Photograph by Matt Walljasper
May was a busy month for Atlanta’s filming scene, bringing fan favorite shows and stars into the city. Productions are rolling through like clockwork, and there’s a lot to cover. Here’s what we saw and where and when we saw it.
Netflix’s juggernaut sci-fi series Stranger Things (production codes: PCF7/MCFLY/1080/BLK45) is back shooting its third season in the greater Atlanta area. As you can see, you’ll have to memorize a few different codes for this show—each one is unique to a different area of town. Stranger Things started May in Palmetto, shooting at a farm from the 1st to the 2nd. Then, filming took place at Lefont Theaters in Sandy Springs on May 3. A basecamp was nearby at Sandy Springs United Methodist Church. From the 5th to the 8th, crews worked at South Bend Park, shooting at the public swimming pool there. The largest and most visible set of the month was created next, between May 11 and May 18 at the near-defunct Gwinnett Place Mall. The shopping center was returned to its former glory (partially) with a wing of the shops made to look like the typical 80s suburban mall. Outside, “Starcourt Mall” adorned an entrance flanked by row after row of late-model cars. While the set was still being constructed, the series shot in Hapeville, near the Hapeville Municipal Court building and in southwest Atlanta, at a junk yard at Metropolitan Parkway and Wells Street. After filming at Gwinnett Place Mall, a scene was shot in Douglas County on May 25.
Dave Bautista is back filming in Atlanta, along with Betty Gilpin, Iko Uwais, and Kumail Nanjiani. They’re here for a new film, Stuber (STU). The action/comedy project centers on a detective who brings along his Uber driver into an unexpected night of action. Stuber was seen quite a bit in May, starting between the 3rd and the 4th in Midtown near SCAD. On May 6, crews filmed a scene at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta. The next day, the film was spotted downtown. May 8 took production to East Point, the 9th up to West Midtown, and the 10th to Union City. Signs for STU were spotted leading to Third Rail Studios in Doraville on May 12. For the next week, filming occurred both downtown and in East Point again. May 19 brought Stuber near the SweetWater Brewing Company. After a quick stop downtown on May 20, filming moved up to the Battery Atlanta, shooting right outside SunTrust Park from May 22 to the 23rd.
Any idea what’s filming at @BatteryATL ? Only saw one sign for extras. @ATLWOOD411 pic.twitter.com/xp8dxbzF3C
— Joey Allocca (@Boomshock8) May 23, 2018
Remember that Mel Gibson film from the year 2000, What Women Want? It’s being remade, sort of. What Men Want (WMW), starring Wendi McLendon-Covey, Max Greenfield, and Taraji P. Henson, will continue the gender-swapped, not-quite-sequel, not-quite-remake tradition of the Ghostbusters and Ocean’s [number] franchises. In late April, What Men Want was spotted in Decatur. Between April 30 and May 1, crews worked out of Midtown. On May 2, a scene was shot in Virginia-Highland. For the next two days, a basecamp was set up off of Paper Mill Road near the North Atlanta Soccer Association field. May 7 brought filming to the Cotton Mill Lofts. On the 8th, signs were placed along Collier Road. We spotted a basecamp at Memorial Drive and Boulevard on May 10 and filming downtown on May 13. Crews filmed off of Boulevard near Freedom Parkway on the 14th and in Decatur on the 16th. More recently, production was back downtown between May 21 and 25, at Atlantic Station on May 25, in Riverdale on May 29, and in Virginia-Highland for the last two days.
HBO is shooting a pilot for a new western miniseries. Bass Reeves: US Marshal (BKLN) tells the story of Bass Reeves, the first African American deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi River. He also is part of the inspiration behind the Lone Ranger character. On May 9, Bass Reeves was out in Spalding County. Between May 10 and 11, crews worked in Newnan. Most recently, everything moved up to Cedartown for filming between May 30 and 31. Next, crews are heading down to Macon in early June.
Impractical Jokers (MFHS), a movie based on the hidden camera TruTV reality series of the same name, recently made its way through Atlanta. Starring Joe Gatto, James “Murr” Murray, Brain “Q” Quinn, and Sal Vulcano—the four members of the comedy troupe The Tenderloins, the film features the four pulling off public pranks caught on hidden camera. We spotted MFHS signs in Tucker on May 8. Additional signs were up in North Druid Hills the next day. Crews were near Northlake Mall on the 13th. Between May 23 and 24, a basecamp was set up at the Gold Room in Lindbergh.
A bunch of CK signs have been popping up around the metro area recently. Fans of the YouTube Red series Cobra Kai might remember this as its code, but sadly, these signs aren’t for that show. (It’s just too early for production on season two. In fact, YouTube only just renewed the series earlier this month.) Instead, these signs are for Now We Here (CK), another YouTube Red show also produced by Sony Pictures Television. Now We Here promises to be a comedy set in the world of rappers. Adam Pally, Sam Richardson, and Jay Pharoah are said to be in the cast. In early May, CK signs were spotted along Riverside Parkway near Six Flags Over Georgia. Next, crews moved to Cabbagetown near the Stack Lofts. A basecamp was spotted near Oakland Cemetery on May 11. Between the 13th and the 15th, filming took place in Peachtree City. On May 17, production was in the Cumberland area.
Goosebumps: Slappy Halloween (GUMMY) is winding down, but still had a busy month. In late April, some filming took place in McDonough. On May 7, a scene was shot in downtown Atlanta. Signs were placed in Midtown on the 8th and in West Midtown on the 9th. More recently, on May 22, crews shot more trick-or-treating scenes in Covington.
FOX’s The Gifted (HVN) literally just started shooting its second season yesterday, May 30, in Forest Park. We’ll have more on that one next month.
Also in production in May: The Walking Dead (SF) took a rare trip ITP to film around the Gold Dome between May 2 and 5. Mark Wahlberg’s Instant Family (IF) was in Snellville on May 1 and at Stone Mountain Park on May 2. It shared the park with Netflix’s Ozark (BCP), which also filmed there between May 2 and 3. The Haunting of Hill House (HHH) was spotted in Midtown on May 2; Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets (DR BIRDS) shot in Newnan on May 3; and Oprah’s Love Is_ (LOVE) was in Fayetteville between May 8 and 10. It also shot downtown on May 16.
And finally this month, we’re thrilled with how well our own Avengers: Infinity War did at the box office. Not only was it break box office records, it was also every bit as amazing as fans were led to believe. Of course, some of you might still be reeling from that ending—we know we are. And while we don’t know what’s going to happen in Avengers 4, we do have a few ideas based on what we saw filming here in Atlanta earlier this year.
It should go without saying, but consider this your warning. Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War and possible spoilers for Avengers 4.
Okay, so that probably took out half this article’s audience. (Sorry, not sorry.) In the wake of Thanos’s snap, we’re left in a world where many of our favorite heroes including Spider-Man, most of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Nick Fury, and Doctor Strange have disintegrated. Conveniently armed with all of the original Avengers (and the soon-to-be-debuted Captain Marvel), our heroes must wrestle the power of the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos and restore all those who disappeared before Spider-Man 2, Black Panther 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 can release in theaters.
Way back in January, we saw an Avengers set in Fairlie Poplar that didn’t appear in Infinity War. Based on the decor, taxis and EMT vehicles, this scene appears to be set in New York. Three things stuck out from this set—military Humvees, a Southwest Airlines ad, and one late-model sedan. All of these things were in Battle of New York, the climactic fight in 2012’s The Avengers. The Humvees are easily explainable and the Southwest ad isn’t exactly the same as the one in the original film, but the sedan is really what sticks out. It’s the same model, same color, and same damage seen in the clip below when Iron Man is knocked down. In fact, the whole set looks an awful lot like that one scene in the battle. Judge for yourself.
That, coupled with another set spotted in Midtown this past winter where S.H.I.E.L.D-branded vehicles were clearly seen (S.H.I.E.L.D, the spy organization that teamed up the Avengers, fell during 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier) leads us to postulate that during Avengers 4, someone will time travel back to Avengers 1—more specifically to the Battle of New York—using the time stone (a.k.a the green Infinity Stone previously wielded by Doctor Strange). That’s just an educated guess though. We’ll all have to wait until next summer to figure if out of the 14,000,605 possible futures, this is the right one.