Cotton Pickin' Fair
PRESS RELEASE

News Release: HOLLYWOOD RETURNS….eighteen years after Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood filmed THE WAR during the 1993 Fall Cotton Pickin’ Fair; The Wettest County is in Production at the Gay Family Farmstead in Gay. A dozen sets in the Warehouse, WF Gay Home, The 1911 Building, The Peach Packing Shed, and at The 1911 Building exterior on HWY 85 and Caldwell Street creates a explosion of activity in Gay this spring and additional action is called for at several other local properties.

A great star lineup; Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska led by Director John Hillcoat and 1st Assistant Director Walter Gasparovic will do justice to the story in Matt Bondurant’s book, “The Wettest County in the World”. LaBeouf and Hardy began filming in the WF Gay home on schedule on February 28, 2011. The motion picture industry discussions favor great success for this production team and the story line.

Based on prohibition era Franklin County, VA, the Bondurant Family and a corrupt local government, The Wettest County offers a serious look at life in southwestern Virginia in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. As you might guess, the Cotton Pickin’ Fair’s buildings fit the bill for those years.

The Cotton Pickin’ Fair is happy to anchor the production in Meriwether County and the movie crew will be with us through April 24. This is a big economic boost locally and a huge economic boost for greater Newnan- Peachtree City. Hotels, auto rentals, equipment rentals, restaurants and caterers are major benefactors and local casting calls have resulted in serious employment for a number of our local professional actors. The Movie is also providing a theatrical outlet for about one hundred talented local people filling in as extras.