SOUTHERN STUDIOS Tate Taylor’s In a Mississippi State of Mind By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t
“ When filming, most of the actors stay with me in my home. We cook dinner every night, have some cocktails, and perhaps we may do some dancing. ”
W hile filming The Help , I noticed how much my cast and crew liked Mississippi. The ease of it all was what was so attractive to everyone,” says Tate Taylor, screenwriter and director of the 2012 Oscar winner for Best Picture, adapted from the novel by Kathryn Stockett, his childhood friend growing up in Jackson, Mississippi. “So at that moment,” the director, producer, and actor notes, “I thought to myself that I would move back home and try to shoot as much as I could here.” By 2021, Taylor’s work in his home state included four films he’d shot and countless others that he produced through his production company and studio, Crooked Letter Picture Company, in Natchez, a riverside town with a population of about 50,000 that’s known for its exquisite antebellum homes. With an eye on preserving the natural charm and beauty of the area in the Magnolia State, Taylor proceeded thoughtfully in building his studio. “I chose an old Budweiser distribution center on the banks of the Mississippi. It’s a fantastic location,” he states. “I own a restaurant, the Little Easy, and also a Blues club, Smoots grocery, right across the street. Crews love it. Natchez is a tourist and a party town. It’s a fun environment to be in.” Outside of Natchez, in Church Hill, is where Taylor and his partner reside. “The home was actually built for an Irish doctor in the Church Hill community,” he de- scribes of the mansion, Wyolah, built on 100 acres in the 1830s. “He saw patients in [an] office in his front yard.” As he brings some of the film industry back to his childhood stomping grounds, Taylor and his crews are met with genuine hospitality. “It all comes down to how easy it is to film in Nat- chez. The city and the citizens welcome [the crews] with open arms,” he says. “And it’s so much cheaper to work here. You often can just walk the town to the various sets.
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Loss of travel time does so much for morale and the budget.” Beyond cost and convenience, though, there’s deep personal appeal for Taylor: “It’s about the peace and serenity of living in the country. I’m a writer, and there is nothing more inspirational than being in the woods.” When Taylor is writing a film that will be shot locally, it’s helpful to be right there where he can see the locations he might use. “Visualizing filming in those spots is great for the writing process,” as he puts it. Then there’s the downtime and mem- ories he makes with his co-collaborators. “When filming, most of the actors stay with me in my home,” he describes. “We cook dinner every night, have some cocktails, and perhaps we may do some dancing. It’s just a great way to work.” It’s also a great way to give the locals work, Taylor finds. “It has been so fulfilling to provide jobs and training in my business to those who might never have had the opportunity to jump [into] our industry.”
Tate Taylor
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Among the next film projects to enter the mix for Taylor is an adaptation of The Prince of Tides for Apple, as well as a movie, Miss Macy , that he is writing and directing for actress Jean Smart, which will be filming at Crooked Letter Picture Company and in New York City. Circling back to Mississippi, though, Taylor is aware of the simple lessons his home ground has reinforced. “People are people the world over,” he closes. “Everyone wants to be treated with respect and love. There is such hospitality here and sense of community. You don’t get that in LA and NYC so much.”
All the Southern charm of Taylor’s Mississippi film hub does not come without its share of sophistication, though, which really makes it the best of both worlds. “There is a fantastic private airport here,” Taylor notes, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s, Jackson, Missis- sippi’s, and New Orleans’ airports are all within 1.5 to 2.5 hours away. “Most people love the drive through the countryside to get here. You can get a lot of phone calls out of the way via Bluetooth in a car.” The convenience of the airport situation works in reverse, too. “I also keep an apartment in NYC. It is so fun to wake up here and be eating in New York that same evening,” Taylor shares. “Going between the two places is such a perfect balance.”
@crookedletterpicturecompany
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