CEDARTOWN — Some extra antique objects, benches, and a fresh coat of paint are making an appearance in downtown Cedartown as crews work to create the background for scenes in Tyler Perry’s next movie.
Storefronts in the 300 and 400 blocks of Main Street are being transformed in preparation for exterior shots for the Netflix feature “Six Triple Eight,” set to film for one day in the downtown area on March 28.
“I have a produce stand!” exclaimed Patti Weatherwax, owner of The Main Threads consignment and gift shop.
Crews installed wooden structures in front of and on the side of her shop at 401 Main St. this week featuring plenty of places to display fruits and vegetables as part of the film. She said seeing the activity downtown of moving in set decoration has been exciting.
“I like the energy it creates and I would like to see it happen more often so people can appreciate Cedartown more. It’s such a cool little town, and I think the more exposure it gets the better,” Weatherwax said.
The movie tells the true story of the only all-black, all-female World War II battalion faced with the task to sort through and fix a three-year backlog of undelivered mail to U.S. troops fighting in the war.
Kerry Washington and Oprah Winfrey have been cast, with Washington also serving as executive producer. Perry adapted the screenplay from Kevin M. Hymel’s article about the battalion that was published in WWII History Magazine.
A plan to paint the side of the building housing Moore’s Soda Fountain and Remix at Moore’s at 402 Main St. will include painting over the mural that faces West Avenue, according to the building’s owners.
Lindsay Hutcheson King and her husband, Kevin King, took to Facebook to let the community know that the mural will be painted by the production company for its purposes.
The mural, which was painted sometime around 2008, features a variety of Cedartown businesses from the time and portraits of some of their owners and employees. It has started showing signs of age in recent years.
The building’s owners have said they have battled moisture problems with the building since purchasing it and they have been working to get it sealed up, with the wall featuring the mural being the last piece.
“We know it is a key focal point in town and holds a lot of memories for a lot of people,” the post on the Remix at Moore’s Facebook page says. “It will initially be painted a solid color until I can figure out an equally cool mural to paint there.”
The post also explains that having it painted at the cost of the film production is a huge help for a small business like theirs.
“We are so thankful,” the post says, adding that crews will likely begin painting over it Monday. “It absolutely had to be done regardless and now is the time.”
Weatherwax said the representatives from the production company who have been in downtown Cedartown have been very nice and made sure her business is still visible and allowed to stay open as much as possible.
“I’ve talked to some of them every day. I ask them questions, not just pertaining to my store, and they have been very forthcoming, offering to help in any way to accommodate me,” Weatherwax said.
Many storefronts have been taken over by the production and made period appropriate for the time frame of the movie.
The vacant storefront at 310 Main St. that was themed to a fictitious drugstore for the filming of “Watchmen” in 2018 appears to be keeping its branding as Muller’s Drugs with the “Six Triple Eight” crew adding several items in the windows and out front, including a barrel of brooms and a life-size carving of a Native American.
Main Street, from East Avenue to Ware Street, as well as some parts of some side streets, including West Avenue, Sterling Holloway Place, and Herbert Street, will be closed from midnight Monday, March 27, to 6 a.m. Wednesday, March 29, to accommodate film crews.
Several other streets coming off of Main Street will be closed to through traffic and only open during breaks in filming. Prior Street in front of the Polk County Courthouse will be closed just before filming starts outside of Courthouse No. 2 on March 28.