City to write policy to deal with movie company concerns

By Randy Bell

Chip Wilbanks thought when production companies started coming to Clinton to shoot movies, it was pretty cool. But now, “The coolness has worn off,” the Ward 4 alderman said at the Board’s work session on January 5.

“Most of the movies have been concentrating their filming in Olde Towne,” Wilbanks said after the meeting. “And there’s limited parking, limited space.”

Director David Lipper watches on a monitor from across the street as a scene from a Christmas movie is filmed in Olde Towne on December 19.

Wilbanks’ law office is located in the historic district, and he echoes concerns that some other Olde Towne business owners have voiced about streets being closed and movie crews blocking sidewalks.

“We’re glad they want to be here,” he said. “But there’s some permitting that needs to be done so there’s some rules [they have] to follow. They can’t just willy-nilly close streets. There’ve got to be notices of that. And then, they also [need to] pay a permitting fee.”

“They make a lot of money on those movies, and they’re getting free locations and studio time basically in our streets,” continued Wilbanks. “We don’t want to discourage them from being there, but we just want them to have some rules to follow while they’re here.”

Wilbanks points out that the movie companies have spent a lot of money with local hotels and restaurants.

“There are some businesses that have really benefited from it, and I’m thrilled with that. But if your business is in Olde Towne, three or four weeks of closing down parking spaces and streets is hard.”

Mayor Will Purdie says, in the past, movie companies generally have asked for permission to film in Clinton, but there’s never been a set of formal guidelines for them to follow.

“Certainly, we are grateful for the movies that have filmed here so far. We would love to continue that and see Clinton’s role in the film industry in Mississippi grow. That being said, if it’s going to do that, we need some policy and procedures around it and some permitting.”

Director David Lipper shot a Christmas movie in Olde Towne during December. It’s his fourth film in Clinton since 2022, and he’s planning to return for a fifth this year. He calls the city “my favorite place to shoot.”

The mayor says, from what he’s seen, Clinton is being portrayed favorably in those movies.

“I think the previous one [The Neglected, starring Josh Duhamel] was set in Clinton. I don’t know that it was specifically Clinton, Mississippi, [but] the footage I saw featured Clinton very heavily, famous landmarks, iconic Clinton shots,” said Purdie.

“My understanding is, the one that just finished filming [The Twelve Dates of Christmas, starring Lucy Hale] is set in, specifically, Clinton, Mississippi,” Purdie continued. “And again, I think they used quite a bit of scenery and tracking shots and things around town to really showcase a lot of the town. As long as Clinton is portrayed in a good light, it’s certainly advantageous for the city to get that exposure and really get Clinton’s name out there.”

But Purdie admits, while it’s possible to figure up the financial impact of movie-making on the local economy, how the city’s image benefits from being the setting of a film is not so readily quantifiable.

One major decision to be made in developing Clinton’s movie company policy is how much to charge for a permit.

“We’re looking at what some other cities that have expanded their film industry have done and probably, I would expect, would take our cues from there, see what’s kind of the standard in the industry and across the state,” the mayor says.

And he’s eager to get everything finalized.

“I’m big on getting policies in place. That may be my attorney background, but I just think it’s a good idea and a good practice. So, we’re certainly looking to get ours set up to hopefully expand this and make Clinton a movie mecca.”