Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia is a city steeped in history, both on-screen and off. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s, the city took a then-radical position in the South: Desegregation. Its stance appealed chiefly to outcast citizens, and by 1972 the majority of Atlanta’s residents were African-American. The city’s status as a largely black community still holds true today, and is why some of Hollywood’s most influential movies about the African-American experience use Atlanta as their backdrop.

In years past, the directors of Driving Miss Daisy, Remember the Titans and Beauty Shop all found themselves utilizing Atlanta’s enduring allure in their films. This month, hometown moviemaker Tyler Perry (famous for the wildly popular Diary of a Mad Black Woman) will feature the city in his latest movie, Daddy’s Little Girls. The modern Romeo and Juliet story follows an Ivy League-educated lawyer (Deliver Us from Eva’s Gabrielle Union) and the surprising love she finds with a single father supporting his three daughters through his job as a mechanic (played by Idris Elba of HBO’s “The Wire”).

The movie talent pool runs deep in Georgia’s capital city (see: Spike Lee, Julia Roberts and Steven Soderbergh) and their film office is more than happy to assist all those looking to shoot in the area, offering interested moviemakers a few permit-free locations as well as tax exemptions for qualified productions. Consult www.filmgeorgia.org for more info.

Catch the streets of Atlanta in:
The Big Chill
Manhunter
Road Trip
Big Fish
A Simple Twist of Fate
The Clearing
We Are Marshall

Sound Off: Gone with the Wind (incidentally filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles) is probably the most iconic of films about the city of Atlanta. Are there other films that have similarly captured the essence of town or region? Talk back in the comments section!