movie making! These are a few of the movies that you may not know were filmed in Mississippi.
Released in 2017, 1 Mile to You is a romantic drama based on based on Jeremy Jackson's 2002 novel, Life at These Speeds. The movie was filmed entirely in Jackson, Mississippi and the surrounding area.
The Atoning
This award-winning independent horror film was written and directed by Mississippi native, Michael Williams. Released in 2017, it was filmed entirely on location in West Point, Mississippi at the home of co-producer Joni Seitz.
Baby Doll was a controversial 1956 dark comedy starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden and Eli Wallach. It was co-produced by Elia Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted from his play, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1955). The story centers on two rival cotton gin owners in rural Mississippi. The movie was filmed primarily in Benoit, Mississippi, at the antebellum J.C. Burrus house. Other locations included Greenville, Mississippi and New York City. Several local residents played minor roles in the movie, including a man known as "Boll Weevil" who played a small part along with working as the production unit's utility man.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Classified as a dark comedy crime drama, this 2009 release starred Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Tom Bower, Jennifer Coolidge, and Val Kilmer. It was filmed in Louisiana and south Mississippi, including scenes at the Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis.
Directed by Robert Altman, this southern dark comedy starred Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Patricia Neal, Charles S. Dutton, and Chris O'Donnell, along with minor roles by musicians Lyle Lovett and Ruby Wilson. The plot follows the comic and often dark response of a southern family after the suicide of their wealthy aunt. According to wikipedia, The film was shot on location in Holly Springs, Mississippi during the summer of 1998. Principal actors took pay cuts to appear in the film. The cast took up residence in a Holly Springs mansion for the duration of the shoot.
Co-produced by Brian Grazer and Mick Jagger in 2014, this movie chronicled the life of performer James Brown. It featured Chadwick Boseman as Brown. Filmed primarily in Natchez and Jackson, it featured scenes at Thalia Mara Hall, Mississippi Coliseum, Capitol Street, and some of the restaurants in Jackson.
Starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Christopher Plummer, this 1999 autobiographical drama was based on the story of a whistleblower in the tobacco industry. One of the most important scenes in the movie was filmed in a courtroom in Pascagoula, Mississippi - the place where the original deposition was given by the whistleblower.
The Help
Based on Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name, The Help was one of the largest movie productions of all time in Mississippi. Set during the civil rights era, the story is about an aspiring journalist and her relationship with two black maids and included an ensemble cast with Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Cicely Tyson, and Sissy Spacek. Filming was done in the Mississippi locations of Greenwood, Greenville, Jackson, and Clarksdale. According to Wikipedia, "One of the few real locations in the book and the film is Brent's Drugs, which dates to 1946. Other locations that can still be found in Jackson include the New Capitol Building and the Mayflower Cafe downtown. Scenes set at the Jackson Journal office were shot in Clarksdale at the building which formerly housed the Clarksdale Press Register for forty years until April 2010."
Inspired by the 1967 hit song "Ode to Billie Joe," by Bobbie Gentry, this 1976 movie was naturally set in Mississippi. According to wikipedia, "The July 2, 1975, issue of Variety announced that the locations for the film would include Gentry's hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi, along with other local communities. Scenes at the old sawmill were filmed at Cross Lumber Company in Vaiden, Mississippi. The bridge featured in the film crossed the Yazoo River on County Road 512 near Sidon, Mississippi. It was later demolished and replaced by a modern concrete span in 1987, with plaques at both the eastern and western ends commemorating the film."
Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
This movie originally aired in 1982 as the CBS movie of the week. It had a $2.2 million budget with most of the movie filmed in Natchez and the surrounding area. In the downtown scenes, dirt was added to the streets of Natchez to give it a period look. The famous cave scene was filmed in neighboring Alabama in Childersburg at Majestic Caverns (formerly Desoto Caverns).
Based on the John Grisham novel, A Time To Kill starred Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, and Octavia Spencer in her film debut. According to wikipedia, "The film was mainly produced in and around Canton, Mississippi, using a soundstage built specifically for the production in the city's industrial park. Most location filming took place around the Madison County Courthouse and former county jail on the courthouse grounds. Other location filming took place in the Jackson, Mississippi metro area, including the Jackson-Evers International Airport and Hinds County Medical Center (now Merit Health Central).
Tomorrow
Robert Duvall starred in this 1972 film that he has called one of his personal favorites of his entire career. According to wikipedia, "The opening courthouse scenes of Tomorrow were shot at the historic Jacinto Courthouse in Alcorn County, Mississippi. The courthouse, built in 1854, has been refurbished and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The majority of the film was shot in the Bounds Crossroads community of Itawamba County, at the sawmill on the farm of Chester Russell, the grandfather of singer Tammy Wynette (Virginia Wynette Pugh), who lived most of her young years there with her until she married in 1960. The sawmill building, where much of the film was shot, was built just for the film. Chester Russell played one of the jurors and can be seen when the jury is deliberating in the opening courthouse scenes. Some of the film props were also leased from James Franks Antique Museum of Tupelo, Mississippi."
These are only a few of the dozens of movies filmed in the beautiful state of Mississippi. Did I leave out your favorite? Leave a note in the comments!
Click "follow" for more articles! April Killian is a native and resident of the Shoals area of northwest Alabama and shares stories about the unique places, people, and history of the southern U.S.. Have a story to tell? Email: april.newsbreak@gmail.com
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