Georgia film, music & digital entertainment newsletter, Vol. 25, no. 2 (Summer 2009)

Film, Music & Digital Entertainment

Photo Credit: Sam Emerson

Volume 25, Number 2

Summer 2009

Georgia is Nation's Production Hot Spot

Photo: (L-R) Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek
Diva Shoots in Peachtree City
Lifetime Television's Drop Dead Diva is a one-hour, comedic drama series about a shallow model-in-training who dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, plus-size and recently deceased attorney. Television newcomer and stage actress Brooke Elliott stars alongside Margaret Cho, Brooke D'Orsay and Ben Feldman. The 13-episode comedy series that continues to film in Peachtree City,
Drop Dead Diva... continued on page 6
Photo: (L-R) Brooke Elliott and Margaret Cho

Georgia's film and television productions continue to run at a record pace. In 2008, the state hosted a total of 17 feature films, indie features, television series and mini-series, television movies and specials, plus 13 additional television productions. In the first seven months of 2009, Georgia has hosted or confirmed 16 feature films, three television movies, 12 television series and one television pilot, which is a significant increase in investment in Georgia over the same period in 2008. Thousands of jobs have been created for Georgia workers, expanding the labor pool and increasing the number of productions that can be served simultaneously.
"In short, Georgia's tax incentives are working," Deputy

Lionsgate's Killers

Production Hot Spot.. continued on page 3

Lionsgate's Killers is an

action comedy

about love,

marriage and

serious firepower.

Photo Credit: Melissa Moseley

Starring Katherine

Heigl and Ashton

Kutcher, the film

was directed by

Robert Luketic

and written by

Melissa Stack.

Tom Selleck, Catherine O'Hara

Photo: (L-R) Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher

and Martin Mull also star in the film. Shot in Georgia in the

late spring and early summer months, backdrops included

Atlanta, Senoia, Douglasville and Peachtree City.

Killers was produced by Scott Aversano and Jason

Goldberg. The film was executive produced by William

S. Beasley with co-producer Karyn Murphy. Killers is

scheduled to open in theaters on June 4, 2010.

The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment newsletter is a publication of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.1
Articles can be sent electronically to Brenda Brayton, Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment, at bbrayton@georgia.org. Please visit our website at www.georgia.org or call 877.746.6842.

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Television/Bob Mahoney

Touchstone's Last Song Kicks off Production in Georgia

Photo Credit: Sam Emerson Photo Credit: Glen Wilson

Photo: Miley Cyrus

The Last Song, a coming-of-age drama starring singer/ songwriter/actress Miley Cyrus, Kelly Preston and Greg Kinnear, began production in Savannah, Georgia in mid-June. The film is based on best-selling novelist Nicholas Sparks' forthcoming novel and will also shoot on the Isle of Hope at Wormsloe and Tybee Island.
The Last Song is set in a small Southern beach town where an estranged father (Kinnear) gets a chance to spend the summer with his reluctant teen-aged daughter (Cyrus), who'd rather be home in New York. The film also features Bobby Coleman, Liam Hemsworth, Hallock Beals, Nick Lashaway and Carly Chaikin.
Julie Anne Robinson makes her feature-film directorial debut with The Last Song. Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot produce; Dara Weintraub is co-producer. Executive producer is Tish Cyrus. Jeff Van Wie co-wrote the script with Sparks.

The Blind Side Wraps

Principal photography has wrapped on Alcon Entertainment's The Blind Side

starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy

Bates and newcomer Quinton Aaron. The

true-life sports drama began shooting on

April 17 on location in Atlanta, Georgia,

under the direction of John Lee Hancock.

The Blind Side depicts the true story of

Michael Oher, a homeless African-American

youngster from a broken home, taken in

by a well-to-do white family who help

him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Photo: (L-R) Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson

Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads

them to self-discoveries of their own.

Harrelson Stars in Zombieland

Hancock adapted the screenplay from

C the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, The
Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. Gil Netter

olumbia Picture's horror comedy Zombieland opens in theaters on October 9, 2009. Shot earlier this year in

and Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs

Georgia, the film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma

Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove

Stone and Abigail Breslin in a world overrun by zombies. Lensing

produced the film. Molly Smith, Erwin

locations included Powder Springs, Covington, Mansfield,

Stoff and Tim Bourne served as executive Decatur, Atlanta and Valdosta.

producers.

Zombieland is directed by Ruben Fleischer, written by Rhett

Slated for release in November 2009,

Reese and Paul Wenick. The film was produced by Gavin Polone

The Blind Side will be distributed by

with executive producers Ezra Swerdlow, Paul Wernick and

Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros.

Rhett Reese.

Entertainment Company.

2

Photo: The Corduroy Road

AthFest Breaks Records
For 13 summers AthFest has showcased music and arts in downtown Athens. This June, despite the lagging economy and the fiery loss of the Georgia Theatre one week before the festival, a record 60,000 people flocked to festival events.
Nearly 200 bands performed at 20 indoor and outdoor venues including performances by veteran Athens rockers Randall Bramblett Band, Dreams So Real and Patterson Hood, as well as platinum selling hip-hop artists The Nappy Roots and Atlanta based retro/garage/punk band the Black Lips.
AthFest 2009 presented several new events including an outdoor screening of the locally produced film Darius Goes West that has won 28 film festival awards. KidsFest, Teen Screen, Rock Docs and the Artists Market were also big draws.

Photo Credit: Jim Diffly

Production Hot Spot... continued from page 1
Commissioner and Director of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office Bill Thompson said. "We refer to our program as `tax incentives that work' and, at 30 percent, we offer one of the nation's most competitive incentives packages, placing us in the country's top five and number one in the Southeast. We are helping put a lot of Georgians to work in an industry that's actually growing in the state."
Two new Warner Bros.' television series, Vampire Diaries and Past Life, are on the ground in Georgia and have begun production. A new Warner Bros.' feature film entitled Life As We Know It will begin production in September. Another WB feature has been "greenlit" for Georgia entitled Due Date, slated to begin production this fall. Dahlia Street Films is bringing its upcoming feature entitled Shrinking Charlotte, due to begin production in early August. Sony Pictures is in production of the television series Drop Dead Diva through mid-August in Peachtree City. The series debuted on Lifetime in mid-July and has had very strong ratings. Two other series have wrapped production including BET's game show entitled Pay It Off, at Turner Studios and the CBS series There Goes The Neighborhood in Kennesaw. A total of 60 feature films, indie features, television series, television movies, pilots and specials have been produced in or have committed to Georgia in

the last 14 months. Actors recently seen working in Georgia have included Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Malcolm McDowell, Timothy Olyphant and Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine fame. The movie Killers, starring Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck and Katherine Heigl, began production in April and recently wrapped up at Riverwood Studios in Senoia. Stomp the Yard 2 Stomp Harder, is rumored to be in development by Atlanta's Will Packer.
Sandra Bullock's film The Blind Side, featuring Kathy Bates and Tim McGraw, recently wrapped in Atlanta. Walt Disney's Miley Cyrus movie, The Last Song, began production in Savannah in June and will go through mid-August. Tyler Perry's new film Why Did I Get Married, Too?, starring Janet Jackson, has wrapped after shooting in metro Atlanta and the Bahamas. The indie feature The Hardest Hitter is ready to roll cameras in Macon once all casting is completed. Robert Redford is considering Savannah for a new feature film, entitled The Conspirator, to begin production this fall. William H. Macy has scouted Georgia for his movie Keep Coming Back, which is still in development. A remake of the 1980's film Footloose will be in production in Georgia next spring and will star Chace Crawford of television's Gossip Girl.

3

Photo Credit: Clint Hutchinson

Photo: (L-R) Lori Beth Edgeman and Dean Cain
The Way Home Premieres at Fox
On May 12, a sold out audience at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta watched the World Premiere of Red Five Entertainment's feature The Way Home. The film starring Dean Cain, was directed by Lance Dreesen from his screenplay, produced by Clint Hutchison, and executive produced by Randy Simpkins. Cain and his fellow cast members walked the red carpet prior to the screening.
The Way Home is a faith-based recounting of a dramatic event that occurred in Carroll County in 2000 when the community turned out by the hundreds to search for a missing two-year-old

boy. Filmed entirely in Georgia, the production utilized the 2008 Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act.
"We would not have been able to raise the capital without the tax incentives," Simpkins said. "We were able to finance close to one-third of the project by selling income tax cuts to Georgia residents."
Simpkins said they were able to apply Georgia's 20 percent tax cut on almost all services rendered for the film, including preproduction, musical scoring, payroll, equipment rental, post-production; even catering on shooting days. The only expenses that were not covered were marketing and advertising costs. The production also took advantage of the additional ten percent tax credit for including the State of Georgia promotional logo in the film. Emmy Award nominee Shay Bentley-Griffin served as co-producer and casting director on the film. Day Permuy served as line producer and the film's music was composed by Deane Ogden. ADR for The Way Home was handled by Doppler Studios in Atlanta. The trailer is posted on the film's website: www.thewayhome-movie.com.

Inaugural Atlanta Music Convention
The Atlanta Music Convention, will be held August 29 and 30th at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. Hosted by Nina K. Easton, co-founder of Ichiban Records, the convention will have seminars covering topics of digital and physical distribution, publishing, A&R, songwriting, management, marketing and sales, as well as gaming and licensing.
"Gaming is one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment and it has created many successful records by unknown artists," Easton said. "This is why we are bringing a gaming/media room to this year's convention, allowing an interactive experience of trying different games and consoles as well as having a representative explain the process of music placement in video games."
Sponsors for this year's convention include T-Mobile, Monster Energy Drink, ITunes, IMG International INC., Jive Records, MDI Distribution, INC., So-So Def Records, 404 Music, Computer Arena, Kivi Marketing, 822 Artist Management and SESAC. The Convention Website address is www.atlantamusicconvention.com.

MaGa Call for Entries
The 5th Annual Macon Film Festival (MaGa) is now accepting entries for the 2010 festival to be held February 18th 21st in historic downtown Macon. MaGa is dedicated to entertaining, educating, and inspiring audiences and filmmakers alike by offering innovative and imaginative films both mainstream and independent in nature. Narrative features, professional and student shorts, documentaries, animations and experimental films will be considered for competition.
All entries must be post marked by September 18th. Additional submission information is available at maconfilmfestival.com.

4

Photo Credit: Joseph Guay Photo Credit: Jay Bienstock 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reality Show Films in Kennesaw
There Goes The Neighborhood, a new seven episode realitycompetition series filmed in Kennesaw, Georgia, premieres Sunday, Aug. 9 on the CBS Television Network. The series features eight families in a suburban neighborhood who are enclosed by a 20-foot wall as they compete in family-friendly games for the grand prize of $250,000.
The neighborhood is cut off from the outside world to facilitate a neighborhood competition, with one family eliminated each week until the victorious family remains to claim the $250,000 grand prize. With Photo: There Goes The Neighborhood no ability to text message, watch television or surf the internet, these families will be forced to reconnect and work together as a team. For the duration of the competition, the eight homes will be surrounded by the daunting wall with no way in or out.
There Goes The Neighborhood is produced by Next Entertainment and Jay Bienstock Productions in association with Warner Horizon Television. Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor) and Jay Bienstock (The Apprentice, SURVIVOR) are the executive producers. Matt Rogers (American Idol) is the host.

Photo: Collective Soul

GMHF Awards... continued from back cover
The Georgy Awards Show hosted by Monica Pearson and Leslie Fram will feature performances by Collective Soul, Third Day, Randall Franks and The Georgia Mafia Bluegrass Band and Reginald Smith (Georgia Music Talent Search 2007 Scholarship Winner). Georgia Public Broadcasting will broadcast the show live.
The gala supports Friends of Georgia Music Festival's mission to nurture the music industry in Georgia. It funds the organization's annual scholarship program, the Georgia Music Talent Search, which assists future musicians, songwriters and composers in pursuing their musical passions.
For more information, please call 770.491.9494 extension 15.

5

Photo: The Cove
BLUE Ocean Film Festival
The inaugural BLUE Ocean Film Festival was held in Savannah, Georgia from June 10-14, 2009. Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, located just off the coast of Savannah, was host sponsor for the event. The global film and conservation event featured presentations and panels by industry leaders. Screenings and select special events attracted thousands of community patrons who viewed the finalist films and heard from the filmmakers.
Out of the over 200 ocean-related film entries, BLUE Ocean Film Festival awarded its Best of Festival award to The Cove, produced by Oceanic Preservation Society. The award was accepted by filmmakers Simon Hutchins and Greg "Moondog" Mooney. During the Awards Ceremony Ocean Explorer Celine Cousteau presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for Ocean Advocacy to Dr. Sylvia Earle.
In 2009-2010 Georgia Aquarium and National Marine Sanctuaries, both sponsors of BLUE, will host BLUE on Tour in their respective locations, reaching 16 major U.S. cities. More information on BLUE is available at www.bluefilmfest.com.
Drop Dead Diva... continued from page 1
City, Georgia joined Lifetime's Sunday night line-up on July 12th.
Drop Dead Diva is produced by Sony Pictures Television for Lifetime Television. Josh Berman is creator and executive producer. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron of Storyline Entertainment are executive producers. Alex Taub is executive producer and show runner and David Petrarca is a director and executive producer.

FX Orders Archer
FX has ordered six episodes of Archer, a new animated comedy series from Adam Reed that the network will launch this fall. The half-hour comedy set at ISIS, an international spy agency, where global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine and betray each other. Archer features the voices of Jon Benjamin, Chris Parnell, Aisha Tyler, Judy Greer and Jessica Walter.
"This project has been a great surprise for us and were excited about adding it to our fall schedule," said Nick Grad, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, FX. "Adam Reed has written successful animated series for Adult Swim/Cartoon Network, and he has taken this format and given it a liveaction feel. It is a smart, adult comedy and the characters are given voice by a terrific cast."
Produced by FX Productions, Archer was created by Adam Reed and Floyd County Productions. Reed previously co-created, with Matt Thompson, the animated series Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021.
Photo: Cast of Archer

6

Photo: Rhett Turner

Water War Documents Struggle
For nearly 20 years three states: Georgia, Florida and Alabama, have been locked in a struggle over water. This conflict is the focus of a new documentary for Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) called Water War: The South's Deadly Duel between Drought, Development and Disaster. Produced by Rhett Turner (Red Sky Productions) and Jonathan Wickham (ZoTV) the documentary interweaves stories to educate viewers on the issues and choices that must be made regarding one of our most precious natural resources, water.
Water War will be completed in May 2010 and will air in July 2010 during primetime on all nine GPB stations in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama. GPB will also distribute a DVD copy of the documentary to science teachers in each high school in 22 high schools throughout Georgia, Florida and Alabama and will provide classroom guidance via the website www.waterwar.org Water War will meet curriculum standards for schools in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Photo Credit: Greg Pope

Crawford Answers the Call

Recent projects at Atlanta's Crawford Post Production

(www.crawfordpost.com) include

Star Trek with Tyler Perry, Happy

Tears with Demi Moore, the new

Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva,

ABC's episodic pilot Solving Charlie

and the list goes on. Most of these

productions were at Crawford

Post for automated dialogue

replacement (ADR) and dailies

work, while others like award-

Photo: The 27 Club

winning indie film The 27 Club received high definition (HD) post production services.

Crawford Post's creative crew for The 27 Club included senior editor/HD specialist Ron Heidt for the HD

conform and graphics; senior colorist DC Cardinali on HD tape-to-tape color correction; and sound designer

Steve Warner for audio layback. The film recently won best film, director and screenplay at the Milan

International Film Festival. For more information on the movie, filmmakers and the cast, visit

www.the27clubmovie.com. Television audiences can access The 27 Club on demand via Bright House,

Cablevision, Cox Communications and Time Warner through August.

7

Photo Credit: Quantrell Colbert Photo Credit: David McClister

Film, Music & Digital Entertainment

31st Annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Show

Photo: (L-R) Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige and Adam Rodriquez
Lionsgate's Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself
When Madea catches sixteen-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands in the upcoming Lionsgate feature Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself. The Georgia lensed-film is scheduled to open nationwide on September 11, 2009.
The drama infused with music and Perry's trademark mixture of laughter and heart, stars Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Brian White, Hope Olaide Wilson, Adam Rodriguez, Kwesi Nii-Lante Boakye and Frederick Siglar. The film features dramatic and musical performances by Gladys Knight, Marvin Winans and Mary J. Blige, who performs an original song penned by Atlanta's R&B writer/ performer/producer, Ne-Yo.
Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself was produced, written and directed by Perry. The film was produced by Reuben Cannon and co-produced by Roger Bobb and Jerry Jacobs.

Friends of Georgia Music Festival, Inc. will host the 31st Annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Show on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. Honorees to be inducted during the awards show include rock band, Collective Soul; GRAMMY winner Third Day; music promoter, Peter Conlon; GRAMMY winning songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox; music industry pioneer John L Carson; the late singer and songwriter, Roy Hamilton; the late record executive, Shakir Stewart and the late bass guitarist, Berry Oakley.
GMHF Awards.. continued on page 5
Photo: Third Day

Disabled individuals requiring assistance with this information should contact: ADA Coordinator - GDEcD / P. O. Box 1776, Atlanta, GA 30301-1776 TL: 404.962.4052 / FX: 404.962.4053 / TDD: 1.877.255.6842

Georgia Department of Economic Development Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Post Office Box 1776 Atlanta, Georgia 30301-1776

PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Atlanta, GA Permit No. 707

8