Photograph by Sunayna Yasin
We’ve had a lot of filming action this month, and more is on the horizon. Grab your popcorn, grab your camera, and see what’s made in Georgia.
Dirty Grandpa (production code: DG) was by far one of the most ubiquitous productions in the last 30 days. Atlanta seemed star-struck by having Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in town. Personally, I’d like to think the buzz came from the pink Mini Cooper convertible that featured prominently during shooting. As far as productions go, this one wasn’t very secret. Photos inundated social media, giving us behind-the-scenes glimpses of the odd couple on set. In late January, we spotted filming at a few Buckhead spots: the Gold Room, the Havana Club, and the shopping district off of East Andrews Drive. Other scenes were shot near Chattahoochee Avenue, OTP in Marietta, and at 200 Peachtree (a stone’s throw from the Atlanta magazine office). Save for future reshoots, production has finished; as of February 13, filming moved on to Florida.
Last month, we touched briefly on the upcoming Selena Gomez flick, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving (RFOC). The film also brings Ant-Man alum Paul Rudd back to Atlanta for a spell. Based on the novel by Jonathan Evison, the film features Rudd as a man who has suffered unimaginable loss. After enrolling in a caregiving class, his outlook on life begins to change shape when he is paired with an angst-ridden teen (Craig Roberts) suffering from muscular dystrophy and crushing on Dot (Selena Gomez). Filming began near North Decatur Presbyterian Church on January 22. It moved into Midtown off of 14th Street shortly after that, and recently, there have been shooting stints in White and Cartersville. And when not filming, you’ll be glad to hear that stars Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez entrenched themselves into Atlanta culture. They visited Antico recently and learned how to make those wonderful pizzas.
AMC’s Silicon Prairie drama, Halt and Catch Fire (HCF) began shooting its second season in town with Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, and Mackenzie Davis. Atlanta stands in for 1980s Dallas, which was a major player in the personal computer revolution. The series charts the changing dynamic of the tech industry in Dallas that not-only led to the gadget-driven world we know today, but also ensured the birth of this Dallas-born humble purveyor of movie knowledge. We’ve already seen shooting in Roswell and Norcross this month. Recently, signs were spotted on 10th Street next to Piedmont Park.
Ben Affleck’s The Accountant (Wolf) continues to quietly shoot throughout the metro area. Some action was filmed out in Bishop before returning ITP to Marietta Street and West Midtown in early February. More recently, signs were spotted on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Courtland Street, as well as off of the Connector at 10th Street this week.
MTV’s Finding Carter (WHO) was in Avondale Estates last week, right in the heart of Decatur on Ponce before that, and will be in Tyrone for the next few days. The Game (SDS) was spotted filming at the Gold Dome, and The Originals (TOGS) continues its production in Monroe. House of DVF, the E! Diane von Furstenberg reality show, filmed a bit at the recently-opened DVF shop in Lenox Square. We also yet again enjoyed another blast from the past this month when The 5th Wave (Sheldrake) shot some action on Peachtree and MLK last week.
Aside from what we’ve previously told you to look for in near future (The Ring 3, Captain America: Civil War), we can expect Devious Maids (DM) to start filming its third season next month. Later this spring, keep an eye out for Jaden Smith and Maya Rudolph in the Lorne Michaels-led HBO comedy pilot, Brothers in Atlanta. The show we’re most excited for, however, is the FX-ordered comedy pilot Atlanta, created by Childish Gambino himself, Donald Glover. It will focus on two cousins trying to make it into the Atlanta rap game. If you’re not familiar with Glover’s work, know this: He is both deadly funny in his comedy and beautifully poetic in his music. Combining the two yielded positive results during his time on NBC’s Yahoo’s Community, and I can only expect it will be a powerhouse series for FX. No word on when he’ll start shooting, but when he does, we can’t imagine it’d be anywhere else than here in his hometown.