Georgia ranked #3 place to film

by Jennifer Brett

We’re No. 3!  Georgia ranked third in a list of top places to film by industry publication P3. The report noted the opening of the Panavision Atlanta facility and quoted Margit Elo, president of U.S. operations at Panavision, raving about what Hollywood South has to offer:  “Atlanta provides a wide variety of looks, from rural to urban. It has a talented and well-established crew base, growing production infrastructure … easy access by air from all directions, and a strong technology infrastructure.”

P3’s list of “Top 10 Locations in the Universe” ranked California and Connecticut ahead of Georgia. Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina also made the list, which also cited Canada, New Zealand and the UK as great filming spots.

Here at home, the Georgia Department of Economic Development keeps a close eye on what’s filming and when the finished product will be released. Here’s a list of some of the major films shot here last year, with their stars in parentheses, along with their scheduled release dates:

• “Joyful Noise” (Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton): Jan. 13
• “Good Deeds” (Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Gabrielle Union, Phylicia Rashad): Feb. 24
• “Wanderlust” (Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd): Feb. 24
• “The Three Stooges” (Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes Will Sasso, Jennifer Hudson, Jane Lynch and some of the “Jersey Shore” crew): April 4
• “American Reunion” (Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Eugene Levy, Jason Biggs, Jennifer Coolidge, Katrina Bowden, Thomas Ian Nicholas and Seann William Scott): April 6
• “The Wettest County” (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain): April 20
• “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” (Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Matthew Morrison, Brooklyn Decker and Anna Kendrick)
• May 11; “Neighborhood Watch” (Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller): July 27
• “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” (Jennifer Garner): Aug. 15.
• “Parental Guidance” (Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott): Thanksgiving 2012.
• The Billy Bob Thornton project “Jayne Mansfield’s Car,” also starring Kevin Bacon, John Hurt, Robert Patrick and Robert Duvall, is set to come out in 2013.

- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com