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Take A Hollywood Tour Of Filming Locations In Atlanta

Thanks to government tax credits, a large workforce and relatively cheap living, Atlanta, Georgia is now known as the “Hollywood of the South” thanks to the many filming locations for television and movies.

Among the hits of the last few years are nearly every movie by Tyler Perry, as well as The Hunger Games, Zombieland and Flight. Locally-filmed television shows are none other than the insanely popular The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries, and Drop Dead Diva.

So where can you check out the sights associated with these filming locations in Atlanta?

The small town charm

Atlanta may be a large city, but it is made up of dozens of historic towns all within a 45-minute drive from downtown. Covington, located northwest of Atlanta, has its own film legacy as the home to television shows like The Vampire Diaries and Resurrection, as well as the films My Cousin Vinny and American Reunion. Both Crawfordville and Rome were used for Sweet Home Alabama. Juliette was transformed for Fried Green Tomatoes, where visitors still stop by the Hollywood-created Whistle Stop Cafe. Senoia is now the unofficial home of the last few seasons of The Walking Dead.

Out to the ball game

Built for the 1996 Summer Olympics, Turner Field is named after Ted Turner, the founder of CNN. It’s currently home to the Atlanta Braves baseball team, as well as local events, but the rise in sports movies has made it an important filming location. Among the movies filmed at the field are Flight, Trouble with the Curve, Million Dollar Arm and The Change Up. The Georgia Dome, where the Atlanta Falcons football team currently plays, was featured in Drumline and the show Necessary Roughness. Remember the Titans, We Are Marshall and The Blind Side were all filmed at area high schools.

Idyllic college campuses

Atlanta has dozens of colleges and universities throughout the metro area, making for great filming locations. Drumline, starring Nick Cannon, was filmed in several of Atlanta’s historically black colleges, including Morris Brown College and Clark Atlanta University. Agnes Scott College in Decatur has a longstanding tradition in the movies; it was used in Road Trip, Driving Miss Daisy and Scream 2. The upcoming The Good Lie, starring Reese Witherspoon, filmed at Georgia State University and Georgia Tech played the part of Google headquarters in The Internship.

Southern soul food

The many bars and restaurants in the city also serve as backdrops for movies and television. Belly General Store in Virginia Highland was featured in Katherine Heigl’s Life As We Know It, while Howard’s Deli in Smyrna served up sandwiches for Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in Joyful Noise. Famous soul food joints showcased on the big screen include The Colonnade in Identity Thief and The Silver Skillet in Anchorman 2. And you can’t get through an episode of Single Ladies or Real Housewives of Atlanta without seeing one of the city’s new hotspots.

Parks and Rec

Atlanta’s skyline is featured in countless movies and shows, but its landmarks are also showcased heavily. Piedmont Park is the city’s own version of Central Park in New York, sprawling 189 acres. It’s a great place to spend a Saturday running the trails, playing basketball or swimming, so it makes sense that this would be where the “Dudes Group” hangs out in What to Expect When You’re Expecting. The Swan House, a historic home now governed by the Atlanta History Center, played the president’s house in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.