GREENWOOD – A best-selling novel written by an author from Mississippi is being adapted into a movie, and it will be filmed in the Delta this summer. DreamWorks will film, “The Help”, in Greenville, Greenwood, Leflore County and parts of Carroll County.
The Help was written by Jackson native Kathryn Stockett, and explores the complicated relationships between the matrons of the South in 1962 and the maids and housekeepers who take care of their kids and homes.
The screen adaptation was written by another Mississippian, Tate Taylor, who is also directing the film.
The Help, a publishing success story of 2009, spent 56 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, oftentimes at number one.
During the five-month production schedule, slated to begin in July, more than 180 actors and crew members will make temporary homes in the Mississippi Delta. Local officials estimate the economic impact of this production will total more than $13 million.
Partnering with DreamWorks in this film is 1492 Productions, which produced several box office hits including, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Home Alone” and just recently, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” which has grossed $167 million worldwide.
Reportedly, The Help will star Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Octavia Spencer.
According to The Greenwood Commonwealth, in a few weeks, film crews will begin searching for people to work as extras or fill minor roles in the movie. Producer Brunson Green said they’re specifically looking for white twins or triplets who can play girls around 3-years old. Green said the children could be older but should appear to be about 2 or 3.
Anyone interested in a role should e-mail a recent picture and basic information such as height and weight to casthelp@gmail.com. Green recommended sending the emails once open call auditions are announced in about two weeks.
Tate Taylor, the director, said they would also be searching for people to fill a few speaking roles toward the end of filming.
“Eventually we are going to be looking for older local African-American women,” Taylor said in The Commonwealth. “In the story when Skeeter starts writing her book, women start coming forward and telling their story, so we want to get some real locals – older women who wouldn’t be camera shy and (could) learn dialogue and tell some stories on camera.”
The Commonwealth also said anyone interested in being an extra in The Help should e-mail Nina Parikh at nparikh@mississippi.org and Betty Black at bblack@mississippi.org, and ask to be added to a “Hotline” e-mail list.
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