Imagine walking down the streets of a sleepy beachside town along the Gulf Coast and bumping into superstar John Travolta. That\u2019s what many locals in the town of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, have encountered this April, as a new film called \u201cThat\u2019s Amor\u00e9\u201d has brought well-known stars to the area to shoot an upcoming musical romantic comedy.<\/p>\n
Shooting began in Ocean Springs on April 6, moved on to Biloxi, is traveling to Gulfport, and will return to Ocean Springs at the end of this month.<\/p>\n
Seeing an A-lister on the streets of Los Angeles barely garners a reaction, and in New Orleans, locals have become fairly accustomed to seeing the famous walk among them. But, in Ocean Springs, a celebrity of Travolta\u2019s magnitude has people perched on fences just to get a glimpse of the Hollywood icon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cHere, people are so excited to lay eyes on John Travolta that they have used AI to place him at their businesses all over town,\u201d said Cynthia Sutton, president and CEO of the Ocean Springs Chamber Main Street Tourism Bureau. \u201cThe locals are just thrilled, not to mention the tourists passing through. As an agency, we help share the casting information with the residents of Ocean Springs when it\u2019s available for extras, and I\u2019ve heard that some of our local folks have signed on for that. So, it\u2019s exciting for the whole community!\u201d<\/p>\n
Apart from Travolta, who plays a lifelong bachelor, his romantic interest is played by Katherine Heigl, a woman whose secret has kept her from opening her heart to any new loves. Although many remember Heigl from \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d or her many rom-coms, most may not realize she can sing. In 2014\u2019s \u201cJackie & Ryan,\u201d she played a former country singer and performed all her own vocals. In the more popular \u201c27 Dresses,\u201d people may recall her rowdy rendition of Elton John\u2019s \u201cBennie and the Jets\u201d in the bar scene alongside prolific actor James Marsden, (currently starring along with Jon Hamm in \u201cFriends and Neighbors\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Nick Vallelonga, a two-time Oscar winner for \u201cGreen Book\u201d when it won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay in 2019, is the \u201cThat\u2019s Amore\u201d director. He always had Travolta in mind to play the never-married Nick, whose world changes when he meets Patty (Heigl).<\/p>\n
Musicals are a no-brainer for Travolta, who\u2019s starred in everything from \u201cGrease\u201d to \u201cHairspray\u201d to \u201cSaturday Night Fever,\u201d so breaking into song is not something outside of his wheelhouse. But Vallelonga wanted to try something different with this musical and says that they\u2019re not going to spontaneously break into big production numbers. They have recorded about seven songs so far with a full orchestra, so the songs will be more organic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The cast is rounded out by Academy Award Winner Christopher Walken, whose Oscar is for the very serious \u201cDeerhunter,\u201d but as a versatile actor, he\u2019s done his fair share of hoofing it in song and dance productions. Anyone who has seen his tap dance number on a table, in \u201cPennies from Heaven\u201d knows how talented he is.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Christopher Walken attends the premiere of “Dune: Part Two” at Lincoln Center Plaza on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n Walken actually began his career in musical theater and found himself opposite Travolta, doing a duet together in 2007\u2019s \u201cHairspray.\u201d He has also provided the vocals for the iconic King Louie in \u201cThe Jungle Book,\u201d played an aging crooner in \u201cOne More Time\u201d and performed as Captain Hook in 2014\u2019s \u201cPeter Pan Live!,\u201d singing and dancing several choreographed dances.<\/p>\n For Ocean Springs, this shoot continues a growing pattern of major productions choosing the Gulf Coast area as a film backdrop. In 2025, Travolta was in downtown Ocean Springs shooting \u201cCash Out 3,\u201d where he was seen interacting with locals and drawing big crowds for selfies. In 2023, Travolta filmed \u201cHigh Rollers\u201d at the Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D\u2019Iberville, where the unexpected appearance had shutterbugs clicking their camera phones everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n All of this gives Mississippi a growing presence in the film industry. They may not have the infrastructure or the labor force of a Louisiana or a Georgia, but as part of Hollywood South, they are becoming a competitive filming destination for mid-budget films. And, with walkable downtown streets full of boutiques and restaurants, great coastal scenery, and a willingness to go above and beyond to work with out-of-state casts and crews, their lower costs than larger markets have put them on many filmmakers\u2019 radar.<\/p>\n Unlike Louisiana\u2019s tax credit system, Mississippi offers an incentive program designed to attract productions with rebates on in-state spending\u00a0\u2014 including crews, wages, equipment and local services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Sutton of the Chamber of Commerce believes these incentives are providing a tremendous boost to Mississippi\u2019s sudden visibility in the film world.<\/p>\n With the production traveling through coastal hubs, location scouts have turned local businesses into film sets. In Biloxi, the popular Fillin\u2019 Station restaurant was changed to Hank\u2019s Franks for the movie, and at Biloxi Point, the Slavonian Lodge was used to film a large-scale Italian wedding scene. Even the downtown Biloxi landmark, the plantation-style Bradford-O\u2019Keefe Funeral Home, got into the act.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John Travolta arrives at the fourth annual Academy Museum Gala on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n
\n Evan Agostini | Invision\/AP<\/span>
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