A new spin-off series of CW's popular "The Vampire Diaries" has been green-lighted and will likely be shooting in Conyers.
A pilot show of "The Originals" was shot in Conyers in March. The streets of Olde Town Conyers, including the side of Sadie's Antiques and Uniques, were transformed into a New Orleans scene for the pilot episode, which aired April 25 and was picked up the next day.
CW president Mark Pedowitz said in a released statement in the day after, "As soon as we saw last night's episode of The Vampire Diaries, we knew we wanted more of The Originals - Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson have done a fantastic job with The Vampire Diaries, which is as fast-paced and well-written as ever, and Julie has created an equally compelling world for The Originals."
Gina Hartsell, the Camera Ready liason for Rockdale County, said she did not have confirmation that "The Originals" would be shooting in Conyers, since the production had gone on break until June.
"We believe that will happen, but there's a lot of hoops to jump through and logistics to talk about," said Hartsell. "We'll be talking to the city about things they want to do to make it easier to film."
"Everybody is excited about it," she added. "There's a lot of good things that are possible."
City spokesperson Jennifer Edwards said, "We’re looking forward to working with Gina, the Conyers-Rockdale Economic Development Council and the staff of 'The Originals.' No firm plans are in place at the moment, but we had a good experience when they filmed in Olde Town in April and hope to build on that relationship."
In other film activity, Olde Town will also be a location for the remake of "Endless Love," a 1981 Franco Zeffierlli directed film that had starred Brooke Shields. The remake will be directed by Shana Feste and will star Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde, according to Variety. Shooting is tentatively scheduled around mid-May.
Rockdale-Conyers has previously been the site of films such as "Identity Thief," "American Reunion," "Fast Five." The pilot for the Kevin Bacon thriller television show "The Following," and MTV's "Teen Wolf" have also filmed in Rockdale-Conyers. The movie "Prisoners," starring Hugh Jackman, recently wrapped shooting in Rockdale.
