Mykelti Williamson, the actor who played Bubba in “Forrest Gump,” is in Alabama filming a movie. Williamson is here filming “Run the Race,” a faith-based high school football movie about two brothers trying to overcome their unfortunate circumstances, according to a story written by Greg Garrison for al.com The movie is filming at Bessemer Academy…
Jennifer Lawrence to star in Zelda Fitzgerald Biopic
Ron Howard may direct Jennifer Lawrence in Zelda Fitzgerald Biopic Lawrence will play former Montgomerian and Jazz Age Queen Zelda Fitzgerald, according to an exclusive in The Hollywood Reporter. The Reporter said the film is currently titled “Zelda,” and it is being developed by Ron Howard, who sees it as a “potential directing vehicle.” The…
Stephen King film to shoot in Mobile
A new Stephen King movie, “Gerald’s Game,” will be shot entirely in Alabama with about 90 percent of it shot in Mobile, according to a story by Jared Boyd of al.com. “Gerald’s Game” will star Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Carel Struycken, Kate Siegel and Henry Thomas of “E.T.” fame, who filmed the Hank…
Area camera operators sought for ESPN coverage of firefight challenge
Area camera operators may also come out winners at the Scott World Firefighter Combat Challenge. Television producer Maria Prekeges is seeking camera operators to help film the event, which will be broadcast live on ESPN 3 and livestreamed. The Scott World Firefighter Combat Challenge returns to Montgomery Oct. 24-29 for its 25th anniversary, and Prekeges is…
Is your ugly yard ready for its closeup?
Do you have the worst back yard in the neighborhood? Well, finally there is someone who wants to see it. DIY Network’s Jason Cameron is looking for dreadful, chaotic, overgrown, absolutely hopeless and desperate backyards for the network’s series “America’s Most Desperate Landscape – Back Yard Edition.” Host Jason Cameron has shot in Alabama once…
Sidewalk Film Festival winner working on Montgomery, Auburn showings
Filmmakers with “First Lady of the Revolution,” which recently won three awards at Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival including the Audience Award for Best Alabama Film, are trying to arrange a showing of the documentary in Montgomery and in Auburn. The film is about Henrietta Boggs MacGuire, who became the First Lady of Costa Rica and…
Sweet Home Alabama 2?
Although nothing is currently in the works, Reese Witherspoon has said she would like to make a sequel to “Sweet Home Alabama.” During a Facebook Live Chat, the actress talked about how much she enjoyed “Sweet Home Alabama,” the 2002 romantic comedy starring Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place and Fred…
Wanted: Alabama cowboys, filmmakers
Actual Alabama cowboys will be the stars of a new series being created by Glassman Media, and the production company is also looking for Alabama filmmakers to help bring them to the screen. The Los Angeles production company, which also has made four seasons of the dating TV series “Sweet Home Alabama,” has sent out…
Alabamian’s experiences as Costa Rica’s first lady screens at Birmingham festival
“First Lady of the Revolution,” the story of how Alabama woman Henrietta Boggs MacGuire became the First Lady of Costa Rica and a leading figure in its 1948 revolution, will be shown at Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival on Saturday, followed Sunday with MacGuire doing a reading of her 1992 book. The screening of “First Lady…
Film shot in Tuscaloosa opens nationwide
“The Fight Within,” a Christian film that was largely shot in Tuscaloosa, opened on more than 100 screens across the country on Friday Directed by Michael William Gordon, “The Fight Within” is about a Logan Chandler, a young mixed-martial-arts fighter who is forced to fight again while trying to use faith to overcome his troubled…
Medal of Honor film is about Alabama man
By Rick Harmon The Mel Gibson-directed film “Hacksaw Ridge,” scheduled to open in November, is about a former Alabama man Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. Desmond T. Doss, Sr. Memorial Highway is a two-mile stretch of Alabama Highway 9 that in 2008 was named in his honor. …
Selma’s DuVernay breaks down barriers
By Rick Harmon Following Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-winning civil rights film “Selma,” the director, who as a child spent her summers in Hayneville, Ala., is breaking down some societal barriers of her own. With Disney’s upcoming “A Wrinkle in Time,” she will become the first woman of color to direct a live-action film with more…
Alabama Film Office Blog 