The New York Times Best Seller, The Help, is an inspirational novel that takes the reader into life in the Deep South in the 1960s. Written by Mississippi native Kathryn Stockett, the novel, which takes place in Jackson, is a fictitious tale of three amazing women whose drive to start a movement forever changes a town and the way women view each other. The Help is a story about the rules we abide by and the ones that we don't.
Recently turned major motion picture, The Help will be released in theaters on August 12, 2011. Filming for the movie took place in Greenwood, MS and Fondren in Jackson, MS. Kathryn Stockett always knew that she wanted The Help movie to be filmed in the actual setting of the novel. She explains this in this article. Stockett was quoted in the article saying that her "heart would break" if it was filmed anywhere but Mississippi.
The Fairview mansion, as mentioned in The Help on page 148, was host to all of the film's stars while they were filming in Fondren. The Fairview innkeepers and staff were honored to meet stars from the film such as Emma Stone (Skeeter), Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly), Ahna O'Reilly (Elizabeth Leefolt), Anna Camp (Jolene French), Chris Lowell (Stuart Whitworth), Tate Taylor (director and childhood friend of Stockett), and many of the film's producers.
While filming in Jackson, the whole town was abuzz with excitement. Many locals even found their 15 minutes of fame as extras in the film. The filming took place in the middle of a sweltering Mississippi summer and many of downtown Fondren's shops and houses in Greenwood were remodeled to fit the time of the film.
