Friday Forum Showcases James Brown movie and flu shots

Friday Forum Showcases James Brown movie and flu shots

Friday Forum Showcases James Brown movie and flu shots

On October 11, the weekly Friday Forum sponsored by Alcorn State University at Natchez Coffee in Natchez, Mississippi, brought a crowd of folks interested in becoming movie stars. Tammy Smith, casting director for the movie “Get On Up” was one of the guest speakers. She delighted the packed room with stories about her 20-plus year career in the movie industry and filled everyone in on the progress of the James Brown story that is being filmed in Natchez and Jackson, Mississippi.

Part of Smith’s presentation was a plea for more people to participate in the production as extras. She took photos of several Forum participants who filled out applications and expressed interest to invite Alcorn students to apply. ASU Concert Choir Director Donna Schaffer, present at the Forum, had a chance to put an Alcorn plug in with the moviemakers.

Filming of the movie will begin November 4, 2013, bringing a number of well-known faces to the area, including Rolling Stone great Mick Jagger, co-producer of the movie, and actor Dan Aykroyd to name a few. Tate Taylor, who was most recently acclaimed as the producer of “The Help”, now serves as producer for the “Get On Up”.

Also part of the program were nurses from Natchez Regional Medical Center who gave free flu shots to those in attendance. About 30 brave ones in the crowd took advantage of the opportunity.

Friday Forum is a project of Alcorn State University and the Natchez Adams County Chamber of Commerce. It is held every Friday at 8 a.m. at Natchez Coffee.

Pictured: Tammy Smith.