Film

Atlanta’s fondness for bulldozing and rebuilding has left us with nondescript architecture and a generally bland cityscape. But Hollywood eyes our blahness and sees dreams and dollar signs, with our state’s tax credits making an ATL location a no-brainer substitute for cinematic scenery from the Bay Area to Brazil.

This month, movie fans around the world are being introduced to the delights of Atlanta's landmark Starlight Drive In via Turner Classic Movie's annual "TCM Remembers" tribute film honoring those in the film industry who passed away in 2012. The drive in's Moreland Avenue marquee, six screens, projection room, snack bar and even the drive in's blue raspberry and strawberry slushy machines all have starring roles in the 5 minute and 37 second tribute.

"Contagion," the nation's new number one movie, will have you reconsidering that nasty habit of dragging your paws through those communal bowls of snacks at the airport lounge. Or ever again accepting a glass of wine from a bartender. Or perhaps ever again leaving your home. The highly effective thriller, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne and Gwyneth Paltrow, focuses on Atlanta's Centers For Disease Control and Prevention as its disease detectives attempt to stop a swift-moving global pandemic from snuffing the earth's population. How swift-moving you ask? Spoiler alert! Just 25 minutes into the movie, Coldplay singer Chris Martin's missus is being autopsied.

Atlanta’s movers and shakers met at the St. Regis hotel today for an event celebrating Usher’s New Look foundation. Though it was all flashbulbs, rappers, and rock stars on what Usher called “the floral carpet,” the entertainer proved to me he was more than just a pretty face and a slick linen suit.

With a sly wink to one of television’s biggest blunders, late night TV host Conan O’Brien will return this summer to host The Tonight Show on Atlanta’s own Turner Classic Movies. Beginning July 1, the current TBS Conan host will expand his Turner Broadcasting resume with an additional gig at TCM, introducing and providing insight for Carson on TCM, a month-long look at classic Johnny Carson interviews from his long-running stint as Tonight Show host. The interviews, many of which aired just once on NBC, will span from Carson’s 1973 chat with Tony Curtis to the late-night host’s final interview with Elizabeth Taylor in 1992.

Seeing Will Ferrell (or is it Ron Burgundy?) on Peachtree Street. Meeting Jim Carrey in a Buckhead Barnes & Noble. Shopping in downtown Athens with Justin Timberlake and Amy Adams. Even receiving wardrobe compliments from Kevin Kline. All totally plausible ventures now that Atlanta and other Georgia cities and towns are becoming go-tos in the film industry for both major and independent studios.

Catch superspy James Bond on the big screen as the Plaza Theatre hosts 50 Years of Bond—the entire franchise in order, from 1963’s "Dr. No" to last year’s "Skyfall." The theater’s new co-owner Michael Furlinger discusses the groundbreaking but expensive endeavor.

Before you go all rooting for kindhearted Katniss, consider this: We have our own district tribute in the fight with Atlanta native Stephanie Leigh Schlund, who plays Cashmere. And she’s not just any tribute: She’s from the beautiful, bloodthirsty District One, where career tributes are hardened from birth for vicious war.

If you don’t get the Sportsman Channel (and even if your cable carries it, you still may not get it), you probably don’t know that onetime Braves star Chipper Jones has traded his bat and uniform for a compound bow and camo as star of outdoors show Major League Bowhunter. We immediately wondered how No. 10 would fare against two famous, if fictional, archers who shoot (arrows and film) in Georgia.

There’s a reason the 1968 Steve McQueen car chase classic Bullitt is flickering on the screen in the Need for Speed scenes shot at the Swan Drive-In in Blue Ridge last summer. The high-octane thrill ride in theaters today from first-time director and former stuntman Scott Waugh and starring Breaking Bad two-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul and rapper/actor Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi is a breath-snatching homage to McQueen’s 60s and 70s racing flicks.