Toccoa Film Receives Theater Release

Early July brought the announcement that the ReelWorks studios film “When We Last Spoke” will hit the theaters as a special Fathom events in early September.

Filmed in Toccoa in the Summer of 2018, “When We Last Spoke”, directed by Joanne Hock, and featuring Melissa Gilbert, Corbin Bernsen, and Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman, was adapted by the book written by Executive Producer Marci Henna.

Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce President Julie Paysen says it is exciting to see the movie featured to a larger audience. “Everyone has been anxiously awaiting a premiere outside of the one we had here. Waiting to see it on television, but it was slow coming because in the background ReelWorks Studios was working on a larger release. When We Last Spoke will be releasing across the nation in movie theaters Labor Day weekend.”

The movie is set in 1967 and focuses on two rambunctious sisters raised by doting grandparents and a wacky great-grandmother in the Southern town of Fireside. It is a heartwarming tale of family, friendship, and forgiveness.

“When We Last Spoke” premiered in Toccoa at the historic Ritz Theatre on April 11th, 2019. The movie was the audience award winner at the Austin Film Festival in 2019, and was an official selection of the Heartland International Film Festival. Paysen says the larger release is due to how well the film has been received. “They have received much accolade on just about every level in the film industry. That’s how films go. You don’t really know what kind of traction it will receive until produced, finished, and reviewed. This has turned into an even bigger opportunity for them than we dreamed. It’s real exciting to see that happening and unfolding before our eyes, and to be able to go to a theater and see our town as the spotlight and background of this movie.”

Toccoa-Stephens County has been the host for six movie projects and number seven is expected to be on the way. Paysen says the project has been pushed back due to the pandemic. “In the middle of March we already had a team from ReelWorks Studios in town preparing, then Covid-19 unraveled that project, and they had to postpone sending the team back and holding off sending the rest of the crew and cast. They are planning to return to town toward the end of this month for weeks of prep, and then filming the month of August and into September here locally.”

Paysen says that when projects are filmed in Toccoa it affects the economy in many ways. “It’s exciting and fun for us to be a part of it, but the even greater impact is the financial investment that is made in our community. These projects have a direct effect on our merchants including: accommodations, meals, supplies, clothing…all different aspects in the making of a film.”

Paysen says the projects filmed in Toccoa-Stephens County have made it a point to work with and support local business. “The companies that we have had the privilege to work with are very intentional about spending those dollars right here in Stephens County. Depending on the size of the six different (and now seven) projects that we have been a part of, they have spent anywhere between $80,000 and $350,000 in the six to eight week time frame that they are here on each project.”

Stay tuned to WNEG for updates on “When We Last Spoke” and other film projects in Toccoa-Stephens County.