Film and TV in Atlanta Archives

Atlanta Film Festival Midtown Atlanta March 23-April 1,2012

January 20, 2012 by Thom Abbott

You know how it is. You live someplace, and events come and go and you never even partake of them. Hmmm. For me, the Atlanta Film Festival is one of them. I plan to change that with this years event. It will be March 23 – April 1, 2012 with most of the activities centered around the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, located in the Midtown Promenade Center at 8th and Monroe Drive.

The Atlanta Film Festival appointed a new Executive Director, Chris Escobar who talked about the changes to the festival in a recent article in Creative Loafing’s Screen Grab Movie and TV Blog. Said Escobar, “We’ve made pass prices much more attainable, and are adding a second block of competing animation shorts for the academy-award qualification. More excitedly, while we will still be holding the majority of the festival at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, we’re working on finalizing partnerships with select Atlanta-gem venues to have screenings on different nights during the week days of the festival. We’ve shifted our schedule to both a month earlier in the year and by a day of the week to include two full weekends. We’re also including music as a more present component of the festival.”

Escobar was named Executive Director of The Atlanta Film Festival after a year and a half of interim directors.

You can learn more about the Atlanta Film Festival at their website. I hope to see you there!

City National Bank to Open Atlanta Office

December 6, 2011 by Thom Abbott

City National Bank will open it’s second office in the Southern U.S., citing the South’s growing entertainment and music industry. City National Bank already has an office in Tennessee.

As reported in Variety, City’s David Innes will manage the branch. The bank has always focused on the entertainment industry and about 20% of their bottom line comes from entertainment, music and film clients according to Martha Henderson, VP of Entertainment for the bank.

Besides functioning as a full-service commercial bank, the new branch will continue to provide film production financing and services for the music and sports industries from its Atlanta office.

A Google search and a visit to the City National Bank’s website indicates the branch will be located at 3333 Piedmont Road, NE, Suite 755, 30305. This looks to be the 200 Terminus building. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more information. But this news certainly adds to the credibility of Georgia and Atlanta as an entertainment industry mainstay.

Dennis Quaid Lists Montana Ranch For Sale at $14M

October 24, 2011 by Thom Abbott

It seems that actor Dennis Quaid has taken a liking to surfing, and would rather have a ranch in Hawaii than in Montana. (Yes there ARE ranches in Hawaii!) So, he has listed his Montana spread for a cool $14,000,000. That’s some cattle for you!

Seriously, my Montana property is located North of Quaid’s ranch in the ever pristine Paradise Valley, which runs from the small town of Livingston, South to Gardiner and the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The wide valley is home to many famous Hollywood types, including Jeff and Susan Bridges. (Their ranch actually borders my land!) Home Depot Founder and Atlanta Falcon’s owner Arthur Blank owns a huge rance there as well.

Dennis Quaid Montana Ranch Listed by Glaicer Sotheby’s International, the ranch consists of 418 acres with the main home of 5,200 sq. ft was desigend by Frank Cikan and was featured in Architectural Digest in 2003. It overlooks Six Mile Creek and the Absaroka Mountain Range. There area also 4 additional “guest houses” (bigger than what most of us live in!) a ranch manager’s home and various barns and corrals for horses.

Home to the “Hollywood Legends” Warren Oates, Sam Peckinpah and Dennis Quaid, for over 30 years, the ranch borders the Gallatin National Forest.

The ranch is located about 10 minutes from Historic Chico Hot Springs Resort and Spa with its aclaimed Chico Dining Room and about 30 minutes from the aforementioned Livingston. Bozeman’s Gallatin Field is located less that 2 hours drive, and is served by Delta , Frontier, and United Air Lines. The airport even has garages for rent to store your Suburban (a MUST have and the Montana vehicle of choice) so you can get to and from the airport.

Atlantans who wonder who Dennis Quaid is will be able to see him in the upcoming film, What to Expect When You Are Expecting which just wrapped filming in Atlanta and also stars Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez.

Here are a couple photographs of the ranch, compliments of Glaicer Sotheby’s International.

Dennis Quaid Montana Ranch Kitchen — Kitchen in the Main House

Dennis Quaid Montana Ranch Views — Now, THAT'S a View!

If you think you might like some Western living, give me a call at 770.713.1505 or contact me, and I’ll be happy to tell you more about life in Montana!

Zombie Apocalypse? Atlanta Says Bring It On

October 20, 2011 by Thom Abbott

Zombie Apocalypse Atlanta As a blogger, I’m NEVER, repeat, NEVER at a loss for topics. Sure, I’m a real estate broker and you want real estate information and or listings, right? But, it’s important to KNOW about where you want to live, not just about WHAT you want to live in.

One of my long list of topics is the exploding “Hollywood Goes Atlanta and Georgia” topic. Movies are happening everywhere here. Why? Well, a number of reasons, but let’s just say that we have some cheap labor. (I’ll write about that in a later post.)

But, the country is taking note of Atlanta….Zombie’s and all! The Walking Dead is filmed South of Atlanta and just started its second season. (The first season was filmed more in Atlanta proper and used the old Bell Quarry just west of Downtown as a main scene.)

Atlanta’s zombies have even made it to the New York Times, so I’ll let you read even more about it.

Documentary on Atlanta Architect, Developer John Portman

October 19, 2011 by Thom Abbott

I think pretty much every major city in the U.S. can find at least one individual that made a remarkable difference on their city. It might be for taking the city from the brink of nothing to a cultural center, or from a sleepy cow town to a metropolis.

In Atlanta, one of the most notable people that had a profound impact on the development of Downtown Atlanta, and on architecture world wide, was John Portman.

Now, people will have an opportunity to learn more about this legendary architect and developer in a new documentary by two-time Emmy winning producer Ben Loeterman, titled, “John Portman: A Life of Building”. The film made its international film festival debut at Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (The Netherlands) October 8, followed by a repeat showing on October 9.

The documentary will make its United States film festival debut at the Architecture and Design Film Festival in New York October 21, with a second showing October 22. Additionally, the film has been selected for screenings at A Design Film Festival in Singapore in November 2011 and at the Architecture and Design Film Festival in Chicago in 2012. After that, I’m not sure where you may be able to see the film, but this trailer is certainly a GREAT teaser for what the film is like.

To give you an example of his “mark” on Downtown Atlanta, the picture has red dots on some of the buildings he designed and built.

Atlanta Georgia John Portman Buildings

Paula Peril — The Midnight Whistle

October 15, 2011 by Thom Abbott

As many of you know, movies are being filmed in Atlanta every single day. In fact, every major studio FROM Hollywood is IN Atlanta filming one movie or another. It’s almost dizzying to try and keep up with the schedule.

So, yours truly had an opportunity and had to jump for it. Mind you, this is coming from a local production company

You can visit the website for Paula Peril: Midnight Whistle and see me in one of the production photos.

And if you look really close in the trailer…you’ll see me as a reporter asking questions.

Hello Hollywood? I’m Ready for my close up!

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