The Corn Palace parking lot was a movie set Tuesday.
Cast and crew members watched as a white RV pulled into the parking lot north of the Corn Palace for a scene of a film on Tuesday.
According to co-director Kathy Swanson, "Hap and Ashley" is the working title of the movie about a grandfather and granddaughter who go on a roadtrip in a RV from Tyler, Minnesota, to California.
"It's kind of a transition roadtrip," Swanson said.
The grandfather, Hap, recently sold his farm in Tyler, and his granddaughter, Ashley, recently finished college. The film highlights their adventures as they commute cross country.
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In the film, Hap and Ashley stop in Mitchell to visit the Corn Palace.
"It's a Midwestern icon. It's important to have that authentic Midwestern (feel)," said Swanson about the Corn Palace.
Swanson wanted to highlight the Midwest and her childhood home of Tyler. During her time in Minnesota, she is staying with her 84-year-old father.
The cast and crew is comprised of approximately 85 people from Minneapolis, Ohio University and other areas.
Main character roles for the film are filled by Barry Corbin as Hap and Mackinlee Waddell as Ashley. Terry Kiser, known for his role in "Weekend at Bernie's," fills the role of Virgil; one of the characters in the movie.
Swanson and her husband, Vince O'Connell, are film MFA students at Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies and they are producing the film as thesis project. Swanson wrote the script, and both individuals are directing and producing.
Swanson and O'Connell started preproduction for the film in 2014, and they expect the film to be completed by next summer.
"It blends the comedy and drama of life," Swanson said.
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The film's cast and crew began filming the middle of July and will end the middle of August. A majority of the film has been done in Tyler and other portions of southwestern Minnesota.
For Swanson, it has been a dream to return to the Midwest and her hometown to film the movie.
