We've known it for several weeks now, but the official word came down today: the film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's phenomenal debut novel, The Help, is being shot this summer in Greenwood.
It's big news for the Delta and Mississippi. We're proud of our homegrown literary talent and love to show visitors a good time. We've noticed some of the early film crew in town. (They didn't look like they were from around here, as the proverbial observation goes.) Perhaps it's because Greenwood has kept a lot of its old buildings and homes intact that made the town so attractive to filmmakers, including director Tate Taylor, a Mississippi native and childhood friend of Stockett.
For those fans of the book dying to know who will play whom, we've heard a bit of casting: Emma Stone (Zombieland, Superbad) will play Skeeter, Viola Davis (an Oscar nominee for Doubt) will play Aibileen, Bryce Dallas Howard (the upcoming third Twilight movie, Eclipse) will play Hilly, and Octavia Spencer, who toured and read with Stockett during her initial booktour, is rumored to be playing Minny.
"It's so incredible to me that they're filming it in my home state, while in the hands of some of my closest friends and the most talented people I've ever known," Stockett told us. She has also vowed to return to Turnrow this summer during production and give a reading from the book. We'll let you know when we settle on a date.
For news of the official announcement, read the Greenwood Commonwealth's coverage today. And we'll keep you posted throughout the summer.
