![\"Tia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5b2f3f92-c942-4fdd-ad39-f4300844d99e_1705700161.file.png\")
<\/a>SAVANNAH, Ga. \u2014<\/p>\nA bench, a box of chocolates and a city now synonymous with movie magic.<\/p>\n
More than 30 years after Forrest Gump filmed its iconic bench scene in Chippewa Square, the movie’s legacy continues to draw visitors from around the world to Savannah.<\/p>\n
\u201cForrest Gump gets a lot of that recognition,\u201d said Walker Dalton, executive director of the Savannah Regional Film Commission. \u201cIt uses our squares. It uses the things that we see here every single day.\u201d <\/p>\n
But Savannah\u2019s connection to Hollywood extends far beyond one famous film.<\/p>\n
From Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to more recent productions like Sweet Magnolias, the Hostess City\u2019s cobblestone streets, historic squares and centuries-old architecture have made it one of the South\u2019s most sought-after filming destinations.<\/p>\n
A City With Many Looks<\/p>\n
Dalton said Savannah offers filmmakers something few other cities can.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the coastal beaches where you can film your Florida, your Puerto Rico, your coastal vibes,\u201d Dalton said. \u201cHere in Savannah, you can also do your historic Southern town. We cover a really wide range of looks.\u201d <\/p>\n
The city is also working to stay competitive in the film industry. In 2024, Savannah leaders approved increased rebates for movie and television productions that spend at least $1 million in Chatham County.<\/p>\n
In 2022 alone, the film industry generated more than $200 million for Savannah\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only do our locals get work, but the vendors and the businesses benefit from that as well,\u201d Dalton said.<\/p>\n
SCAD Festival Draws Stars<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just movie productions that keep Hollywood coming back to Savannah.<\/p>\n
Every fall, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival transforms downtown into a red-carpet destination, attracting some of the biggest names in entertainment.<\/p>\n
Actress Amanda Seyfried called Savannah \u201ca good town,\u201d adding that she really likes the city.<\/p>\n
Actor Dylan O\u2019Brien said he took the festival \u201cas an opportunity to come to Savannah,\u201d a place he had always wanted to visit.<\/p>\n
And actress Rose Byrne described Savannah as \u201cmagical and haunted and full of ghosts,\u201d praising its architecture and Spanish moss. <\/p>\n
D.W. Moffett, chair of film and television at the Savannah College of Art and Design, said the festival has become a major stop during awards season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the launch point for a lot of films,\u201d Moffett said. \u201cEvery year it\u2019s just a better and better lineup. This is truly an Oscar-tracking festival.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building the Next Generation<\/p>\n
Moffett said the festival\u2019s impact goes far beyond celebrity appearances. It\u2019s also helping develop the next generation of filmmakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of my film students are not only ready to work in L.A. or in New York, they\u2019re choosing to stay in Savannah because they\u2019re seeing the film business grow in Savannah,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Savannah\u2019s place in the story of American filmmaking continues to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think anybody who\u2019s looking to make movies in the near future is definitely going to have Savannah on their list,\u201d Dalton said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From ‘Forrest Gump’ to Hollywood’s newest productions: Why Savannah remains a star on the big screen SAVANNAH, Ga.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[79982,317493,28883,64693,101,295996,88,305672,954,22170,1506,292107,317494,11480,206,152771,25283,291372,46606,32431,317495,317496,317497,7105,6703,291375,292106,273932],"class_list":["post-738263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-amanda-seyfried","tag-backlot","tag-big-screen","tag-dylan-obrien","tag-economy","tag-email-weather-search","tag-entertainment","tag-film-productions","tag-films","tag-forrest-gump","tag-hollywood","tag-menu-subscribe","tag-midnight-garden-of-good-and-evil","tag-million","tag-movies","tag-nowcast","tag-page","tag-privacy-notice-term","tag-rose-byrne","tag-savannah","tag-savannah-film-fest","tag-scad","tag-sweet-magnollias","tag-sydney-sweeney","tag-tv-shows","tag-use-nextfre","tag-weekday-news","tag-wjcl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}