Iowa State Daily Editorial Board: Troy McCullough, Tim Davis, Jennifer Holland, Kathleen Carlson and Jenny Hykes.

We want Hollywood to come back to Ames. And if things go well, it just might happen. Movie producers are in the process of scouting for places to shoot location scenes for the movie version of Iowa State Professor Jane Smiley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Thousand Acres.

Probably the best reason for filming in Iowa is the reality factor. For those who are unfamiliar with the book, the story takes place in rural Iowa. Where could you find a more realistic place for filming than in or around Ames? Rural Iowa is our middle name. Besides, it seems only fitting for the movie to be filmed near the author’s residence. The community has successfully hosted Hollywood movie crews before, as was the case with last summer’s filming of the upcoming movie, Twister. And on that wavelength, Iowa in general seems to be the new Midwestern hotspot for movies filmed on location.

In Iowa, you can find the Field of Dreams. You can find the bridges of Madison County. And hopefully you will soon find a thousand acres.

For some reason, it seems to be good for Hollywood directors and actors to escape their West Coast movie sets and have some authentic country fun, once in a while. It’s good for us, too. It puts Ames on the map, or at least makes our spot on the map a little bit brighter.