Like any obsessed Atlantan, I scanned the latest Anchorman 2 trailer to spot scenes of our fair city, which doubled as both San Diego and New York City during the movie’s filming here. But what really struck me is a notable Atlanta absence.
In Anchorman: The Legend Continues, Ron and the gang are recruited by “GNN,” the fledgling “global news network.” And naturally, because this is Hollywood, they move to NEW YORK. This bit of cinematic illogic makes my head spin. Why go to pains to make downtown ATL look like late-seventies NYC if you’re depicting the origins of 24/7 cable news, which we all know originated in ATLANTA?
Maybe it’s the moviemakers’ New York-centric worldview. But just think of the wasted potential. For one thing, lots of downtown Atlanta still appears to be trapped in the 1970s, so the film makers would have been spared the trouble and expense of revamping Woodruff Park and hanging up phony street signs. And, just think of the comedic value of a Ted Turner-inspired character chewing the scenery at the SunDial or striding through, oh, perhaps the CNN headquarters, which are, let me mention again, IN ATLANTA.
P.S.
Oh, and if you do watch the trailer looking for ATL locations, the late, lamented (by me, anyway) City Grill in Hurt Plaza appears to make a cameo at the 45-second mark.
