Alan Hunter in his office at WorkPlay.

Birmingham Rolls Out The Red Carpet for

The relationship between Hollywood and the South has long been tense. Since the days of the first “talkies,” the South has supplied its West Coast sister with a deep well of material and talent. Our Tallulah Bankheads we gladly give. It’s the “material” part that’s been the sticking point.

Less than a decade ago, Forrest Gump exploded onto movieplex screens across America, snagging an historic amount of attention and six Oscars to boot. At the time of its 1994 release, debate raged below the Mason-Dixon about Forrest Gump and its portrayal of the South. Some found the ticklish itch of truth in the film’s syrupy accents and cornpone depictions. Others didn’t – or simply refused to – get the joke.

Either way, the attention of the nation was leveled on Alabama, where the fictional Forrest Gump is set. However, not a single frame of the movie was shot in the state. This, despite the fact that the addled, but fleet-of-foot Forrest attended college at the University of Alabama, where his character played football for Paul “Bear” Bryant and witnessed Gov. George Wallace’s infamous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” The exterior campus scenes for the movie were all shot at the University of South Carolina.

There are people – many right here in the Magic City – determined to see Alabama actually star in the movies it helps make famous.

Putting Alabama on the Map
While still quick to complain that no one in Hollywood “can get our accents right,” many Southerners have wised up financially.

Film production crews – large or small – bring “new money” to a local economy, consuming the products and support services that are staples of the trade. They plunk down dollars on lodging, clothing, groceries, office supplies and a host of other items for sets. Once put into circulation, economists estimate, such “new money” triples its effect throughout the community.

Some here believe that Alabama can and should lead Southern states in soliciting film and movie projects. Birmingham native Alan Hunter is one such believer.

“The potential for the film business to be an economic boost to the state is the same as in any other state,” Hunter says. “If you make it a competitive game and if the people - our leaders here - take it seriously like other states do, you’re talking millions of dollars in business that could be brought into the state via the film business.”

Hunter speaks sitting in the sleek comfort of his downtown Birmingham office in Hunter Films. The production company, which Hunter founded with his brother Hugh, is housed in the belly of WorkPlay, an impressive structure on 23rd Street South that is equal parts office space, nightclub, music recording studio and theater.

Besides being among the minds that helped create the MTV phenomenon, Hunter is beginning to craft a name for himself in the film industry. An independent short which he helped produce, “Johnny Flynton,” was nominated for an Oscar in 2002, and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival he helped found continues to grow in both status and merit.

Currently, Hunter is working closely with Jefferson County Commissioner Shelia Smoot to form a regional film commission to lobby the film industry for statewide projects. Hunter envisions a Birmingham-based hybrid of public and private support.

“Shelia’s really enthusiastic about trying to make it happen. She understands how important it is,” Hunter says. “She’s big into economic development issues and understands probably as well as anyone around here that it is an economic development issue, not an artsy-fartsy one.”

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