ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) - The city of Alexandria has filed a lawsuit against a filmmaker who says the action could jeopardize a project she planned in the area.
The Town Talk reports (https://townta.lk/1m5OxtZ ) the lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the city against Tonya Holly’s Cypress Moon Productions, based in Sheffield, Alabama.
“This just shocked me,” Holly said Thursday
Holly planned to shoot a movie called “The Story of Bonnie and Clyde” at locations that included Alexandria. She said the project never materialized because of financing although it is not dead.
The city entered into an agreement with Cypress Moon Productions in July 2009, agreeing to provide $50,000 to be used for filming.
Now, in the lawsuit, the city seeks the $50,000 back, plus interest.
On Thursday, Holly said she has been working on a movie called “Christmas Memories” that she planned to shoot partially in Alexandria and that some of the cast members already have been chosen. She said filming of a dance scene was planned for Bistro on the Bayou in England Airpark.
In light of the lawsuit and the potential negative publicity, Holly said, she’s not sure what will happen with “Christmas Memories.”
“We have so many things in the works right now. This could do a lot of damage,” Holly said.
In November 2012, Mayor Jacques Roy said Cypress Moon should make the movie or return the city’s money. Holly responded by saying she would repay all entities and that she still planned to film in Alexandria.
Roy on Thursday said the city had done its homework before contracting with Cypress Moon and had reasonable expectations. But the project didn’t work out, so now the city wants its money back, he said.
“This is a nightmare. This could ruin everything” regarding movie projects she is working on, Holly told The Town Talk.
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Information from: Alexandria Daily Town Talk, https://www.thetowntalk.com
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