Rob Hardy discusses Stomp the Yard sequel

This time, Hardy’s involvement was elevated to director, Packer returns as a producer and Short, who has a cameo as his old character, DJ Williams, serves as executive producer.

Made for under $5 million, “STYH” was filmed primarily at Morris Brown College – which doubles as the fictional Truth University – as well as other Atlanta spots, including a defunct restaurant in the Edmund Park area.

“HawthoRNe” ’s Collins Pennie stars as a fledgling dancer trying to balance his ambitions between a complicated love life and his disapproving family.

Hardy recently directed an episode of “The Vampire Diaries,” which is slated to air at 8 p.m. Sept. 30 on The CW, and is soon headed west to helm an episode of “90210.”

But first, he caught up with the AJC to discuss “STYH.”

Q: Was the movie always supposed to go straight to DVD?

A: Basically, after we did “Stomp the Yard” in ’07 and it was really successful, we kicked around an idea about doing a sequel, but we couldn’t find a way back into that world. By the time we brought the project back, it was green-lit for a DVD budget.

The studio really liked [the movie], it was sent to test audiences and they liked it, but [the studio] figured they could make a killing on DVD.

Q: Are you disappointed that its only theatrical release was a weeklong run here?

A: Obviously, you want all of your films to go into theaters, but I’m excited that people have been responding to the film. I think we’ll get a lot of love in the DVD world.

Q: It looks as if you did most of the shooting at Morris Brown College, but where else in Atlanta did you film?

A: We shot in all of Atlanta -- restaurants and parks and things like that. The restaurant [in the movie] used to be a restaurant near Edmund Park that was closed down. We also shot near City Hall, off of Ponce de Leon [Avenue] and around the Morris Brown area.

Q: Did filming at the college present any challenges?

A: With Morris Brown, that campus isn’t as functional as a university. It’s a lot more subdued than your average campus. They were good about allowing us to shoot there. We also went to my alma mater, Florida A&M, for some b-roll.

Q: Are you and Will [Packer] working on anything right now?

A: We’re working on a movie called “No Good Deed.” It’s a woman-in-peril story with Taraji P. Henson.

Q: At what point are you in the process?

A: We have a script and we’re trying to line up a leading man so we can figure out the best time to shoot it. The hope is to shoot it in Atlanta. We want to do as many movies as we can in this town.