Memphis-based business journal “The Commercial Appeal” reported yesterday that Memphis, Tennessee, has lost their bid to play host to the remake of the 1980s hit film “Footloose” and that the production will instead be coming to Georgia. In an interview with the film’s director Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow”), Commercial Appeal describes how the Memphis package remained $1.6 million short of hitting Paramount’s $25 million budget for the remake, which has been rumored as “coming to Georgia” for at least a year.
Expected to begin filming in early August, Brewer’s script for Footloose (2011) is set in the fictional small town of Beaumont, Tennessee. No word yet on when pre-production will begin, but Commercial Appeal reports the film’s director as saying that the production will employ “400 paid dancers, 2,200 paid extras and 90 local crew members”.
Although Georgia emerged as the winner in this competition with Tennessee, it’s safe to say that our local production crews fully understand Brewer’s frustration at watching Tennessee-specific projects leave his home state. Georgia’s motion picture industry languished during the period prior to our more-competitive tax incentives, with many long-time crew members relocating out of state to follow the work.
Let’s do Tennessee proud.