Several people from Greenwood will be featured in the credits for “MK Ultra,” a film about CIA operations in Mississippi in the 1950s and ’60s.
Toy Longstreet Jr., who films local events for The Taxpayers Channel, was working as a driver for the movie when the director asked him if he would like to be in it.
“Usually if you work on these films and they have a spot open, they will offer you a spot as an extra, but this time I got a line and everything,” said Longstreet, who appears on screen as one of two security guards in a mental hospital. “I said yes; then he told me I’d have to shave my beard, and I told him no. He still let me be in it.”
Jerry Tankersley — who has worked in Greenwood as a dentist and currently splits his time between Flowood and Houston working on various projects — worked with the writer and director to develop the script and also contributed to the production financially.
He said he is excited about the film. A trailer for it has received 300,000 views online — more than any other movie that has come out recently, he said.
“MK Ultra” is a fictionalized thriller about the U.S. government’s experiments with drugs in a mental hospital in Mississippi. It originally was titled “Midnight Climax” in reference to the code name the CIA had for the operation on which the film is based.
Tankersley met the writer, Joseph Sorrentino, 10 years ago when the ex-CIA agent left the United States Air Force and was graduating from film school at the University of Southern California. “We hit it off immediately,” Tankersley said.
Others in the cast include Dr. George Smith, who is now deceased, and his good friend Dr. John F. Lucas III.
Smith and Lucas portrayed surgeons in the film, performing a fake tracheotomy. Lucas said they “just went through the motions” for the scene, which was filmed outside Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s operating room at 2 a.m.
“Because we were experienced in our role, we just had to keep our mouth shut and not look at the camera,” he laughed.
Lucas said he got involved with the film as a favor to Tankersley.
Longstreet, Tankersley and Lucas are excited for the film’s premiere — scheduled for Oct. 7 in select theaters — not least because of the role Greenwood played in the production. Longstreet hopes the quality of the final product will encourage more film projects in the community.
“There should be more of this around here. Hopefully other people who want to get into acting will,” he said.
Lucas said, “I’m excited for something filmed in Greenwood. I’m interested to see people we know. They spent several weeks here filming the production.”
Tankersley is excited not only because the movie showcases his hometown but also because of the economic incentives the state offers to encourage filming in Mississippi.
“We chose Mississippi because it’s my home state, Greenwood is my own hometown, and the rebate,” he said. “A 25% cash rebate is paid back to filmmakers because the filming stimulates the economy.”
Longstreet said, “I hope they come do more movies and bring a little more economic opportunity. They paid better than the average job in Greenwood.”
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
