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Movies Filmed in Vaiden
Where is Vaiden, Mississippi?
Ode to Billy Joe -- 1975
Vaiden Sawmill (Cross Lumber Company)
Tallahatchie River
Bridge
Southwestern View
of Location Depicted in Movie Where Billy Joe Jumped In
Rising Sun, MS Location of the Bridge Used in the Movie
Glynnis O'Connor
Links to Ode to Billy Joe
Mississippi
Burning --
1988
Links to Mississippi
Burning
Mississippi Burning
-- Selected Bibliography from UC Berkeley Library
Filming the Movie in Vaiden
One More -- Gene
Hackman's Signature
When Mr. Hackman had stopped signing autographs, we asked
for "one more." This is what we got.
Photos of the Filming of Mississippi Burning
Scenes Filmed in the Vaiden Courthouse for Mississippi
Burning
"Mississippi
Burning" -- The Book By Joel Norst
Director Alan Parker's Commentary About
the Vaiden Courthouse
From the Mississippi Burning DVD
"We found this courthouse, again,
we looked all over Mississippi,
looking for exactly the right place. I mean, there's a feel to it and, that
is, uh, I suppose, fits the rest of the film. Way I remember, it was, uh,
quite a drive from Jackson.
This is an overnight stay, this courthouse. It's very difficult to find one
close enough to Jackson
just to drive everyday. So, uh, this one was a couple of hours away."
. . . .
"The black onlookers in the
gallery was really, uh, from [Chris] Gerolmo's
original script."
Editors
Note About Alan Parker’s Mississippi Portrayal
It was a joy to watch the filming of the movie Mississippi Burning in
Vaiden. I do have a few comments, however. They are as follows:
[1] All Mississippians are NOT rednecks.
We are NOT trailer trash. All of us are not illiterate. These feelings
applied in 1964, as well as today. While it is true that a part of Mississippi was
against desegregation and wanted to instill hatred to non-Arian races, all of
us were NOT that way.
[2] All of us were NOT supportive of the
Ku Klux Klan. Most of us never affiliated with the Klan or its members in any
way. When I was a kid, the Klan would ride by and toss the
"newsletters," "updates," or whatever they called them
into our driveways. These little "tidbits" of information on Klan
activity always came in handy, because, since we were allowed to burn our
garbage back then (in 55 gallon drums), they made great "kindlin'" for the fire. I never opened ONE of them.
I had better things to do.
[3] Most of us DID NOT hate coloreds,
blacks, negroes, African Americans, or whichever name was "politically
correct" at the time. We didn't go around calling them by the derogatory
names such as Nig**r, Darkie, C**n, or whichever of those terms was
"popular." We left that up to the rednecks and Klan. When I was
growing up, I had great friends that were black. I still do. I realized then
what a lot of us don't know now. My friends were people too.
[4] In the movie Mississippi
Burning, whether you saw it at the theater, or saw/purchased it on VHS or
DVD, there is NO MENTION WHATSOEVER of the name Vaiden, Mississippi,
or any other town the movie was filmed in. It is amazing how Hollywood can come to a small town and film
a movie and, after 10 minutes of end credits (telling who the director's
dog's water-boy was), they can't be gracious or
thankful enough to simply mention the names of the towns used in the film.
Vaiden was paid $ 5,000.00 for the use of the courthouse in Mississippi Burning. You'd think that,
with all the money they saved, they could mention the name of the town. The
movie ends with the following:
"We would especially like to thank:
Governor Ray Mabus
John Horn
Maida Morgan
The Mississippi Film Commission
The Alabama Film Commission
and the people of Mississippi and Alabama for
their kind cooperation in the making of this film."
You would think that, with all of the
credits, the movie-makers could have taken just a few minutes to list all of
the towns in Mississippi and Alabama, that were used in their films.
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