JACKSON, Miss. – James Brown did not grow up in Mississippi, but it is not stopping Tate Taylor of Universal Pictures from filming a movie about the godfather of soul in the magnolia state. The two main film locations will be in Natchez and Jackson starting fall of 2013. A scene will even be filmed in the Mississippi Coliseum (no it will not have to be repainted orange and blue).
“We will be turning downtown Jackson in to Cincinnati Ohio,” said Taylor.
Taylor, a Mississippi native, has directed and produced movies such as “Pretty Ugly People” and “The Help” which was nominated for an academy award. Right now the James Brown movie does not have a title and still no actor has been chosen to play James Brown. Taylor hopes that in the next week he will have an answer to that question.
Like any business that comes into the state, there are incentives for them coming here. That is your tax dollars at work.
“It could be up to 30 percent by 25 percent for payroll incentives for Mississippians working. We could have 7,000 to 9,000 Mississippians involved in this. The impact of this will be hotel rooms, rest, and purchases those people are making. Those are major impacts and we will incentivize that just as we do other businesses,” said Governor Phil Bryant. Bryant could not give a ballpark figure on how much the incentives package would be for the film, but the economic impact of the “The Help was around $20 Million.
Bryant and Taylor hope that in the future Mississippi will have a work force geared for the film industry so producers will not have to spend as much money when coming to the state.
