Hollywood is in McDonough

Hollywood is moving into McDonough again for Tyler Perry’s new Holiday movie.  The movie is wrapping up today on the square.   The movie filmed in the downtown square, and they have also filmed outdoor shots at the Welcome Center.

McDonough native Beau Kelley was filled with a sense of pride as he snapped photos of filmmaker Tyler Perry’s crew at work Tuesday. Kelley said he was able to get closer to Perry than many others during the filming.

“I was actually an extra in a few scenes and got to read lines in front of Tyler Perry,” said Kelley. “It was intimidating but it was also exciting.”

Perry is expected to wrap up scenes for his movie, “A Madea Christmas,” Wednesday on the Square.

Kelley said the film has shined a spotlight on the city he calls home.

“I think we take for granted how charming it is,” he said. “It speaks to how special this town is for Tyler Perry to want to use it as the backdrop for a major motion picture.”

The movie has been a hot topic of conversation at downtown businesses this week.

Bob Knowles, owner of Blumen Trio, said he is looking forward to seeing the impact the film will have on the city.

“It’s great for McDonough,” he said. “The fact that they chose us, I’m thrilled.”

Knowles said business at his flower shop is typically slower in January. He hopes tourism in McDonough will get a boost from the movie.

“People will come to see where the movie was made,” said Knowles.

Several businesses on the Square got a facelift Tuesday as movie crews worked to transform the area for the movie. Knowles said the look of his business has remained intact.

“They don’t have to do anything with our windows,” he said. “They’re changing everybody else’s. They’re either putting in window displays or tweaking the others.”

Frank Leo owns of Mr. Leo’s Wonder Emporium, which shares space with Blumen Trio at 19 Griffin St. Leo said the movie is exciting for McDonough and that it will likely bring more business to the area in time.

“Everybody thinks that because they’re bringing a movie here, it’s going to bring business in that day, but it should bring it in the future,” said Leo. “It can put McDonough on the map.”

Jennifer Price, tourism director for the McDonough Hospitality and Tourism Board, agrees.

“This is huge,” said Price. “A great deal of visitors from all over the U.S. will want to visit McDonough to see where the movie was filmed.”

Earlier versions of the movie script called for scenes to be filmed at the McDonough Welcome Center. However, Price said that has changed.

“They are no longer going to be filming at the actual Welcome Center,” she said. “They’ll be filming on the downtown Square and there will be shots of the exterior of the Welcome Center. Beyond that, I’m not sure because the script is continuing to change.”

Greg Berkes, owner of Gritz Family Restaurant, welcomed the film’s location manager, Jason Underwood, into his eatery for lunch Tuesday. Berkes said the movie will give exposure to McDonough, while helping Tyler Perry Studios at the same time.

Underwood said Wednesday will be the studio’s last day of filming in Henry County and that the project has been a positive experience.

“Everybody’s been pretty great,” said Underwood. “It does, to some degree, energize the commerce center where filming is taking place. Especially in small towns, there’s a lot of local pride and it’s a talking point for the community.”

While most downtown merchants have spoken well of the film’s effect on business, the same is not true for Katherine Yancey, co-owner of Party Time. She said customers have not been coming to her store as regularly this week as they normally do.

Brandon McKeown helps with inventory and merchandise at Party Time. He agreed with Yancey about a decline in business during filming.

“The first two days, that’s when we saw the traffic,” said McKeown. “After that, it’s been few and far apart.”

McDonough Police Chief Preston Dorsey said Perry’s team will shoot scenes Wednesday at a house on Griffin Street and behind Gritz. The chief said traffic won’t be as bad as originally thought.

“We redesigned the traffic plan to make it more friendly to the businesses downtown,” said Dorsey.

For more information see Henry Herald.