by Robert Lee Long, Madison County Journal, March 2, 2000
antique shops here Tuesday, her purse slung casually over her shoulder.
"It's not like California where you have to worry about your purse," mused the star of films like "The Big
Chill" and "Poltergeist," who is in Canton for the filming of the Mobil Masterpiece Theatre's production of
"The Ponder Heart," based on the novella by Eudora Welty.
The production company has set up offices in the Canton Welcome Center, and filming is expected to
close portions of the Square to traffic Wednesday and Thursday of next week.
A wedding scene and funeral scene are to be filmed in coming weeks in Sharon Methodist Church.
"This is a very charming town," she said of Canton, which has been the site of no less than three movies
in the past five years, most recently "My Dog Skip," filmed in 1998, and "O, Brother, Where Art Thou" and
"The Rising Place" last summer.
Williams said what she most appreciates about Canton is her ability to move with ease among the local
townspeople without being recognized. "The people here have been lovely to me," said Williams, as she
basked in the warm afternoon sun on the courthouse lawn.
Williams has been in Canton for the past week as filming begins on the Welty project.
The Los Angeles resident has been in the South before, but she said her experiences were mostly in
larger Mississippi cities like Gulfport. In Canton, the pace has been just a little slower, and Williams said
she likes that.
"I have really enjoyed going to the antique shops here," said Williams, an inveterate browser, whenever
she finds the time off from her busy Hollywood schedule.
What excites Williams the most is working on a film project featuring the work of Welty, whom Williams
said she greatly admires. Being in Welty's native Mississippi has helped her prepare for her role in the
project. "It gives me a feeling of what her work is all about," said Williams. "I'm hoping to get to meet
her while I"m here," said Williams, of the ailing Mississippi author.
Actor Peter MacNicol, who starred in such films as "Sophie's Choice" with Meryl Streep and "Housesitter,"
has also been sighted strolling around the Square, taking in the local sights.
Although he has appeared in numerous films and has a role in the Welty project, he is perhaps best
known as attorney John "The Biscuit" Cage on Fox's current hit "Ally McBeal."
Others involved with the film, which will shoot in Canton, Sharon, Edwards and other nearby locales, say
the chance to work on a project involving the work of Eudora Welty, is especially rewarding.
"I feel like this is sacred ground," producer Earl Hamner Jr., the creator of "The Waltons" television
series, said in his unmistakable Virginian drawl. "It (Mississippi) is sacred because this is where Eudora
lives, and I feel any writer would feel that way."
Don Sipes, who is collaborating with Hamner on the project along with film's main producer, Marian Rees,
echoed Hamner's comments. "We love it here," he said. "I think that about says it all."
"Any film requires the collaboration of many artists: writers, directors, actors, designers," Rees said of
the collaboration for ALT Films production of "The Ponder Heart."
She said the production team's efforts will try to remain true to Welty's visions. "When you're
adapting a book to film, however, you add another collaborator to the mix: the book's author. Our
challenge will be to remain true to those visions, so that people who are familiar with the novel or story
will find the writer's strengths, and their spirit in the films."
Four of the new films, being produced for PBS by WGBH in Boston and ALT Films of Los Angeles, will
feature Amereican authors as part of Mobil Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection.
In addition to cast and producers, the heart and soul of any film are the legions of wardrobe, makeup,
lighting and sound technicians that accompany film producers.
Linda Gardar, originally of Iceland, has worked on several of the recent films shot in and around Canton,
including "A TIme To Kill," "O, Brother Where Art Thou" and My dog Skip."
"We've fitted 70 women and I don't know how many men during the last few days," said a weary Gardar
as she rummaged through a box of men's hats. Gardar said she has enjoyed her stay in Canton but
wishes there were a few more restaurants.
"I really like the town, though -- it's cute," she said.
