Movie's ghost story set in Hannibal

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- A 24-year-old filmmaker's first feature film will be set in and shot largely in Hannibal.

Jeff Ferrell was in the northeast Missouri town earlier this month to get a look at the community and the old Orpheum Theatre downtown. The film is tentatively titled "Orpheum." Much of the movie will be shot in Hannibal and St. Louis.

Ferrell told the Hannibal Courier-Post that the plot is set around an old, haunted theater. He said it won't be a traditional horror story, more about how ghosts -- good and bad -- are always around us.

Filming is expected to begin in the first half of 2010.

Ferrell has made other, shorter, films that have been shown at festivals. He says the cast for "Orpheum" will likely include some well-known actors.