This was a tough year for the entertainment business in metro Atlanta on multiple fronts as producers of scripted TV and film faced two major strikes, CNN faced plenty of turmoil and Elton John left the state for good.
And even as the generous film and TV film tax credit faces some heat on the legislative front, investors opened multiple new studios in town and others were in expansion mode, ready for very busy 2024.
Two major Atlanta holiday traditions didn’t happen in 2023: the New Year’s Peach Drop and the Macy’s Great Tree Lighting. And longtime tourist attraction CNN Center has largely emptied of CNN employees, who have moved to Midtown.
On the bright side, Music Midtown returned and the Tara Cinema was saved.
Here are some of the most notable entertainment stories of the year in Atlanta:
Credit: Katelyn Myrick
Credit: Katelyn Myrick
Massive strikes hurt TV, film: Production in Georgia was down sharply in 2023 vs. 2022 for multiple reasons but mostly because of two strikes: writers for nearly five months and actors for another four. They were fighting for more money from streaming services and protections from impending artificial intelligence advances that could potentially take away their jobs. At the same time, those same streaming services, under pressure from shareholder to make money, are cutting back on spending just as audiences vacate traditional cable and broadcast TV channels. In Georgia, that meant Marvel movies got delayed and production of hit shows such as Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” and “Stranger Things” got pushed into 2024. Movie theaters, still hurting from the pandemic, are not out of the woods despite the surprise “Barbie”/“Oppenheimer” one-two punch in the summer.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
New TV/film studio openings galore: As the state’s very generous TV and film tax credit celebrated its 15th anniversary, real estate investors continue to open more studio space in Georgia, mostly in metro Atlanta. The state now has more soundstage square footage than New York. New studios included Athena Studios in Athens, Assembly Studios in Doraville at the former GM plant, BlueStar Studios at the former Fort Gillem in Forest Park and the environmentally conscious Electric Owl Studios near the Indian Creek MARTA station in Atlanta.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
CNN Center goes away amid internal turmoil: This was a tough year for CNN. Ratings were in full retreat earlier this year as leader Chris Licht made multiple missteps that led to his firing in early June, not long after he got rid of host Don Lemon for his own controversial statements. At the same time, CNN was abandoning its key tourist attraction in downtown dubbed CNN Center since the late 1980s, moving to Midtown. By 2024, CNN Center signage will be gone. CNN itself has stabilized under new leader Mark Thompson, who had previously rebuilt BBC and The New York Times.
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Atlanta celebrates 50 years of hip hop: Rap originated in 1973 in New York City, didn’t really hit the public consciousness until the 1980s and found its footing in Atlanta in the 1990s. There were celebrations galore both locally and nationally, including a recent CBS special, and it revealed how dominant Atlanta has become in the hip-hop world the past quarter century. A pop-up hip-hop museum at Underground Atlanta curated by Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin this fall highlighted the city’s impact. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s first ever full-length documentary “The South Got Something to Say” which featured many of the key hip-hop players in the city debuted in November and can be viewed at ajc.com/hiphop.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Goodbye yellow brick road in Atlanta: The worldwide pop icon Elton John bought a place in Atlanta in the early 1990s in Buckhead and fell in love with the city. For more than a decade, he spent a huge portion of time here, curating art shows, shopping at Lenox Mall and buying CDs at Tower Records. But his time here was cut back when he and his husband David Furnish had kids and began residing primarily in London. He would use his Atlanta condo as his home base while touring in North America but with his touring days concluding for good this past summer, he sold his Buckhead pad for $7.225 million in October.
The Kim Zolciak/Kroy Biermann mess: Reality star Kim Zolciak generated plenty of money from 2008 until 2020 as a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and her spin-off Bravo show “Don’t Be Tardy.” From 2008 to 2015, Biermann made millions as a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons. But cashflow has been far less robust in recent years and their monthly bills became too much to take. They owe money to the IRS, credit card companies and the mortgage lender, all played out in painful detail on TMZ. They have placed their Milton mansion up for sale and are still awaiting a buyer, even after a price drop. And they are in the midst of a rancorous divorce to boot.
Jamie Foxx hospitalized in Atlanta: While shooting Netflix film “Back in Action” in Atlanta, the busy 56-year-old actor landed in a hospital with a serious medical problem he didn’t publicize. After a couple of weeks, he landed at a rehab center in Chicago and spent months there recuperating. He made his first official public appearance at an awards ceremony earlier this month. After walking on stage, Foxx said, “It’s crazy, I couldn’t do that six months ago. I couldn’t actually walk.” He still hasn’t said what happened but did tell the audience, “I cherish every single minute now. It’s different. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy because it’s tough when it’s almost over. When you see the tunnel, I saw the tunnel. I didn’t see the light.”
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Music Midtown returned. ONE Musicfest expands: After a surprise cancellation in 2022, the annual music festival Music Midtown at Piedmont Park returned in 2023 with a lineup geared for a wider demographic appeal including Pink, Billie Eilish and Guns ‘n Roses. Despite some rain and mud, the festival appeared to go off without any major issues. ONE Musicfest, the annual celebration of R&B and hip-hop that launched in 2010, moved to Piedmont Park this year, with headlining sets from Janet Jackson and Kendrick Lamar.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
99X revived, reunited: The alt-rock station 99X, hugely popular in the 1990s, had effectively been dead for more than 14 years when Atlanta-based Cumulus content chief Brian Phillips decided in December 2022 to revive it. He sensed former fans missing the station and figured it was worth bringing back once he realized he might be able to rehire many of the original personalities. He brought back morning hosts Steve Barnes and Leslie Fram, mid-day host Steve Craig, now afternoon host Will Pendarvis, night host Jill Nelson and weekend host Matt Jones. The results have been even better than Phillips expected with the station finishing top 3 among 25 to 54 year olds toward the end of the year.
André 3000 comes back - in his own way: The former co-creator of the seminal Atlanta hip-hop group OutKast has spent the last few years laying low and not creating new music. Then out of nowhere, he released an instrumental album focused on the flute this past November that befuddled many of his long-time fans but enhanced his reputation as a true iconoclast.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Two Atlanta traditions end: The New Year’s Eve Peach Drop and the Macy’s Great Tree Lighting didn’t happen in 2023. Both were around for decades. In the case of the Peach Drop, a long-time Atlanta alternative to the New York City Times Square Ball Drop, the city of Atlanta chose not to fund the $500,000 for the free event, which has typically drawn tens of thousands and brought in name acts to perform on stage. “Each year is different and we can always reevaluate next year,” a spokesman said. The tree lighting, started by Rich’s in 1948, moved to the Macy’s store at Lenox Square Mall in 2000 but when the pandemic began, they stopped making it a public event, then decided to just end it altogether this year.
Tara Cinema saved: Regal Cinema in November 2022, abruptly shut down Tara Cinema, which launched in 1969 and became an indie/foreign film mainstay for decades but appeared doomed. Then Plaza Theatre owner Christopher Escobar gathered a group of investors and reopened the theater off Cheshire Bridge Road in the spring, hoping to give it life the way he did the now 84-year-old Plaza Theatre.
Credit: SOURCE Parkwood Entertainment
Credit: SOURCE Parkwood Entertainment
Strong concert season: Metro Atlanta hosted a vast array of monster concerts, most notably three sold-out Taylor Swift dates at Mercedes-Benz, three sold-out dates for Beyonce at the same venue and two sold-out Truist Park concerts for country superstar Morgan Wallen. Others who graced stages this year included the final tour date for the B-52s in Athens in January, Bruce Springsteen in February, Janet Jackson in April at State Farm, Kenny Loggins’ farewell stop in May, Drake in September, Queen + Adam Lambert in October, and the Eagles in November.
Credit: JAY BLACK/AJC
Credit: JAY BLACK/AJC
Major moves for local media vets: Three longtime vets found fresh gigs in 2023. Veteran political broadcaster Bill Nigut lost his job at Georgia Public Broadcasting and was quickly picked up by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he now co-hosts the “Politically Georgia” show on WABE-FM and podcast. Jeff Hullinger who has been in Atlanta media for more than three decades, decided to leave 11Alive after 13 years and jumped to GPB as an executive producer for local content. And Monica Pearson, former WSB-TV anchor, has decided to do double duty: an existing interview show on Peachtree TV and a new AJC interview show that is set to debut in January 2024.
Credit: KRYSALEX
Credit: KRYSALEX
Broadcast and radio departures:
Scott Slade retired from WSB radio as a morning host after 32 years.
Heather Caitlin left WSB-TV after 14 years for a Chick fil-A public relations job
Ryan Beesley left meteorology and Fox 5 for a non-profit job
Christine Pullara, host of 11Alive’s “Atlanta & Co.” stepped down in June after 14 years
Morse Diggs, the award-winning Fox 5 reporter, retired in October after 42 years at the station
Rob Hughes, anchor at Atlanta News First, jumped to WLS in Chicago over the summer after three years
Marcy Williams in April retired from WSB radio following a 32-year run
Credit: AJC FILE PHOTOS
Credit: AJC FILE PHOTOS
Notable entertainment deaths:
George LeFont, champion of local movie theaters including the Plaza and the Tara, died in September
John Wetherbee, the long-time meteorologist and former Fox 97.1 midday host, died in December
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