Tag: Hollywood of the South

When producer Nicole Avant approached Tyler Perry about the “Six Triple Eight,” the Atlanta-based filmmaker’s immediate reaction was one of shock. “I was like, Wait, is this story real?” Perry says.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Georgia’s film industry employs tens of thousands of people every year. Here are five who have carved their own unique niche.

It’s October 1970, and Muhammad Ali’s triumphant return to boxing in Atlanta has spawned a daring million-dollar robbery that is now threatening to ignite a mob war. On this particular afternoon, Atlanta police detective J.D. Hudson, embodied by Don Cheadle, has zero expletives left to give.

In her new shot-in-Atlanta romantic comedy The Idea of You, Anne Hathaway plays a divorced, 40-year-old single mom who falls for a 24-year-old Harry Styles-esque boy band member, played by Nicholas Galitzine. Director Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Wet Hot American Summer) chats about filming in Georgia, turning the Atlanta Motor Speedway into Coachella, and Hathaway's excellent comedic timing.

While previous seasons of National Geographic's Genius series told the story of just one person, the most recent season, MLK/X, parallels and contrasts the life journeys of two iconic Black leaders: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Here, showrunners Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Macedon discuss creating the series and filming in Atlanta.

Occasionally poignant and often delightfully goofy, the film features Asante Blackk as Adam Campbell, a sensitive introverted high school artist who documents the before and after alien times in melancholy paintings that hang on his family’s living room wall. Those paintings, and a big chunk of the film’s creative vision, come courtesy of Atlanta-based artist William Downs, who worked closely with director Cory Finley to bring Landscape With Invisible Hand’s unique look and feel to life.