We did it, Atlanta! We’ve made it to another year in the Hollywood of the South, and with the winter holiday break behind us, production is once again ramping up. For the next few months, we’ll be in one of the two busy seasons—when it’s not too cold and not too hot—so expect see quite a few movies and TV show productions out and about. Here’s what we saw filming in January:
Last month, we noted that a Tonya Harding biopic would be among the many films coming to Atlanta in 2017, and sure enough, I, Tonya (production code: IT) wasted no time getting here. We first spotted IT signs on January 17 in Duluth. Filming didn’t stray too far from there afterward, working out of the Infinite Energy Center on the 19th through the 24th. I, Tonya stars Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad) as Harding and Sebastian Stan (Captain America series) as Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly. According to Deadline, Caitlin Carver will also join the cast as Nancy Kerrigan.
Starz series Survivor’s Remorse (SRS4) is back in Atlanta for its fourth season. The basketball dramedy, starring Jessie T Usher, RonReaco Lee, and Erica Ash, was spotted near Ponce de Leon and Piedmont Avenues on January 18, and in Buckhead on January 20.
Pitch Perfect 3 has begun production, but don’t expect to see any filming just yet. Right now, Anna Kendrick, Elizabeth Banks, Rebel Wilson, and the rest are in town for choreography, which, as you can imagine, for a project like this, is intense. But it wasn’t all work and no play for the cast. They were spotted last Sunday at the NFC Championship in the Georgia Dome.
The Barden Bellas took a break from filming @PitchPerfect here in Atlanta to support the #Falcons tonight. #RiseUp #SuperBowl #PitchPerfect pic.twitter.com/mF1snYUaFy
— FilmFed (@iamfilmfed) January 23, 2017
Despite what we speculated last month, Avengers: Infinity War hasn’t started filming yet, but casting calls indicate that we should see some soundstage-based activity in early February. So what was up with all those ML signs? Infinity War’s production title, “Mary Lou,” seemed like an obvious fit for the code, but the places the ML signs have appeared more closely resemble the shooting locations for fellow Marvel film Black Panther. The smoking gun for this theory is an ML sign leading to EUE/Screen Gems Studios, where Black Panther is based. Infinity War, on the other hand, will be working out of Pinewood. Despite the sneakiness of seemingly switched signs, don’t put on your tin foil hats yet—we may find out that since Infinity War and Black Panther both share a parent in Marvel Studios, they also share a sign code.
Black Panther started January in Sweet Auburn, near The King Center. On the 13th, signs were spotted in Stockbridge. Most recently, crews worked downtown, at Atlanta City Hall on the 21st, filming a scene meant to take place at the United Nations. Black Panther marks the return of Captain America: Civil War’s Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero, and also brings Lupita Nyong’o, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira, and Michael B. Jordan as part of its all-star cast.
Based on an episode of This American Life, Netflix film Come Sunday (SUNDAY) tells the story of an Evangelical minister ostracized after preaching that there is no Hell. Starring, Lakeith Stanfield (Darius from Atlanta), Chiwetel Ejiofor, Martin Sheen, and Danny Glover, Come Sunday shot in Roswell on January 10 at Roswell United Methodist Church. Signs were plopped on I-85 at Exit 91 the next day. On January 12, crews worked out of Norcross, using the Netherworld Haunted House site as a basecamp. For the last few days, they’ve been shooting at a home near Chastain Park.
24: Legacy (LEGACY) continues to film all over the metro area. It was spotted off of Briarcliff Road on January 5, in Union City on the 16th, in Stone Mountain the next day, and back to Union City for the 18-19th. Stranger Things (BRIDE) shot at the Briarcliff Mansion on January 15, followed by some studio time the next week. The show will be headed out into the woods south of the city for a little bit, but you’ll probably be able to catch it again next month. Sleepy Hollow (SH) filmed a scene in Conyers between January 12 and 13 and shot in downtown Atlanta the 20th. MacGyver (EYE) was spotted off of Decatur Street at the beginning of the month, in Old Fourth Ward on January 12, and in Piedmont Park on January 13. The Vampire Diaries (LOC) is winding down its final season, so there are only a few more chances to see this show in the wild. They shot in Decatur yesterday and today. Star (SOS) was spotted off of Northside Drive on the 23rd.
And finally, two news bites this month:
- I think it’s safe to say that Georgia is now the official home of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along with the aforementioned Black Panther and Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp will also film here this summer. Add that to ATL-filmed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming, both set to release this year, and Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War, and it’s easy to see that we’re home to a massive (and growing) chunk of this franchise. With all that tax money, expect at least one of the state’s expenditures to be fully paid by Marvel Studios this year.
- A major congrats to Atlanta’s own Hidden Figures, which snagged three Oscar nominations this morning, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), and Best Adapted Screenplay. And we’re still celebrating the fact that Atlanta won the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy TV Series. It’s going to be a long wait for season two while Donald Glover (who also picked up a Globe for Best Actor) is busy conning someone out of a mining colony and losing starships over games of Sabbac.