Extinguishing A Life
An interview with author Stacy Willingham, whose debut novel 'A Flicker In The Dark' releases January 11.
The Help Premier Party
Last Saturday, the Malco Theater in Madison, Mississippi, held an advance public screening of the movie, and all the stars turned out to celebrate. ("The Help" was filmed mostly in Greenwood, but unfortunately the town doesn't have a theater.) Tweets coming from inside the theater involved moviegoers running into Emma Stone, who plays main character Skeeter, in the bathroom and seeing Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis and Allison Janney on the red carpet outside. Director Tate Taylor, producer Brunson Green and author Kathryn Stockett, all natives of Jackson, were also there, along with producer Chris Columbus. The movie played on three screens, and we hear the stars visited each one to welcome the audience and talk about the beneficiary of the event, Baptist Town Community Development in Greenwood. We haven't heard a bad review of the movie yet, and y'all know if must be good if the locals are impressed. There are also plenty of recognizable landmarks in the film, from the State Capitol, Mayflower Cafe, Fondren District and Brent's Drugs in Jackson to the Baptist Church and Elks Lodge in Greenwood. Only a week to go until "The Help" opens nationwide, so make plans to be at your local theater on August
Jackson Gets Some ‘Help’
Mississippi’s capital city prepares for its moment on the big screen with “The Help” filming in town last week. by Erin Z. Bass People were talking when native Kathryn Stockett published her bestselling book about white women and their black maids in 1960s Jackson last year, and now the town is abuzz again over filming of the movie version. Producers, including locals Tate Taylor and Brunson Green, came to town last December to scout for locations, but news was kept under wraps until townspeople began to notice changes in the city’s Fondren district last week. “We all knew they were going to film sometime soon,” says Chris Myers, who lives in Fondren and works on North State Street as an architect. “It wasn’t until they started painting the yoga studio, turned into a gas station, that I got really interested.” Myers could view the progress down the street from the breakroom of his office building and began chronicling Fondren’s transformation to a scene from another era (not that big of a stretch as the row of businesses down State Street, called the Fondren Strip, sport neon and a generally retro look anyway). “They started with the gas station and slowly started working down the