If you’ve seen the most popular movies and television shows of our time, you’ve already had a front-row view of Clayton County.
Over the past decade, Clayton County has hosted film productions for some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, including “The Hunger Games,” “Fast and Furious,” “Avengers” and more.
Clayton County’s picturesque places have also provided local color and diverse backdrops for some of the most acclaimed TV series on broadcast and streaming services, such as “Stranger Things,” “Atlanta” and “Watchmen.”
Local film production is nothing new for the county, with Burt Reynolds’ 1977 hit “Smokey and the Bandit” putting Jonesboro in the spotlight. As the state of Georgia has increasingly drawn Hollywood’s attention in recent years, Clayton County has shifted into high gear, attracting about 200 feature films and television series for broadcast and streaming, which have brought the millions of dollars in business to the community.
Local landmarks have been transformed into far-flung settings. The Beach of Clayton County International Park normally offers a place for outdoor summertime fun, but “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” transformed it into The Cornucopia, one of the primary combat arenas in the film’s dystopian future.
In “Captain America: Civil War,” the James M. Baker University Center on Clayton State campus doubled as a European detention facility for a thrilling fight scene between Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier vs. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the Black Panther (the late Chadwick Boseman).
In some movies, lavish international set pieces actually took place in Clayton County’s back yard. In “Spider-man: Homecoming,” when Tony Stark calls Peter Parker from India, Downey was actually filmed at Clayton County’s Hindu Temple.
Superheroes and science fiction epics just scratch the surface. For Denzel Washington’s Oscar-nominated drama “Flight,” Hall’s Flying Ranch in Hampton, Ga., provided the character’s childhood home. In addition, multiple prestigious TV dramas have filmed in the county multiple times, including “Ozark” and “Watchmen.”
The Clayton County Visitor Center nods to local productions with its growing exhibit of film and video memorabilia, including items from “Stranger Things,” “The Walking Dead” and “Catching Fire.” Whenever you pay a visit, you may feel like part of the supporting cast.