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Now, as the article states, scouting out Savannah doesn't mean that the Hostess City will be the final location for the movie. Mr. Macy may find another location that he feels suits his movie better. I fervently hope not. I would love to see yet another movie come to the area, a movie which may well increase the economic and cultural benefits that would come along with it. According to Georgia Trend magazine's article, "Lights, Camera, Kudzu":'Fargo' star William H. Macy in Savannah
Latest News | LocalActor/director William H. Macy was in Savannah today, scouting locations for an upcoming movie he’s going to direct.
He checked out several spots around town, but that’s about all Jay Self, Savannah’s tourism and film services director, could say about the visit.
“It’s good to know people are interested in Savannah, and we’re happy he was in town, but I can’t say anything more,” Self said.
Scouting a location is an early step in the filmmaking process and by no means guarantees that Savannah would be the final choice, Self said.
Macy’s acting credits include “Wild Hogs,” “The Cooler” and “Fargo.”
Scott Tigchelaar, president of RiverWood Studios in Senoia, refers to the 1980s and 1990s as “the good old days,” when a string of blockbuster hits were made in Georgia, including two Academy Award winners for best picture: Driving Miss Daisy (1989, filmed in Atlanta and Coweta County) and Forrest Gump (1993, Savannah).(emphasis mine)
The article, which focuses on Georgia in general and not just Savannah, then goes on to talk about how the industry in Georgia seemed to dry up due to several issues - such as the fact that "...The Canadian dollar got cheap, Canada added tax incentives. And also, the film industry went offshore.” Other States, like Louisiana, have also added tax incentives, which has caused Georgia to do the same. Hopefully Macy's appearance in Savannah is evidence that these incentives are working.
Movies which were partially or totally located in Savannah include:
- Cape Fear (1962
- The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980)
- Glory (1989)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- Something to Talk About (1995)
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and evil (1997)
- Wild America (1997)
- Kiss of Fire [a.k.a. Claudine's Return) (1998)
- The Gingerbread Man (1998)
- The General's Daughter (1999)
- Forces of Nature (1999)
- The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
- The Gift (2000)
- Undertow (2004)
3 comments:
There have been many,many movies filmed in Georgia, partly or in whole. Let's not forget Roots in 1977. It was filmed in Savannah and St. Simons. I can take you back even further. I remember in 1974 Burt Reynolds coming here to film The Longest Yard at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville along with Eddie Albert (Green Acres fame) and Bernadette Peters. A little trivia about this I found, at the beginning of The Longest Yard was a car chase that was filmed in Brunswick on the Sidney Lanier Bridge. Bet you didn't know that? Parts of that movie were also filmed in California and Hilton Head. Another movie filmed in Georgia in 1975 (a little known movie) is Buster and Billie and it was filmed in Register, Georgia although the credits say Statesboro. I went there and saw some of the filming and the sets. It starred Jan-Michael Vincent (Airwolf fame) Pamela Sue Martin (Dallas fame) and it was directed by Sidney Shelton. Now these people were unknowns at the time. So you see we have movie history right here at home and you don't have to go far.
Sammie,
Thank you for all the information on those movies. I knew about Roots and the Longest Yard. I also knew that a movie was filmed in the Bulloch County area (Statesboro/Register) but, I never learned the title until today nor its exact location. Thank you for that. And thanks for the information the car chase at Sidney Lanier Bridge. I was also unaware of that portion of The Longest Yard's history. It's amazing the stuff you can find in your own back yard, isn't it?
Since my earlier post, I having been reading about Sidney Sheldon, the director on the Buster and Billie movie in 1975. He was quite a character, starting out directing television programs (I Dream of Jeannie and The Patty Duke Show) -- he directed some "B" movies (Of which I would classify Buster and Bille) --- all the while he was writing novels. And as they say, the rest is history... novels were his expertise. And he was bi-polar...interesting.
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