It’s 1980s déjà vu at Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth for a Netflix film, the same location that Netflix’s “Stranger Things” had built out its set three years ago.
While the “Stranger Things” Starcourt Mall was set in 1985, this Chatsworth Mall appears to be set in the summer of 1987 given the movies listed in the multi-plex.
The Netflix vampire movie “Day Shift” starring Jamie Foxx, Meagan Good and Snoop Dogg erected the marquee. The logline for the movie notes that Foxx’s character lives in the San Fernando Valley, which is where Chatsworth is located. And given it’s about vampires, the multi-plex features the 1987 movie “The Lost Boys.”
The mall is also hosting a Paramount film called “Secret Headquarters” starring Owen Wilson at the very same time.
“Secret Headquarters” is in pre-production and set to start filming May 25, according to ProductionList.com. It’s set to shoot in Los Angeles and Atlanta. One of the executive producers is Jerry Bruckheimer, known for films such as “Top Gun,” “National Treasure,” “Bad Boys” and the “CSI” TV franchise.
During season three of “Stranger Things,” a portion of the interior of the then largely empty mall was turned into a 1980s flashback featuring stores such as Wicks N’ Sticks, Hot Dog on a Stick, Chess King and Sam Goody. By season’s end, the fictional Starcourt Mall was largely destroyed when it was discovered Russians had built a secret base underneath it. The season aired in the summer of 2019.
Netflix recently built a marquee on Gwinnett Place Mall’s northside with four films listed: “The Lost Boys,” “Robocop,” “Predator” and “Full Metal Jacket.” There is also a Radio Shack advertised.
“The Lost Boys,” starring Corey Haim and Kiefer Sutherland, came out July 31, 1987. “Robocop” starring Peter Weller hit theaters July 17, 1987. “Predator,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers, arrived June 12, 1987. “Full Metal Jacket,” starring Matthew Modine and Vincent D’Onofrio, was released nationwide June 26, 1987.
The entire interior of Gwinnett Place Mall now is closed off.
Gwinnett County earlier this month purchased 39 acres of the mall property for $23 million, including the main mall building. Anchor tenants Macy’s, Korean supermarket Mega Mart and Beauty Master own their own property and remain open.
The entrances into the mall from those three stores are now blocked off. A row of dresses blocks the Beauty Master entrance into interior mall space Paramount is building out. The county is using part of the space as a COVID-19 vaccination site.
The Sears anchor store closed the same year “Stranger Things” shot there in 2018.
As I peered around trying to get inside, a security guard asked me if I was part of production. I wasn’t, so she shooed me away.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.om
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.om
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/RH
Credit: RODNEY HO/RH
About the Author
