With a flair for the arts and a thriving business community, Georgia’s state capital, Atlanta, has emerged as a powerhouse in recent decades. Some of the country’s greatest golf courses can be found here, along with major sports teams and an exciting nightlife. It is no wonder that the film industry has taken notice of this charming southern city.
RewardExpert recently had the pleasure of speaking with Carrie Sagel Burns, Chief Movie Buff with Atlanta Movie Tours, about how Atlanta is expanding its volume of filming and to learn more about what you can expect to see on your next trip there.
The Birth of Atlanta Movie Tours
Carrie Segal Burns shared with us her love to tour through the city with friends, and how she loved to always show them where things were filming, especially The Walking Dead. “A girlfriend of mine invited me to dinner one night in January 2012, and when she found out I did that she said that we needed to do it as a business,” she explained.
“By March 21st of that year we hosted our first media tour, and 10 days later, on March 31st, we had our first sold out Big Zombie Tour, based on The Walking Dead. We had people drive down from New Jersey just for this tour and realized we had something special.”
“The film industry here is special, it’s very organic, growing and changing by the second, and we wanted to offer aspiring actors an additional way to hone their skills while entertaining guests and making some extra money. When we started, we were running a tour a week, now we run close to 30 per week during the peak seasons and are growing all the time. We are #1 on TripAdvisor for Tours in Atlanta and we have had over 50,000 people tour with us.”
Tours Offered
The company offers a variety of different tours throughout the Atlanta area. The tours currently include the following:
- The Exclusive Atlanta Heritage Tour
- Best of Atlanta Tour
- Big Zombie Tour 1
- Big Zombie Tour 2
- Big Zombie Tour 3
- Big Zombie Walking Tour
- Castleberry Hill Backlot Walking Tour
- Hero Tour
- Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind Tour
- Victory Tour
The company also offers convenient transportation options to get you to and from where you need to go.
“I’m oftentimes asked about my favorite tours, though generally it’s which of our three Big Zombie Tours is my favorite and I say it’s like picking your favorite kid, if you have them, which I imagine would be tough to choose,” said Burns. “Helping build the tours, reading the reviews, seeing the reactions of the guests make every tour my favorite.”
“I will say though, that our Best of Atlanta tour really shows off Atlanta from the neighborhoods, like Castleberry Hill where our retail shop is located and the tours start from, to Old Fourth Ward and the MLK Jr. Historic District. We cover it all and cover tons of films and television shows in the process, like Driving Miss Daisy and now Baby Driver.”
“With all the excitement of Marvel in Atlanta, it’s hard not to love our Hero Tour. We have everything covered in it from the first Marvel production, Ant-Man, to the more recent Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, with many more on the schedule.”
“We have done a number of special tours with cast members from The Walking Dead and are always excited when we do these tours because the fans just love it! Unlike a convention with thousands of people, it’s limited to about 25, which makes it a truly unique experience.”
An Unforgettable Experience
If you are planning a trip to the Atlanta area, you really have to make sure you carve some time out for a tour.
“Everyone is always amazed by the sheer amount of filming taking place in and around Atlanta. The lucrative tax credit that Georgia offers productions is only enhanced by all the businesses, studios and others starting up who never directly benefit from the credit.”
“The neighborhood where our retail shop is and where the majority of tours start from, Castleberry Hill, runs the gamut from Freejack, starring Mick Jagger, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo and Driving Miss Daisy to current hot shows like The Resident and The Gifted and all new productions coming through with Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper. It’s super exciting to learn about it all and become an “expert” to friends and family back home.”
To learn more about Atlanta Movie Tours or to book your tour today, visit their website at atlantamovietours.com.