From the Decatur Minute…

Deciding to have a baby is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make, and selecting where you will have your baby is the next big step in your joyful journey. As the preferred destination for more than 6,000 Atlanta moms a year, DeKalb Medical is prepared for every type of delivery.

Join DeKalb Medical for Maternity Movies on the Square – Fridays at the Decatur Square – The festivities begin at 7:30 pm with pre-movie entertainment. The movies begin at sundown. Bring a blanket, some refreshments and enjoy the show.

• April 5 – What to Expect When You Are Expecting – Filmed in Atlanta/Decatur!

• May 3 – She’s Having A Baby – 80’s Night!

• May 31 – Nine Months

Chris Billingsley sends along a letter from the movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting’s movie’s location manager, which notifies area residents that the movie would be filming scenes at 116 East Maple Street next Wednesday and Thursday (9/28-9/29).   The note sums up the movie thusly…

“The story is a romantic comedy adaptation of Heidi Murkoff’s pregnancy guideline book of the same name.  The film tells the story of five couples coping with life’s unexpected trials and tribulations when they are ‘expecting’.  As a native ‘Atlantan’ it brings me great please to inform you that the story is set in our beautiful city, which will be showcased on a nation scale.”

It goes on to detail truck placement and traffic flow.

IMDB shows that there’s a big ol’ cast for this movie, including Cameron Diaz, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, and Elizabeth Banks.

The city states that though they are in process, they still haven’t permitted the project, according to Patch.

The final film in the Decatur Docs first series, “Boxing Gym” screens tomorrow night at the Decatur High School auditorium at 8pm.  ArtsCriticATL reviewed the film a couple days back and does a great job of giving a feel for this “Cannes Film Festival highlight”.

[Director 81-year-old Frederick] Wiseman’s portrait of gym-as-laboratory-for-human-interaction makes a fleabag sweat palace feel like the most vital, meaningful place on the planet. There is great tenderness and reflection in his approach, whether he’s observing a gruff-looking palooka socking away at a punching bag and then turning around to coo to his little daughter in a baby carrier behind him, or the simple, pure acts of fraternity offered in the conversations and shared training exercises of the gym regulars.

…As in all the films he has made over the past 30 years, Wiseman provides a record; he gives us access to a place we wouldn’t ordinarily go and allows us to settle into it as if it was a long, relaxing soak in the bath. He has delved into the world of the Neiman Marcus department store in “The Store” (1983), a mental institution in his still-shocking debut, “Titicut Follies” (1967), and a string of self-explanatory explorations in “High School” (1968), “Blind” (1987) and “Ballet” (1995).

After the film, Xavier Biggs and Terri Moss of the Decatur Boxing Club will be on-hand for a post-movie discussion.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or at the door. (There’s also an online-only deal of 2 tickets for $10 each)

Looks and sounds great!

Ann writes in and lets us know that the first Zombieland trailer – with a quick shot of Abigail Breslin outside at the Gas ‘n Gulp – is now online.

As the trailer so poignantly notes, all this talk about a bad economy and climate change is distracting us from the real issue at hand: a rampant zombie population.

UPDATE: It seems like my tease confused people a bit as to the specifics of this.  So here it is plain and clear: Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates and Sandra Bullock are part of the filming taking place at Agnes Scott over the last few days.  Sounds like it continues today.

Rumor on Twitter is that a huge country music star and two big movie stars are filming “The Blind Side” at Agnes Scott today.

Can anyone confirm?  This site makes it sound like they’ve been filming at Agnes and all over Atlanta since at least May 13th.  Am I just catching up?

If it is true, I must try my damnedest to keep my wife away from that campus until they wrap. 

via @DaveKell (this guy!)

Jonathan Cribbs over at Champion Newspapers recaps Decatur’s recent filming frenzy and offers an explanation for the recent influx of grips, cameramen, directors and celebs.

A newly created up-to-30% state tax credit for films that shoot in Georgia.

Inadvertently, it seems that Decatur has become a major beneficiary of this legislation.  With its close proximity to Atlanta, beautiful locales, and increasingly rare “small town feel”, it looks like the goals of the Strategic Plan are now paying new, unexpected dividends.

I can’t wait for the Decatur Hot Dog joint where all the celebs who have visited have signed, B&W pictures on the wall!

Scott sends in a pic of our newly redesigned Hi-Tech gas station, courtesy of Zombieland Pictures.

I gotta believe its not permanent.  What a strange property.