Dawsonville Movie to Open Sept. 21st

"Trouble with the Curve" is set to be released September 21st, and it has the whole town of Dawsonville very excited.  The movie was filmed in a Dawsonville hotel that was renamed "The Grey Squirrel for the movie.  Georgia's tax breaks and movie incentives have brought more movies to Georgia in the past few years, and the area is looking forward to more movies in the future. Praven Patel plans to be among the first in line when the movie filmed earlier this year at his Dawsonville motel hits the big screen next month.     Warner Brothers recently released the first trailer for "Trouble with the Curve" starring Clint Eastwood with several scenes featuring Amicalola Lodge, the motel Patel has owned for the last 20 years. "It's very exciting. The trailer was very nice, and the scenes for the motel look very nice," he said. In the movie, the motel has been renamed The Grey Squirrel. Also featuring Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake, "Trouble with the Curve" stars Eastwood as an aging baseball scout who travels to Atlanta with his daughter to see a hot prospect. While the movie is set to open nationwide Sept. 21, there is no official word yet if it will be shown at the local cinema, though executives with the Georgia Theater Company are aware the movie holds local ties. Official Ansley Scofield said it is up to movie companies to determine when and if special events take place to coincide with openings. Any special events would be advertised and promoted, she added. Georgia has been one of the country's leading locations for Hollywood film production for a couple of years, thanks to the tax breaks and incentives offered by the state. Passed in 2008, the Georgia Entertainment Industry Act gives production companies a 20 percent tax credit if the company spends a minimum of $500,000 on production and post-production in the state. While it remains unclear how much Warner Brothers spent to film the scenes in Dawsonville, officials said the movie lit a spark in the local economy with crews purchasing construction supplies at home improvement stores and crew members shopping the retail outlets at Ga. 400. The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office launched the Camera Ready Communities program in 2010 to train and certify Georgia counties on how to work with production companies and provide local, one-on-one assistance with productions. Officials have said they see the incentive program as a boon for Dawson County, which is set to be the backdrop for the filming of a second major motion picture. According to Executive Producer Denise Kleiner, a film focused on the north Georgia gold rush and famed local miners is in the works. She reported last week that the script is almost finalized and the production company is preparing a preliminary filming schedule. Although Kleiner has confirmed the film's budget is set at $50 million, she said officials are not willing to release more details until filming locations are set. As of April, officials were seeking confirmation from local property owners on whether they could use the land and home where famed miner Green Russell lived near the Etowah River. For more information see Dawson News.