LMGI COMPASS
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Fall 2021
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chopped up a eld and lled it with gravel. That's where we put
catering and base camp for Valentine's Farm. They called it 'Travell
Acres.' We spent a fortune in gravel to build roads because the rain
kept washing them out and making mud pits."
Another location challenge arose when the owner of a property
for a pivotal scene in the nal episode changed her mind about the
lming. "It was an unbelievably beautiful place, and she upped and
said no— after agreeing to it," Taylor remembers. "A producer and I
ew to Miami, where she lived, and she said she just didn't want to
do it anymore and refused to see us.
"We're dealing with people who are just living their lives, and they
don't care. We can't make somebody do something. I was happy
one of the producers went with me to speak with her because it's
hard for them to understand the situation until they experience it
for themselves."
Jenkins was unfazed by having to re-think the location. "My
favorite scene was in the nal episode, when Cora and the little girl
come out of the cave," Jenkins says. "Locations are essential, and
that location was hard to nd. My rst choice was taken away from
me, but then we got something better!"
Meanwhile, another story was traveling on a parallel track—that
of the slave hunter who pursues Cora from state to state, adding
another layer of tension to her journey. While lming that backstory,
production faced its nal challenge. "The crew was shooting on
what was to be the Ridgeway Farm in Madison, Georgia, when
COVID shut down the industry three days from completion," ALM
Benny Sutton says. "We left everything on that property, Alison kept
in touch with the property owners, and eventually, we all came back
in August. That was a life-afrming experience. After that, I can get
through anything."
ARRIVAL
"Alison is great," Jenkins says. "The Underground Railroad was a
really difcult job. Every time we moved to a different state, the
locations changed. We had more locations than you typically have,
and it was heavy subject matter. The job was massive and very
dorm rooms.
in for Griffin,
City Hall with CG
