Billy Bob Thornton's latest movie, "Jayne Mansfield's Car," is filming in Georgia, and Covington will play host to the filming of a funeral scene.
Movie crews will be filming at Lester Lackey Funeral Home, 1163 Reynolds St. S.W., from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 13, owner Lester Lackey said today.
According to various media, the movie is a dramedy set in 1960s Alabama about the clash of families from England and the American Deep South. That clash may play out in Lackey's funeral parlor, as Lackey said the scene involves two families meeting there, including one family from London.
A cast member said Lackey's funeral home was chosen because "it's a very Southern home, a very Southern plantation." He said the production company had considered filming at Whitehall, but arrangements didn't work out.
The majority of filming has occurred in Cedartown, Ga., but Billy Bob Thornton and crews were seen filming on Ga. Highway 213 in Newton County recently, including a sighting of the famous grey 1966 Buick Electra 225 in which Jayne Mansfield, actress and sex symbol, died in a car wreck.
The movie is scheduled to be released in 2013, and Thornton is directing, co-writing and starring in the film.
The independent film is being financed by Russian producer Alexander Rodnyansky, according to variety.com, and is laden with stars including Kevin Bacon, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Frances O'Conner, Ray Stevenson and Dennis Quaid.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Duvall described part of the plot.
"It's about a guy in between WWI and WWII who raises a family after his wife left him for an Englishman and moved to England," Duvall told EW.com. "When the wife dies, she asks to be brought back to Alabama to be buried, and at that point the character hasn't seen her in 20 or 30 years. The two families - her original family she abandoned and her English family - meet and then things get really interesting."
In other movie news, "American Reunion" crew members are prepping Newton High School for filming next week. The movie is the fourth in the "American Pie" series and serves as the 10-year high school reunion for much of the original cast from the 1999 hit.
And the "Vampire Diaries" TV series is returning to Covington for its third season on the CW Network after the season two finale garnered 2.86 million viewers. The show will begin filming in July.
Finally, if you're pregnant, have a cute baby or toddler or are Ethiopian, "What To Expect When You're Expecting," starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez, wants you to be an extra. The film is having an open casting call from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Saturday at Hotel Midtown, 125 10th St.
