In October Amazon began filming a series in Marshall called The Ballad of Ruby Salem.
The series is based on the futuristic science fiction novel, The Peripheral, written by William Gibson, and is being filmed in Marshall and other locations in Western North Carolina through Oct. 22, 2021.
Bass Hampton, the location manager for the project, debriefed members of the county board on the show’s plans. Hampton has also served as location manager for films such as Get Out and The Conjuring. Hampton said he started scouting locations for the show about a year ago.
“When I was looking for this story, the directive was to find something in North Carolina that suited the story,” Hampton said. “I started in Charlotte and looked in Winston-Salem, but it was set in the mountains of North Carolina. Since I grew up in Boone, I was a little partial to spending more time looking up here than I was in Charlotte.
“I got up here and I looked at Black Mountain, Weaverville, and Asheville. When I got here [Marshall], it was my last day here before they took me off the field. It was snowing, and I was on the south end of town. I started working my way down and taking pictures. I said, ‘They’re going to fall in love with this place. I know it.'”
The movie caravan will inhabit the Island and the Marshall Depot building for the next two or three months. The Depot is being converted into a juke joint of sorts, known in the production as ‘Jimmy’s, The Bad Guy Hangout.’ The crew has also converted the ReClaim Madison storefront into a 3D printing shop as part of the production.
There are about 250 people working on the film. The crew plans to use a Wednesday through Sunday filming schedule, and also plans to film in Burnsville and Asheville.
Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Jack Reynor, Eli Goree, and Ned Dennehy, The Ballad of Ruby Salem is set in a future where technology has subtly altered society. In the series, which will be released sometime in 2022, a woman discovers a secret connection to an alternate reality as well as a dark future of her own.
