Their duties from The Apostle will be switched when Billy Bob Thornton directs Robert Duvall (left) in Jayne's Mansfield Car, for which production offices set up in Georgia in May. In addition to directing, Thornton co-wrote the script with Tom Epperson – the duo also helmed One False Move. According to ew.com, during a recent interview Duvall said of the film, "It's about a guy in between WWI and WWII who raises a family after his wife left him for an Englishman and moved to England. When the wife dies, she asks to be brought back to Alabama to be buried, and at that point the character hasn't seen her in 20 or 30 years. The two families – her original family she abandoned and her English family – meet and then things get really interesting." The Lionsgate film What to Expect When You Are Expecting, based on the best seller of the same name, has set up production offices in metro Atlanta. At press time, Cameron Diaz was close to signing on for the project. The movie will follow five expectant couples through the trials and tribulations of pregnancy. Expecting is expected to start shooting in the area in July.
The Farrelly Brothers finally landed their leads for The Three Stooges (Will Sasso as Curly, Sean Hayes as Larry and Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe) and the movie has been shooting around the metro Atlanta Area including Cartersville, Stone Mountain, Atlanta, St. Joseph's Hospital, Druid Hills and Midtown near Colony Square. Atlantan Will Gara, who most recently shared the morning radio airwaves with B98.5's Vikki Locke, landed a gig with the production as Sasso's stand-in. "I've read interviews with actors talking about how hard making movies is," says Gara. "I never believed them until now. It is the hardest job I have ever had, mostly because of the long hours – at least 12 hours every day. When you come home you are exhausted." Since exiting from B98.5 Gara has been looking to "get out of my comfort zone." Thanks to the experiences and encouragement of some friends, he got an extra gig on Drop Dead Diva. "That wasn't too bad – so I started looking to see what was out there," Gara says. He saw the call for The Three Stooges on a casting agent's Facebook page. He sent in his photo and requested info. Almost immediately he was contacted about coming in for a meeting with the director of photography. The DP met with Gara and told him it was a 53-day commitment. "He asked if I could do it." says Gara. "I am unemployed - of course I can do it." He says a lot of the older extras seem to be pursuing this line of work to fill in financial gaps since losing their jobs. The younger folks on set seem to think it will launch their acting careers. The movie also stars Jane Lunch, Sofia Vergara, Larry David, Richard Jenkins and Stephen Collins. Shooting is slated to continue through July 12.
American Reunion will continue shooting in the metro area through August 4th. Quite a few casting calls have been placed online and through Bill Marinella Casting including this recent quest for a character named Kara: "Kara is the sweet girl next door you used to babysit... now she's a senior in high school and a full blown hottie. We are looking for someone funny, smart and beautiful... Please note upper frontal nudity is required."
The hit AMC series The Walking Dead, which will be based in Coweta County at Raleigh Studios at Riverwood Atlanta, will be shooting in the state from June 6 through November 7. The show has become such a hit that the CDC has posted a tongue-in-cheek emergency and preparedness in case of a zombie apocalypse memo on their public health blog here: emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp. It should still be online unless a government official without a sense of humor took it down or the zombies got through.
Renewals... Braxton Family Values and The Vampire Diaries, both of which are filmed in the metro area, have recently been picked up for an additional season. On the other end of the spectrum, Partners, the TV pilot shot earlier this year in Atlanta, was not picked up by ABC and may now be dead in the water. And CBS passed on Minnie Driver's Atlanta-shot pilot Hail Mary but it is not completely dead yet. According to deadline.com, the project is still a favorite at producing studio Warner Bros. TV, and the rumor is that it is being shopped around to other networks.
Gwinnett County recently set up the website gwinnettentertainment.org to let film folks know what resources are available and to let film fans know what has been or is shooting in the area. According to the site, the Arena at Gwinnett Center has recently been the setting for scenes for VH1's Single Ladies (also shooting at other locations in the metro area including the Georgian Terrace) and BET's reality show Born to Dance.
