The square's clear now, leaving few remnants of "The Night of Illumination" festival which has dominated the downtown streetscape for the past several days.
Covington was once again transformed into Mystic Falls, Va.; the fictional town has nearly as many festivals as Covington.
Banners, paper lanterns, tents and, of course, cast, crew and gawkers galore crowded downtown for filming of The Vampire Diaries Halloween episode, which will air Oct. 28.
Paid extras needed for Denzel Washington movie
Filming projects have been a little scarce recently, but the Denzel Washington film "Flight" will be filming one of the movie's key scenes at Green Valley Farms on U.S. Highway 278 on Oct. 11.
Paid extras of all ages, types and ethnicities are needed to work in the Atlanta area in mid-October. Interested applicants can email a recent photo to flightextra@gmail.com and include the following information: name, phone number, age, height, weight, clothing sizes, shoe size, pets they own and the color, make and model of their vehicle.
The pay is the standard $8 per hour, with overtime pay available after eight hours of filming.
The film follows the story of Whip, a commercial airline pilot with a substance abuse problem, who pulls off the heroic feat of landing a plane after its engine fails, saving 98 lives on a flight carrying 106 people.
"While the world begs to embrace him as a true American Hero, the everyman struggles with this label as he is forced to hold up to the scrutiny of an investigation that brings into question his behavior the night before the doomed flight," according to Paramount Pictures official description.
Tourism Director Clara Deemer said the scene filmed in Newton County will involve the plane knocking off the steeple of a church, which the crew will build on site at Green Valley Farms. The director and producer recently took a helicopter flight over the area and simulated swooping down over the area.
The film will be directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also directed "Castaway," "Forest Gump" and "Back To The Future." The film is also expected to star Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood and Kelly Reilly.
Businesses fight for filming
Because of recent public disputes about the value of filming, Newton County is in danger of losing its attractiveness as a filming site.
While some area businesses believe filming hurts their business, Scoops owner Susan Kirk said recently that "The Vampire Diaries" presence is a boon to her business.
"They generate approximately a 50 percent increase in sales each day they are filming on the square," Kirk said in an email to the local chamber. "Since they have started filming here we have entertained thousands of guests to Covington to see, walk around town, shop and take the tour. Everyday I am in Scoops I speak to guests who are here visiting just to see where Vampire Diaries is filmed."
More than 111 of Georgia's 159 counties have now been declared "Camera Ready," which means competition for filming projects is stiffer than ever.
Craig Dominey, a film location specialist for the state's economic development office, said 327 productions were filmed in Georgia in fiscal year 2011.
Those productions had a total value of $683.5 million, employed more than 25,000 people (11,000 full-time equivalent) and led to an economic impact of $2.4 billion.
The filming industry itself led to an estimated $429 million in tourism spending.
