John Travolta in Columbus for filming of movie. ‘This is the sort of project we hope for.’
A movie starring John Travolta is being filmed in Columbus.
VisitColumbusGa president and CEO Peter Bowden confirmed the news to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Details are scant, Bowden said, but here’s what he could disclose:
The crew is in town for 15 days of filming, starting today. Although he doesn’t have a shot list, scenes are expected to be filmed “all over town,” Bowden said.
The movie has a working title that isn’t allowed to be released yet. Bowden also didn’t have information about the plot, but he did say the director is Randall Emmett, who produced the 2020 move “Survive the Night,” starring Bruce Willis and filmed just north of Columbus in Harris County. It was originally titled “The Long Night” when it was filmed in 2019.
The successful experience of that project, Bowden said, motivated Emmett to film the Travolta movie here.
This latest movie being filmed in the Columbus area boosts the Chattahoochee Valley’s status among Hollywood producers to an even higher level, Bowden said.
“It takes a long time to court a film of any size, big or small,” he said. “A lot of things are in the funnel and in the pipeline at the same time. But someone with the star power of John Travolta raises the awareness that, ‘Maybe we should take a look at Columbus too.’”
Also attracting film projects like this one to the local region are financial incentives from the Columbus Film Fund and state tax credits in Georgia. Bowden said he couldn’t disclose dollar figures or estimate the local economic impact because the producers haven’t released the film’s budget to him.
Regardless, he said, it is and will be significant.
“This is the sort of project we hope for,” Bowden said.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 11:56 AM.
