Richmond-shot "The Cashier" gives film chief a new role
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Andy Edmunds shooting his film last year. Photo: Julianne Tripp Hillia/Courtesy of “The Cashier"
The longtime head of the Virginia Film Office, Andy Edmunds, will debut his first feature film this week at the Byrd as part of the Richmond International Film Festival.
Why it matters: The film features an all-Virginia crew and was shot almost entirely in Richmond.
State of play: Edmunds has been a part of the Virginia Film Office for nearly 30 years, more than half of which he spent leading the organization that's tasked with getting movies and TV shows to film in the state.
- His work as the film office director helped lure big-deal productions like "Lincoln," "Homeland" and "Dopesick" to the state.
- Now he can add feature film director and screenwriter to his resume.
Zoom in: Edmunds' movie "The Cashier" is dark comedy that follows a hardware store cashier who tries to return a $1.6 billion winning lottery ticket she "accidentally" acquired, per a news release.
- The movie is about "choosing light in a world that often rewards the opposite," Edmunds said in a statement, and possibly the only faith-centered film to fully embrace its R rating.
- The cashier is played by Daphne Maxwell Reid, a Richmonder best known for her role as Vivian in "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
- "The Cashier" was shot late last year around Richmond, including at the James Center, Church Hill Overlook and the Pleasants Hardware near the Chesterfield Courthouse, per Style Weekly.
Fun fact (and spoiler): There's a shop cat at the hardware store, but sadly it's not Francine.
- Edmunds told Style he'd hoped to book her for the role, but — diva that she is — she wasn't available. (She was also recently returned from her 100-mile journey to North Carolina.)
If you go: Tuesday's premiere of "The Cashier" at the Byrd is sold out, but it'll also be at next month's Washington West Film Festival and the Virginia Film Festival.