Fun Facts about Disney’s The Help Movie

Did you read the book The Help? I loved it! Today I thought I’d share some fun facts about Disney’s The Help movie.

Fun Facts About Disney’s The Help Movie

• Growing up in Jackson, Miss., in the 1970s, both director Tate Taylor and author Kathryn Stockett had maids (whom both refer to as their co-mothers) who cared for them while their mothers worked. Taylor’s co-mother, Carol Lee, has a small part in the film.
• The film was shot on location in and around Greenwood, Miss., and the citizens of Greenwood willingly pitched in to find period props for the film by digging around in their attics and basements. Many played extras in The Help as well. Even producer Brunson Green’s grandmother’s dress wound up in wardrobe
• While growing up in Jackson, Miss., Tate Taylor (Director), Kathryn Stockett (Author) and Brunson Green (Producer) would regularly be treated to milkshakes and grilled cheese sandwiches at Brent’s Pharmacy soda fountain. The production was able to recreate the real Brent’s Pharmacy as it was back when they were children.
• Local chefs were brought in to make sure foods used in the scenes, from fried chicken to congealed salads, were regionally correct and also correct for the times. A conscious effort was made to make it all look homemade, not fancy or store bought. This added to the authenticity of the film.
• Cast members spent a whole day in a ballroom learning how to do period dances, including the bunny hop taught by Sissy Spacek.
• A dialect coach, hired to make sure everyone’s southern accent was perfect, flew into Jackson, Miss., to record accents for the actors. Even the real southerners in the cast were coached in the proper way of speaking specifically for the Mississippi Delta. Allison Janney picked Producer Brunson Green’s mother’s accent to emulate for her character, Charlotte. In 1963, Mrs.Green was the same age as the character Skeeter, played by Emma Stone.
• The mothers of Tate Taylor, Kathryn Stockett and Brunson Green all have appearances in The Help.
• The movie theater that Skeeter observes in the beginning of The Help while getting gas was the theater Director Tate Taylor went to as a child. It closed down in the 1980s and was brought back to life by the production crew. The gas station is a yoga studio today, but was transformed back into a gas station for the shoot.

Watch The Help Movie

You can find The Help movie on Amazon. Watch for free with Prime!

Did you enjoy reading the book or watching the movie more?