Modified from an LA Times Article
Did you wonder why you saw Liam Neeson around Covington in April? You saw him because he was in Covington shooting for his upcoming thriller Taken 3! They first came to film here in Covington, then moved to Atlanta, and they will finish up filming in Paris.
The original Taken movie is about a retired CIA agent (Neeson) who has to travel to Paris to save his daughter after she is “taken”. Taken 2 builds upon the story line of the original movie, however, the mother is kidnapped this time.
We don’t know who will be taken in the third movie; however, we do know where they shot in Covington! A scene for the movie was shot in Newton High School’s old gym. Many other scenes have been shot in this gym, including the reunion scene from American Pie Reunion.
With all the big name movies being shot in Newton County, such as Taken 3 and Selma, you may be wondering how we become the Hollywood of the South. This is due to the states filming incentives. These incentives allow filmmakers to recover up to 30% of their production costs. These incentives have allowed the state to have 13 of the top grossing films from 2012 filmed within its boarders.
These incentives allow us, the Hollywood of the South, to get a lot of film jobs in our city. The Vampire Diaries filming has created a great impact on our city. Jessica Lowery gives The Vampire Diaries tours. These tours highlight our impact on the show, and promote local businesses like the Mystic Grill. Many other businesses have jumped on the vampire bandwagon and include vampire themed items in their stores. The Square Perk Café offers a Vampire Dirty Chai latté and the Cork offers Vampire Bite Flight wine. These themes bring in many tourists and help improve our city.
If you missed seeing Liam Neeson during filming, don’t fret! Covingtons beautiful historic landscape is sure to entice many other producers to film down here. We can’t wait to see what movie films next!
