Ghosts of The Big Sandy Filmed in Lawrence County

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

LOUISA—One of the producers of Ghosts of the Big Sandy, Marsha Slone, said in a post on Facebook that filming of the movie is complete and that now post production begins but by 2024, they will have the movie ready for everyone to see.

On the Ghosts of the Big Sandy Facebook page, it sets the scene in the summer of 1988 with two brothers, Scot and Clayton Hall, along with their cousin, JayLynn finding adventures along the banks of the Big Sandy River all the way up the hill to Pine Hill Cemetery, where they stumble across a well-kept local secret and discover along that way that not all ghosts are dead.

Ghosts of the Big Sandy River is from a book written by Edward C. Hartshorn from Ohio. Slone talked to Hartshorn about turning the book into a film and she said the dream began to blossom from there.

Slone had already been involved in acting as her son Zeb has been acting in various shows and movies for a few years and they have traveled all over.

“My film family rallied around me and we began to dream of the possibilities. We thought we were going to do something simple and small but God kept showing me to grow it into something bigger and better,” Slone said. “I began to understand that this wasn’t just a one-time thing but a path to help people showcase their talent and abilities. It was a path to bring some of this industry to Appalachia. We have so much talent in this region and I felt it was so hard for many to travel to gain experience in this industry. I began to realize that “Hollywood’ uses a lot of communities similar to ours. That sparked an idea and the dream began to flourish of bringing that industry to us.”

Slone said they just wrapped filming and post production begins, which takes months of editing to get a finished project, but by 2024, the movie will be ready to be seen.

“We will continue to fundraise to help cover cost of post-production and soon, we will have a movie with a beautiful, heartwarming story to share with the world and all filmed and produced right here at home,” Slone said. “Joe Robinson and I sincerely thank all the businesses and people in our community for supporting our dreams.”

The film is dedicated to the memory of Scot Harshorn, Slone also said.