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Published Saturday, June 20, 2009 in Local

Stars out in Senoia

By Jeff Bishop

The Times-Herald

The director of the Reese Witherspoon film "Legally Blonde" is in Senoia through the first week of July shooting "Five Killers," a Lionsgate-distributed film starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Mull and Tom Selleck.

The film, slated for release in June 2010, tells the story of a hitman (Kutcher) "at the top of his game who falls for a computer tech (Heigl) and decides to hang up his guns," according to the Hollywood Reporter trade newspaper.

"They're shooting a lot in the Atlanta area and they're doing all their stage work here" at RiverWood Studios in Senoia, said Scott Tigchelaar, president of the studio.

Senoia is seeing plenty of action from the TV and film industry lately, thanks in large part to a tax incentive package passed last year by the Georgia legislature, Tigchelaar said.

"We owe that to our legislators, and especially Senator Mitch Seabaugh," said Tigchelaar. "There are people working at RiverWood right now who one year ago were building homes. But they lost their jobs and now they have transitioned into building sets. And that's what the tax incentives were all about -- providing jobs for Georgians."

In a separate filming project, Senoia is even "doubling for Los Angeles" for the new Sony-produced Lifetime Network TV show "Drop Dead Diva," Tigchelaar said. The show debuts July 12 at 9 p.m.

"From what I understand, Maguire's is going to be the regular watering hole on the show, a recurring location," Tigchelaar said of one Senoia restaurant. In fact, the producers aren't even bothering to change the name of the pub.

The intersection of Seavy and Main streets in Senoia is magically transformed into Los Angeles with the simple addition of an L.A. Times news stand, a metro bus stop, an L.A. flower delivery vehicle, and "some outdoor seating for the Redneck Gourmet," Tigchelaar said.

Presto -- you're in California.

Filming for "Drop Dead Diva" has also been going on at locations in Newnan. A crew filmed scenes on June 1 for an upcoming episode in Newnan's historic Oak Hill Cemetery and at a nearby residence.

Last week, a representative of the network came before Newnan City Council asking for permission to film a scene for Episode 7 at the Wesley Street gym. Assistant Location Manager James Haywood told city council members that the drama/comedy -- about a blonde model, Deb Dobkins, who dies in a car accident and comes back to Earth in the body of a plus-sized, highly intelligent attorney -- tentatively planned a three-day shoot at the gym.

Production officials were looking for an ideal setting to film a high school reunion. Since the Newnan-Coweta Boys and Girls Club frequently uses the facility, Haywood said his production company has agreed to make a donation to the club for use of the gym. The donation would be "in the $1,500-range."

Senoia will have even more filming flexibility once construction starts next month on the old McKnight gin property, which will be transformed into two rows of brownstones and single-family courtyard-style homes. Historic Development Ventures, affiliated with RiverWood Studios, is behind the new residential development.

"We're going to establish two new streetscape looks and see what direction we can go from there," said Tigchelaar.

"First and foremost, we want to put something there that's going to fit in with the downtown historic district of Senoia, but we're also designing it with an eye toward making whatever we build there function as something that will make Senoia even more conducive to future film work."

These won't simply be facades, he said, but actual living spaces, occupied year-round.

"We're not looking to bring in film companies that take over the whole town," he said. "This won't be a 365-day-a-year backlot for anybody. But we are designing it with back alley access so that we won't have to shut down the streets for filming, so we won't disrupt people's day-to-day lives."

The development and the new film activity "should help make Senoia a bit of a tourist destination," Tigchelaar said.

"Tourism is one of those things that -- both in Georgia and in the U.S. -- has been identified as one of strongest economic engines, and it's a very clean industry, too," he said.

He said that film companies are "essentially giant tourists" in that they "come, they spend money, they take a picture, and they leave."