15 Minutes in Small Town Fame!

"Blood Done Sign My Name" filming starts tomorrow
Sunday, May 4 2008, 12:57 pm
Graham Cawthon
SHELBY - Lights. Camera. Action!
After months of planning, tomorrow is the day. Filming begins bright and early Monday in uptown Shelby for the independent movie, "Blood Done Sign My Name."
Based on Timothy Tyson's 2004 book of the same name, the film will be shot in Cleveland County, Gastonia, Charlotte and Monroe. At the helm of the project is director and Gastonia native Jeb Stuart.
Monday and Tuesday, the location is Central Methodist Church on Marion Street. Wednesday, it's the court square. Thursday, it's Spake Farm on Cherryville Road. And Friday, Legrand and Smith streets will be closed off for filming.
The crew will return next week and use Shelby as a shooting location off-and-on into the first week of June.
While filming is taking place, be prepared to spend a little bit more time in traffic.
"Some patience is the greatest thing we could ask for," Stuart recently told a crowd at Malcolm Brown Auditorium, noting that filming could potentially inconvenience residents trying to get around town. "It's very time consuming to do a movie well."
Tyson's story tells of a killing in Oxford in 1970 and the subsequent racial tension that arose from it.
"This is an honest piece," said Stuart, screenwriter of such films as "Die Hard" and "The Fugitive." "It's a wonderful story of hope."



Here are the areas of town that will be affected. Approximate shooting times are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

May 5: Central Methodist Church; streets affected: Washington from Warren to Marion; Marion from Dekalb to Lafayette; Dale from Harris to Washington

May 6: Central Methodist Church; streets affected: Washington, from Warren to Marion; Marion from Dekalb to Lafayette; Dale from Harris to Washington

May 7: Court square; streets affected: Washington from Warren to Marion; Marion from Dekalb to Lafayette; Dale from Harris to Washington

May 8: Spake Farm; streets affected: Highway 150 at Spake Farm

May 9: Smith and Legrand streets; streets affected: only Smith and Legrand

May 12: Carolina Avenue and Buffalo Street; streets affected: only Carolina Avenue and Buffalo Street

May 13: New Jerusalem Ministries: Gardner and Calvary streets

May 16: Court square; streets affected: Marion from Dekalb to Morgan; Washington from Sumter to Warren; Lafayette from Sumter to Graham; Warren from Dekalb to Morgan

June 2: P&M Warehouse; streets affected: Blanton and Morgan streets

June 3: P&M Warehouse; streets affected: Blanton and Morgan streets

June 4: Century 21 Dedmon Properties, 331 S. Washington St.; streets affected: Washington and Graham streets

June 5: Carolina Avenue and Buffalo Street; streets affected: only Carolina Avenue and Buffalo Street

June 6: Carolina Avenue and Buffalo Street; streets affected: only Carolina Avenue and Buffalo Street