MOVIES

Hollywood comes to Thibodaux: Filming underway for 'The Nickel Boys'

Colin Campo
Daily Comet

A Hollywood movie is filming scenes this week in downtown Thibodaux.

The film, "The Nickel Boys," is based on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel by the same name. Written by Colson Whitehead, the 2019 bestseller tells the story of brutal Florida reform school for boys during the 1960s Jim Crow era.

The film, produced by MGM's Orion Pictures, is directed by RaMell Ross, whose 2018 documentary "Hale County This Morning, This Evening" was nominated for an Academy Award.

Extras in the Hollywood movie "The Nickel Boys" stroll along W. 3rd Street  in downtown Thibodaux on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.

Tim Hyde, key set production assistant, said a film crew has been shooting in Thibodaux since Friday and will continue work there through Wednesday.

Hyde said he couldn't discuss what actors or actresses might be taking taking part in the local filming, but he did say residents should be able to recognize the Lafourche Parish District Attorney's Office in the finished movie, which will likely come out in about a year.

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Producers issued a casting call for extras in September, saying they would be filming in and around New Orleans, LaPlace, Hammond and Ponchatoula.

Media that cover Hollywood moviemaking have reported that "The Nickel Boys" will star Aunjanue Ellis, whose performance in the 2021 movie "King Richard" earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. Variety lists other stars as Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater and Fred Hechinger.