Chick-fil-A chairman Dan Cathy has fully embraced TV and film as his way to build a community from scratch.
Last month, he spoke briefly to media before a tour of the new Trilith Gatehouse, a Marriott-financed boutique hotel set to open Feb. 1 with rooms starting around $212 a night. (He didn’t take questions.)
Cathy noted that three of the top highest grossing films of all time were shot at the neighboring Trilith Studios: “Avengers: End Game,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
The generous film tax credit passed in 2008 made Trilith possible, Cathy said.
“This is a new industry for our state,” he said. “It shows how elected officials can make a difference. That tax credit became a magnet for this industry.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
He noted that Trilith Studios, which now has 31 stages, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in January. Originally a partnership with U.K.’s Pinewood Studios, the operations opened their doors with five soundstages in January 2014 to Marvel, which began production of “Ant-Man.” Marvel and Disney have since shot more than a dozen movies and TV shows there, from “Guardians of the Galaxy” to “Black Adam” to “WandaVision.” (Pinewood sold its minority stake back to Cathy in 2019 and he renamed the studios and city to Trilith.)
Cathy decided to turn Pinewood into a town in 2016, a city he hopes will have 5,000 residents when it’s finished. “We wanted it to be a residential experience for storytellers to live here,” he said. “This idea of a live/create/play community, much of it was borne from Celebration in Orlando by Walt Disney. I don’t think he lived long enough to see his vision fully come to life but I just turned 70 years old in March. I’m staying in good health so I can see this to completion.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
He designed the town to have rental apartments, townhomes and stand-alone houses to cover a range of incomes. “Hairdressers, set design, construction all the way to A-list actors,” Cathy said. “We studied great environments for creatives. I just came back from Austin, Texas, where we were inspired by South by Southwest. I’ve looked at Burbank, California, and London and other places. We want to bring a collection of unique ideas like a recipe in the kitchen.”
Credit: RODEY
Credit: RODEY
He purposely did not include a Chick-fil-A in Trilith. Rather, the downtown mostly consists of smaller businesses including boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Half are owned by women., he said, and half of those are people of color. While walking Trilith Parkway, the main street, he noted the newest restaurant: CT Cantina & Taqueria. He took a break to take a picture in front of a new floral Trilith mural that was created earlier in the year.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
The hotel, Cathy said, “will be affordable, attainable. This is not a Four Seasons hotel. If you want Four Seasons, the one in Midtown will be happy to have you. But this is an incredible sweet spot in price for our visitors here.”
Two years since groundbreaking, the five-story, 193-room boutique hotel will feature 36 apartment-style studios and one-bedroom suites; a street-level restaurant, a fifth-floor rooftop bar, a culinary kitchen studio, a catering space featuring local art, and indoor/outdoor spaces spanning more than 17,000 square feet that could host big weddings and other events.
“This was once cattle grounds and wheat fields,” said James Green, general manager for Trilith Guesthouse. (He did not allow photography yet inside since it was an active construction site.)
Four of the topline 1,200-square-feet suites cater to celebrities, producers and decisionmakers with their own parking spaces. There are 32 other smaller suites. Bedrooms are purposely placed on the inside to accommodate people who may do overnight shoots and need to sleep during the day. “It’s very purposely designed,” Green said. “We want to be receptive to the film and TV industry guests. It can be as light or dark as they want it.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
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