We’ve always believed that one of Natchez’s biggest hurdles to greater success is its remote location — but it’s also one of its greatest assets, too.

Sometimes getting people to come to Natchez can be difficult. You rarely pass through here on purpose. You sort of have to want to divert here.

But if you can get someone to come to Natchez, even for a brief period of time, usually they have a good time and want to stay for a while.

Through the years, Natchez has become second home to a number of Hollywood celebrities. Countless more have passed through these parts as mere visitors, slipping into virtual anonymity here with no paparazzi to be found within 200 miles or more.

So it was with great delight that Natchez welcomed one of its newest citizens — we count Church Hill as part of the greater Natchez area — Tate Taylor some time back.

On Monday, the world officially learned that Taylor’s newest project, a film about legendary singer James Brown, would be filmed completely in Mississippi, including large portions in Natchez.

We applaud Taylor’s work to get Hollywood to invest in Mississippi, and we applaud all of the local and state people — many of whom are just volunteers who love Natchez — for their work in helping Taylor.

The film industry is a perfect fit for Natchez. Almost every corner of our community is a living “set” just waiting for filming.

Hopefully, the allure of Natchez will take hold and the film industry will seek to stick around a while.