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- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 7 Feb 2003.
Movie filmed in Townsend to be called ``Bell Witch the movie''
2003-02-07by Iva Butlerof The Daily Times Staff
The movie that was filmed in Townsend in October and November 2002 will be called ``Bell Witch the movie.''
"The film is based on the legend of the Bell family. It tells how John Bell was killed by a spirit and the way his family was tormented,'' said Doris Ogle Marr of Big River Pictures, a subsidiary of Cinemarr Entertainment, the movie production company.
According to legend, John Bell was killed by a witch in 1820 in Adams and the spirit promised to return in 107 years. The movie starts in the later period and flashes back to the time the spirit originally haunted the family.
Ogle's son, S. Shane Marr, who directed, co-produced and co-wrote the script, said the film will be released this summer. He is negotiating distribution rights with two companies.
"Hopefully, we'll have that finalized next week.''
Cinemarr is looking at filming two movies a year, but has not selected the topic of the next film.
"Bell Witch the movie'' was shot on the site of the old ``Christy'' television movie in Rudd Hollow at Townsend.
"Townsend is a great place to shoot in,'' Shane Marr said. ``The people that own the property hadn't let anybody in there to film in 10 years.''
Marr, a Sevier County native, said the property owners let him film on their land because of the family-type film he was producing.
An eighth-generation native of the area, Marr has been in the movie business for 15 years. Previously he worked with Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., and later with production companies in California.
He decided to come home to make movies and spend the money on productions here instead of on the West Coast.
"This film wanted to be done. Normally a film doesn't want to be made, but for some reason everything on this movie just fell into place. It was like the film wanted to tell the story.''
The movie is not another takeoff on horror flicks that have reached the screen in recent years.
"This is a legend ... not so much of a horror film. It is a film you can watch with the family,'' he said.
He hopes to have a screening of ``Bell Witch the movie'' in Knoxville, depending on what can be worked out with the distributor. One premier may be held in California and another in this area.
During the production of the film in Townsend, the company had 150 people working on major filming days and 75 at other times.
The production team rented 50 rooms and eight houses in Townsend, which contributed over $100,000 to the Townsend economy, said Herb Handly, executive vice president of Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"They had 700 room nights in October and November.''
One member of the crew is Hope Banks, a Memphis resident who earned a bachelor's degree in speech pathology from the University of Tennessee, where she was also involved in theater. She acted the role of Betsy Bell, the teenage daughter of John and Lucy Bell.
"(Betsy) goes through the ups and downs of her first love -- finding and ultimately losing that love due to what the witch thrust on her life.
"Betsy is 10 years my junior, and the role called for me to reach back in my teen years and react to situations she was faced with,'' Banks said.
"This was one of the oldest, most fascinating ghost tales. It's very interesting and magical. It has such a history with the power force of the spirit. It's great to bring the tale to life and share it with other people.''
The trailer promotion for ``Bell Witch the movie'' has already received a Telly, a national award that gives recognition to outstanding non-network and cable commercials.
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