SELMA, Alabama -- The streets of downtown Selma surrounding the Edmund Pettus Bridge closed today as filming began for the production of Paramount Pictures Selma movie. Selma, which will film in the titular city through Thursday, stars David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and it culminates with the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march that eventually led President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965. While most filming will take place in Atlanta, Ga., several scenes from the movie will be shot in Alabama, such as the Selma-to-Montgomery march. In addition, filmmakers are scheduled to shoot a pivotal scene where King leads civil rights demonstrators down Dexter Avenue toward the Alabama State Capitol on Friday. For locals, the filming made getting to downtown a little tricky, but most said they didnt mind the inconvenience in exchange for shining a light on the citys history. Im just excited, said Selma native Darryl Kelly. Im just glad that somebody is paying attention. We have a lot of history here. There are several things that need to change, but Im glad the spotlight is back on Selma. Selma is directed by Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey as well as Brad Pitt serve as producers for the film. In addition, Winfrey announced on Sunday that she would play the supporting role of Anna Lee Cooper, a leader in the Civil Rights movement. Rev. Kenneth Spry, a minister from South Carolina who visited Selma today as part of a Civil Rights tour with his youth group, said the filming prevented the group from getting to physically cross the bridge, but they were able to take photos from a distance. We wanted to march across the bridge, but theyre not letting us get close to it all, Spry said. Its been a pretty closed set cause Oprahs in town, but we are going to get a picture of the bridge, and then well load up the bus. Overall, about 500 locals were cast as extras to take part in scenes filmed in Selma and Montgomery this week. The filming serves as a rare chance for Alabama residents to see what the making of a major motion picture is like. I think really the most exciting part is just seeing what goes into making movies, said Will Atkinson, who was cast as a military police extra. I enjoy watching them, and itd be cool to be in the movie, but I mostly just want to see what the process i like. Selma in theaters Feb. 6, 2015
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 06:29:59 +0000
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