Tifton 'Bandit' Film Coming

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

Bandit - Official Trailer (2022) Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, Mel Gibson

VIDEO: View the trailer for "Bandit," filmed partly in Tifton.

'BANDIT,' FILMED IN TIFTON, VALDOSTA, TO BE OUT SEPT. 23

MOVIE BASED ON TRUE STORY OF CANADIAN BANDIT

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A movie filmed partly in Tifton last year and starring Josh Duhamel and Mel Gibson is scheduled for release Sept. 23, according to an announcement Monday.

"Bandit" will be released in theaters and on-demand by Quiver Distribution and Redbox Originals.

The movie is a true story based on a book about Gilbert Galvan, known as the notorious Canadian "Flying Bandit" who successfully got away with approximately 60 bank and jewelry heists during the 1980s.

Galvan would fly into a town dressed in a three-piece suit and carrying a briefcase as any other businessman. There, he would put on disguises and wear old work clothes over his suit, rob a bank, dispose of his outer clothes in a dumpster, and then walk away, heading to the airport and back to his home city – until he eventually got caught.

The movie was filmed in Tifton, Thomasville, and Valdosta, as well as Los Angeles and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Actor Josh Duhamel is portraying the Bandit; Mel Gibson is a gangster who offers him a loan; and Nestor Carbonell plays the detective leading the chase. Elisha Cuthbert portrays the Bandit's wife.

Tifton scenes included some inside the former marble bank building downtown and across the street in front of Tifton City Hall, which became a hotel for the film. The Tifton scenes doubled for London, Ontario, and Alberta.

The Tifton Grapevine talked with Kraig Wenman, the movie's writer/executive producer, during filming in from of Tifton City Hall during June 2021. Wenman said that Tifton is a great place in which to film.

"We like Tifton; it’s the people," Wenman said. "Tifton people are most accommodating. The local people are your biggest asset."

Wenman told the Tifton Grapevine that he "grew up in Canada, and Canadians have a reputation for being nice, but they have nothing on you Georgians. It’s the people that will keep productions coming back to Georgia. Keep being yourselves, and we'll keep coming back."

BERRIEN MAN CHARGED WITH SETTING FOREST FIRES

Staff Reports

A Berrien County man is in jail without bond following his arrest on numerous charges of woods arson and endangering human life, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Christopher Michael Brown, 37, is facing 55 charges in connection with 13 intentionally set fires that burned 13.7 acres and threatened the lives of local and state officers, the Forestry Commission said Tuesday.

If convicted on all charges, Brown could be sentenced to 105 years in prison.

In late July, a series of suspicious forest fires prompted Berrien County Sheriff’s Office investigators to request assistance from Georgia Forestry Commission law enforcement investigators. On Aug. 4, while investigators were at the scene, 10 additional fires were set.

A joint search began with Georgia Forestry aircraft and a canine unit from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. Officers located a suspect, who was taken into custody without incident.

“I would like to thank all of our local fire departments and Georgia Forestry for their initial

response to these fires,” said Berrien County Sherriff Ray Paulk.

“I’m also very proud of the work between our office, Investigator Rebecca Dowdy, and the Georgia Forestry Commission investigators for all their hard work in putting this criminal behind bars," he said.

Berrien County District Attorney Chase Studstill said the suspect "was already on 10-year felony probation for family violence. That may result in a separate prison sentence, based on his new arrest on arson charges.

“The professionalism of the forestry investigators, along with their technology and air

power, is amazing,” Studstill said. “It is good to know we have a partner we can count on to deliver quick results.”

Click Here For More Information

Tony Kroeger with the Ga. Department of Natural Resources demonstrates how to count the pollinators at last year’s event.

ALL GEORGIANS MAY PARTICIPATE

IN POLLINATOR CENSUS ON FRI., SAT.

Once again, Gaskins Forest Education Center in Alapaha will be one of the sites statewide collaborating in the Fourth Annual Great Georgia Pollinator Census at 10 a.m.-2 p.m. this Friday and Saturday.

The Great Georgia Pollinator Census is a citizen science project created by the University of Georgia. The project is designed for anyone to participate and make a difference for pollinator conservation.

People may join the count in their own backyards by spending 15 minutes observing single plants and tallying the number of bees, flies, butterflies, ants, and other pollinators that visit.

Or, they are welcome to participate with a group, such as the one at Gaskins Forest Education Center at 3359 Moore Sawmill Road, Alapaha. Organized by Tony Kroeger with the state Department of Natural Resources and Jennifer Ward with Quail Forever, the event will follow instructions found here.

Co-sponsors include the Coastal Plain Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society, represented by Amy Heidt and Paul Sumner on Friday, and Monarchs Across Georgia, represented by Mary Beth Cary on Saturday.

The website provides information, training materials, a printable 2022 Counting Sheet, and the 2022 Insect Counting & Identification Guide to help people know what they are looking for.

Participants may join the Georgia Pollinator Census Facebook page and follow @GaPollinators on Instagram. View The Great Pollinator Census 2022—How-To and History in the video below:

The Great Pollinator Census 2022-How-To and History

ABAC freshmen gather for a drone photo following the Freshman Convocation.

ABAC BEGINS NEW ACADEMIC YEAR

The fall semester began Monday at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and on Saturday new ABAC President Tracy Brundage told freshman that “this day serves as a springboard toward your future self.”

At the Freshman Convocation in front of Tift Hall, Brundage said, “At ABAC, we pride ourselves on teaching you the transferrable skills needed for success. ABAC is a place where you can achieve your full potential, a place where you can realize your dreams. We want you to feel a sense of belonging here.”

Brundage, the first female president of ABAC, took office Aug. 1.

“You are members of the Class of 2026 at ABAC,” Brundage said. “I’m going to consider you my special class because you are beginning your ABAC career the same time that I am beginning my ABAC career."

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CATS OF THE WEEK

These cute kittens are among the pets available for adoption today at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit the shelter between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

Pets of the Week are sponsored by:

Branch's Veterinary Clinic

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055

TIFTON TEEN FIRST AT VOTER REGISTRATION ~AUG. 19, 1943

Carolyn Barkaloo of Tifton on Aug. 19, 1943, was the first 18-year-old in Georgia to register to vote "as a result of the state Constitution permitting 18-year-olds to vote."