Wednesday, February 14, 2024–4:43 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
A stunt unit for an Amazon production is set to begin filming in Rome and Lindale this month.
“The Pickup” will star Eddie Murphy, Keke Palmer, and Pete Davidson. However, they will not be here as part of the second unit filming.
On Wednesday, the city’s public works committee and traffic commission approved intermittent traffic controls for two days—one this month and one in April–on Darlington Drive where it crosses over Highway 411 near Bekeart.
Jenni Ivers, location manager: second unit, told the committee that the first day will involve plate unit filming.
“If you are watching a film and can clearly tell it has been shot on a stage with just greenery going by in the cars, that background footage is shot by a vehicle that has nine cameras,” Ivers explained. “We want to go back and forth over Darlington Drive a couple of times because that’s one of the scenes where our car has kind of like a getaway to get onto the interstate—the bad guys are fleeing the scene. So, we are requesting intermittent traffic control at two points, where the entrance and exit ramps on Darlington Drive hit Highway 411. It will be brief holds—no more than three minutes, just to allow the car to come up and get onto the interstate. Then we’d release traffic, reset, and then get back out.”
The second day of shooting will take place on April 3.
“This will be our actual hero car that will be driving up Darlington Drive and we would want to film it with a camera that’s on sticks, kind of on the sidewalk area, and with a drone as well,” Ivers said. “Each time, we will hold traffic, get into position, have the car come up, and then we would clear the road, and clear traffic, all sticking within that intermittent traffic control.”
Filming is also expected to take place at the Lindale Mill, as well as on Park Avenue. According to Ivers, they are also seeking a permit from the Georgia Department of Transportation to film on the bypass near Blacks Bluff Road.
“Some of our stunt sequences on the bypass include flipping a car over-end near the landfill area, so that will be exciting,” Ivers said. “We will work with local fire officials to make sure we do it safely because there will be fire elements to that sequence.”
The road closures on the bypass would not apply to pulpwood trucks or emergency vehicles.
Ivers is a native of McDonough and was a theater major at Berry College before going into the film industry.
(Pictured: Jenni Ivers speaks during Wednesday’s public works committee and traffic commission meeting)
