Filming is likely to start in and around Greenwood early next year on a television anthology series about Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, and the events surrounding his death in 1955.
“Woman of the Movement,” a six-part series, will be broadcast on ABC.
Producer Michael Lohmann and location manager Wendall Hinkle — who have both worked on such projects as the television show “Nashville” and the biographical television movie “Patsy & Loretta” — spoke to the Leflore County Board of Supervisors Monday night about using parts of the county as locations for the series.
Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-old from Chicago, was tortured and killed after whistling at a white woman at Bryant Grocery and Meat Market in Money. Two white men were acquitted by an all-white jury in his death but later admitted in a magazine interview that they had killed him.
Mamie Till-Mobley demanded an open-casket funeral, and a photograph of her looking at his mutilated body taken at the service is often credited with spurring the civil rights movement.
She remained a civil rights activist in honor of her son for the rest of her life. She died in 2003.
The production team members told the supervisors that they were particularly interested in using the Leflore County Civic Center. Hinkle said it would serve as a performance area and sound stage for various interior shots.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast and crew must be separated from the general public as much as possible, and the Civic Center’s size and privacy would help with that, he said.
Lohmann said he plans to do 75% of the filming in and around Greenwood to make the series as authentic as possible. Other proposed locations include Sumner and Memphis.
The board went into a closed session to discuss the contract with officials from the Civic Center and the production duo.
After the discussion, the board unanimously voted to approve having the production’s attorneys and Joyce Chiles, the attorney for the board, draft a written contract to present at the supervisors’ next meeting.
The series, which is scheduled to start filming on Jan. 11, does not have an official air date yet, but Lohmann estimated that it would premiere in mid-2021.
Lohmann confirmed that actors have been selected but said the cast cannot be announced yet. He said the production budget exceeds $30 million.
Civic Center Director Andrew McQueen said after the meeting that he is excited about this possibility.
“I feel real good,” he said. “I am happy to have them here, and I think it is going to bring a lot of business to the area.”
•Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. Twitter: @AdamBakst_GWCW
