Movie production begins in Clinton
By Sherry Lucas
Clinton’s small-town vibe, variety of architectural styles and great hospitality make it a hidden gem, say filmmakers who are all set to shine up and share it in a movie that will air on Lifetime TV.
For one, it’s a welcome chance to show off his hometown.
“We’ve been producing films pretty much all over,” Cedric Cornelius of Clinton, executive producer and location manager for Teacher’s Watching, says of projects from California to Florida. “It just really feels good to actually come back home and do something for my city.”
The suspense thriller will be shot through February 9 in Clinton, with cast and crew arriving in town January 21-22, says lead producer Jami McCoy, owner of Hillionaire Productions. Hillionaire Productions is the lead production company, working in conjunction with Global Genesis Group. She foresees the movie’s TV release roughly six to eight months down the road. Teacher’s Watching is written by Charles Morris and Rebecca Weaver, and directed by the husband-wife team of Bobby and Renee Peoples.
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s surge, McCoy and her crew needed to get back to work, she says, but in a safer environment, where numbers were lower and film was supported. With producing parter Cornelius living in Clinton, they saw this as an untapped market, perfect for this film. Extensive precautions will in place to keep cast and crew healthy.
She and Cornelius also partnered on The Horror Chronicles, a horror trilogy shot in Canton this past fall, and will team up again for another suspense thriller, The Coin, set in Jackson, that’ll follow the Clinton production.
Omar Gooding, whose recent credits include the TV series Family Time and the movie A Day of Trouble, has a lead role, McCoy says. Additional cast announcements were expected to be made closer to the time cast and crew arrived in town. The movie’s script was rewritten to base the story in Clinton, Mississippi, which will appear as itself.
The movie focuses on Izzy Fletcher, an artist whose family moves to Clinton for her husband’s high-tech job. She’s struggling to cope with loss and fear, fighting internal and external demons to maintain her family’s stability and survival. The story fits a typical women-centric Lifetime mandate with a villainess and heroine, McCoy says.
“It’s just absolutely amazing that we can bring Hollywood to Clinton and bring Clinton to Hollywood, to show all the great aspects of Clinton,” Cornelius says. To his knowledge, this is the first movie project to locate in Clinton. “I’m happy to be instrumental in coming in.”
Peter Kelly of Madison is the production designer, tasked with turning the script and director’s vision into reality for the camera.
“Clinton is such a beautiful town, and we’re excited to start bringing production into the city,” Kelly says.
“Clinton has that really great small-town feel, but, at the same time, Clinton has a certain air about it of today-ness, a certain air about it of equality, and a place where people can come and be a part of something much bigger than them, while still being able to feel like they have a life of their own. And that’s what we’re looking for in our characters,” he says.
“We’re looking for our characters to come home — come to a place where one of them calls home, and he knows it and he’s comfortable with it. But, this being a psychological thriller, there are new elements that he may not have noticed before, that he is just now seeing, and his wife is having to encounter.” Clinton is ideal for the look and feel. “We’re just stoked.”
For Teacher’s Watching, local casting calls can give residents the chance to participate as background extras. Interested Clintonians are encouraged to keep an eye on the City of Clinton’s website and Facebook page for announcements.
The production will use locations all over Clinton, Cornelius says.
“It’s just a pleasure to show off Clinton on a national scale. I know a lot of people haven’t heard of Clinton. A lot of people have misconceptions about Mississippi, period. But I think that they’ll be surprised to see how warm and homey Clinton is, and such a great small city.”
Beyond that, filmmaking at home — literally — is a big treat. His house is also one of the locations.
“It will be a great feeling to walk off set and walk to my bed, versus being in L.A. or somewhere, and gone two or three weeks at a time and not laying in my own bed.” He loves to travel, but nothing beats home comforts, he says.
Also, “it feels good to be able to come back home, and to let my family see what I do first-hand,” Cornelius says of his wife Sheila and kids Lea and Cedric Jr. (both in college) and Cameron, 12 (a student in Clinton’s public schools). “They’re never on the road with me, so they can get a chance to see everything happen up close.”
City elements that are part of the shoot include the Clinton Police Department, Clinton’s City Hall, a Clinton elementary school and more.
“We are really giving the city of Clinton a lot of shine here, because they’ve been so great to us,” McCoy says.
Street closings during movie filming include:
February 3: Jefferson Street will be closed for filming at 303 Jefferson. No on-street parking will be allowed on Jefferson Street between Main and Leake Streets. Alley and Leake Street parking will be available.
February 4: Stoney Ridge Road. There will be no road closures, but equipment will slow traffic.
February 5, 6, 8 and 9: Merganser Trail in the Lakeridge Subdivision. Equipment will slow traffic.
Any additional road closures needed will be posted daily at www.ClintonMS.org/teacherswatching.
