November 2024
Features
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Snake wrangler? Intimacy coordinator? 5 odd jobs in Georgia film.
Georgia’s film industry employs tens of thousands of people every year. Here are five who have carved their own unique niche.
The Great Reset: When will Georgia’s film industry find a new normal?
Until it becomes clear what this new normal will entail, the future of Georgia’s film industry—and the livelihoods of thousands of crew members who serve as the backbone of your favorite blockbuster film or TV show—remains in limbo.
6 Atlantans who have risen from onstage to on-screen
With all the film and TV projects that have been shot here, Atlanta has no shortage of talented local stage actors successfully crossing over to do film and television work. Here are some notable Atlantans you may have first seen onstage who now lend their talents to both the big and small screens.
Why Hollywood can’t stay away from the Marriott Marquis
For movie fans around the world, the late architect John Portman’s Marriott Marquis hotel is known for its starring role in such movies as the Hunger Games series and the 2024 miniseries A Man in Full, plus a bevy of Marvel offerings, from Spider-Man: Homecoming to Ms. Marvel to Loki.
Bill Curry: NFL champion turned unlikely civil rights champion
Football legend Bill Curry played championship ball for Vince Lombardi in the NFL and was head coach at Georgia State and Alabama. His greatest legacy is as an unlikely champion of civil rights.
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The Connector
This Clark Atlanta student works to rally Georgia’s youth vote year-round
Ahead of this year’s presidential election, young voters are gearing up to head to the polls in November. But for Michael Brent IV, civic engagement is a year-round project. Brent, 21, is a senior at Clark Atlanta University, studying political science with a concentration in public policy. He also serves as president of the CAU Democrats—an organization that promotes political awareness and engagement on campus and helps register students to vote.
How a Fulton County poll worker is preparing for this year’s election
The 2020 presidential election started out normally enough for Fulton County poll workers. Angie Jones, a site manager, began her day at her voting location at five a.m. But before she prepared the Dominion voting machines or organized standing areas for poll watchers, Jones joined the entire poll worker team—assistant managers, clerks, and technicians alike—to recite and sign their respective state oaths. This ritual is done before every election, big and small, to promise that poll workers will “truly, impartially, and faithfully perform” their duties. “In 2020, the general election went smoothly for us, and nothing stood out as unusual,” Jones says. “[But] after we closed at seven p.m. and Donald Trump was losing Georgia, the focus was on us.”
Charles M. Blow has a proposition for Black Americans: Reverse the Great Migration
The New York Times opinion columnist moved back to the South with a big idea: What if other Black Americans—a lot of them—did the same? “I am proposing nothing short of the most audacious power play by Black America in the history of the country,” Blow writes in The Devil You Know, his 2021 book outlining the proposal. “Reversing the Great Migration,” as he puts it, could pave the way to “true and lasting political power in the United States.”
Politics gets bumper-to-bumper
Sreekar Bommireddy leaves his North Decatur apartment at 4:30 p.m., headed for Georgia State University. Cars pile up on Clairemont Avenue, waiting to turn left with no turning lane, and he bobs and weaves his 2011 Toyota RAV4 around them. It’s a Tuesday in late July, and the air-conditioning in his car is almost at full blast. Traffic is clear on Scott Boulevard and Clifton Avenue, but then, near Moxie Burger, cars back up again, waiting to turn right on DeKalb Avenue.
The great American political party switcheroo
As Democrats attempt to flip the state for a second presidential election, many don’t know that the Democratic Party once dominated politics in Georgia, though in a very different form. For most of the 20th century, much of the South embraced the party, whose ideological identity—like that of its foil, the Republicans—was forged by the deepest conflicts in American history. It was progressive Republicans who pushed for an end to slavery, while Democrats espoused a conservative commitment to the status quo. But over the last 100 years, the nation’s two major political parties have effectively swapped sides. Here’s how it happened.
Atlanta is the center of the political universe
Welcome to Atlanta where the players play, and we ride in the fast lane of the American news highway. We don’t mean to brag, but when it comes to politics, Atlanta is pretty much the center of the universe: Politicians love us (or love to hate us), our celebs get voters to turn out (for what), and, most importantly, we’re the capital of Georgia, which has emerged as one of the biggest battleground states in the 2024 presidential election. Here’s a look at Atlanta’s headline-making moments over the last four years.
The Bite
Bottega Italian Market & Pizza brings an Italian haven to Marietta Square
The hybrid resto/deli/market is a study in doing things simply and well, with lighthearted flair. With imported meats, cheeses, and olives, the marketplace shelves are also packed with Italian goodies.
Ponce City and Krog Street markets opened a decade ago—and changed Atlanta forever
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Ponce City and Krog Street markets opened, especially with the nonstop buzz around new eateries opening. With restaurants winning Michelin Guide awards and attracting A-list chefs, the two markets have become the center of the Atlanta BeltLine and a global attraction.
Review: Gene’s BBQ offers a Viet-Cajun twist in East Lake
Gene’s BBQ opened in late July in the same building as Poor Hendrix and Mix’d Up Burger. Avery Cottrell started Gene’s and has flooded his debut restaurant with creativity. The restaurant offers Cottrell’s take on Viet-Cajun and Texas-style barbecue, all set at a Flora-Bama party in Pensacola.
With Long Snake, Joshua Fryer embraces a long-simmering passion for cooking
Joshua Fryer’s restaurant Long Snake has electrified the city’s pop-up scene with an assortment of highly original dishes inspired by Fryer’s Southern heritage; his passion for procuring local ingredients; and his work alongside some of the city’s most accomplished young chefs.
The Goods
Meet the singing Rollerblader who makes people smile up and down the Beltline
I’m on the Beltline pretty much every day, doing 12 to 20 miles. I sing while I skate. I get to have fun. People come up to me and give me hugs. They tell me they saw me singing “Party in the U.S.A.” and can’t help but smile and laugh.
Atlanta arts groups are encouraging you not to be afraid of “chaotic crafting”
The Bakery Atlanta and Scraplanta Creative Reuse workshops offer quirky art projects, from decorating fake cakes to making over-the-top jewelry, to encourage Atlantans to get creative.
Something doesn’t smell fishy: How The Original Tinned Fish Candle caught on
It’s another day at The Original Tinned Fish Candle, the company that Dasha Lebedev launched just a year and a half ago. At the time, she never expected an Instagram page of her quirky, sea creature–shaped candles to take off the way it did.
Miscellaneous
Editor’s Journal: The Georgia film industry is changing alongside Hollywood
In recent years, thanks to generous tax credits, Georgia has become known as the “Hollywood of the South,” and it has changed the landscape of the state. Some people have forged new film-related careers. The Atlanta area is suddenly rich in film soundstages. And it’s no longer a rarity to stumble upon an on-location film shoot, as I did a few times when Black Panther used The Woodruff Arts Center as a backdrop.
A love letter to Gokul Sweets
Gokul Sweets stands as a haven for Indian Americans like me who long for those neighborhood stands we grew up with. During the days leading up to the festival of Diwali, shelves empty out within minutes, and lines can be through the door. And I am certainly one of those loyal customers waiting for my turn.
