MY OBSERVATION:
I noticed after watching the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou"on the DVD” (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/)
player that the final scene in the movie was filmed at a railroad crossing in Edwards, Mississippi. I noticed this because on my other DVD “Goin’ To Kansas City,” by www.pentrex.com, there are previews of other Pentrex videos, one of them called “Kansas City Southern: Along the Meridian Sub Division.” (http://www.pentrex.com/kcsm.html) There’s a brief shot of a KCS pulpwood train going through that very same crossing as seen in the last scene of “O Brother, Where Art Thou” at MP 122. [8D]
MY QUESTION:
Other than the fact that the movie company cleaned up the street considerably for that final shot in the movie, I noticed that the grade crossing lights had been removed for the movie. I’ve found out that the movie had been shot in the summer of 1999, therefore, the scenes in the KCS video had to have been filmed prior to the movie, probably in late 1998 based on the color of leaves of the trees.
[?]So, how did/would/could the movie company have convinced the railroad to remove a grade crossing signal for a movie scene and also get a shot of a hand cart going down the tracks? Again, this is at MP 122 in Edwards, MS on the KCS Meridian Sub Division.[?]
I would speculate that the KCS is easier to negotiate with than other railroads. Am I right or am I wrong? Can anyone shed light on the subject? Are railroads usually cooperative with movies if the right $$$ amount is offered?