Cedartown, Ga. – August 28, 2017– If you’re one of those people that can’t wait to pull out the Christmas decorations and get in the holiday spirit, then you’re going to absolutely love downtown Cedartown over the next few months.
Christmas decorations – lights, tinsel, trees, fake snow, the whole nine yards –will be going up all over downtown beginning this week. But Santa Claus and his elves have nothing to do with the unseasonal prep; Cedartown will be decking their halls for a television film crew coming into town on Sept. 18.
Production crews with the Sundance TV series “Hap and Leonard” fell in love with downtown Cedartown and felt that it blended seamlessly with their vision of the show’s third season. They asked about the possibility of filming in the area, specifically Moore’s corner and Cobb’s Corner, and Cedartown was happy to oblige. The Christmas decorations come into play as the third season is set during Christmas of 1989 in a fictitious East Texas town.
“We were contacted a few weeks ago by a location scout with the show and he said they were looking for an old-fashioned soda shop. They found photos online of Moore’s and really felt like that location offered everything they needed,” explained City Manager Bill Fann. “We helped them work with the owner of the building and put them in touch with the Downtown Cedartown Association and we’re pleased to say that everything came together. We are excited that our downtown has caught the eye of yet another film crew.”
The show will also film at other locations in Northwest Georgia, but Cedartown will be used at different times over the course of three months.
The Cedartown Fire Department will be stringing lights into the trees along Main Street during the week of August 28. A live Christmas tree will eventually be placed downtown as well.
Downtown merchants will have a chance to meet members of the art department and location scouting crew this week, as they will be personally stopping by and visiting with each business owner to discuss decoration ideas.
“Residents and business owners in Cedartown are so friendly and willing to work with anyone, especially when it brings attention to our town that we all love,” Fann said. “We encourage everyone to enjoy this early start to the holidays, share the news with their friends and family, and be proud of Cedartown. We all know it’s a beautiful place and obviously, other folks are noticing that as well.”
This is not Cedartown’s first brush with the film industry. Back in 2011, a Billy Bob Thornton-produced movie, “Jayne Mansfield’s Car” transformed downtown Cedartown into a 1960s version of itself. Film crews were in Cedartown in 2015, shooting a trailer for a feature-length film project called “Black Mountain.” Also in 2015, local lawyer and filmmaker Bill Lundy produced independent film “A Larger Life,” drawing heavily on local Cedartown landmarks and locations.