Scott Waugh's "Need for Speed" to film in Macon, Rome

The cast of "Need for Speed" clockwise from top left: Aaron Paul, Dakota Johnson,
Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots

Director Scott Waugh's adaptation of the popular video game franchise "Need for Speed" will begin filming in Macon in mid-April. The project's screenwriter, John Gatins, mentioned the possibility of the film shooting in Georgia last fall when he was in Savannah promoting another Georgia production, "Flight." Gatins accepted the Savannah Film Festival Spotlight Award for his work on "Flight" and had great things to say about working in Georgia. Two hundred cast and crew members are expected to travel to Macon for the production.

Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Dakota Johnson, Michael Keaton, Imogen Poots, Ramon Rodriguez, Kid Cudi and Rami Malek comprise the principal cast of the film. Location scouting has taken place throughout downtown Macon and it is expected that casting calls for extras will occur closer to production kickoff. 

Recent projects to film in Macon include the Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake baseball hit, "Trouble with the Curve," and upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic, "42," which will be released next month.

Filming will also take place in Rome at the Historic Myrtle Hill Cemetery in June.

Around town for the 2012 Savannah Film Festival

The Trustees Theatre marquee.

It's been nearly two months since the Savannah Film Festival took place, but many of the films that screened there are just now hitting cinema screens, keeping memories of Georgia's most prestigious film festival afresh. Oscar contenders like "Silver Linings Playbook," "Flight," "Rust & Bone" and "Amour" all played the festival and stars like John Goodman, Diane Lane, Michelle Monaghan, James Gandolfini, Gabourey Sidibe, Matt Dillon and Stan Lee all graced us with their presence this year. It was a great eight days. Here are some pictures I shot during the festival with some miscellaneous shots from around town thrown in.

Savannah: "Flight" (***½)

Bruce Greenwood, Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle star in "Flight"

Being able to consistently open films to big numbers at the box office takes a special kind of star-power. Denzel Washington has been a box office draw for years, while consistently putting forward intense, focused performances and routinely earning awards. Few people in the industry can match his impressive record. "Flight" gives us what Denzel does best, a mesmerizing performance in a slick Hollywood production. Except this production was shot entirely and takes place in Atlanta.

"Flight" opened nationwide last weekend, but I was able to check it out on October 28th at the Savannah Film Festival. Supporting star John Goodman and screenwriter John Gatins were in town for the festival, being honored with an Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award and a Spotlight Award, respectively. A Q&A with the pair shed some light on the process of getting "Flight" out of Gatins' head and onto the big screen.