Movie's Story Set in Tifton

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

The stars of the Lifetime TV holiday movie film a scene early Saturday morning at the Peach Barn just outside Tifton. The movie's director has decided to revise the script and set the story in Tifton, where the filming is taking place.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ...TIFTON!

LIFETIME TV HOLIDAY MOVIE BEING SHOT IN TIFTON

WILL BE SET IN TIFTON AS WELL

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Spoiler alert! The Christmas-themed Lifetime TV movie being filmed in Tifton right now is actually going to take place in Tifton on screen.

The screenplay was originally written using another location as the scene of the story, but now director Brian Herzlinger has decided to change the story's location to Tifton, where the filming is being done.

“After seeing all the unique landmarks around town, Brian decided to change the setting to Tifton,” said Brent Bailey, the movie’s male lead and the author of the original screenplay. Bailey related the news to me Friday night at Tifton's Peach Barn, where he was acting in one of the movie's crucial scenes.

In the TV movie, "Abigale Seaver," portrayed by Maria Menounos, is a dating coach on the way to being a published author. In the voiceover of the first scene, she says, “This is my home, Tifton. It’s also home to the best book publisher this side of New York City.”

Setting the stage, the first lines of the movie are: “Tifton, Georgia; it’s beautiful." When the movie, "The Holiday Dating Guide," debuts on the Lifetime network during the 2023 holiday season, viewers around the country will discover Tifton.

I had the honor of playing a part in the movie's festivities all night – literally – from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. A Christmas party of grand proportions was staged at the Peach Barn just outside of Tifton. About 40 or 50 extras from Tifton, Albany, Fitzgerald, and Sylvester came to fill the roles of “background” party-goers at the company dinner for "McNeille Books."

We were dressed in our finest cocktail attire and were coached to toast each other with fake champagne (sparkling grape juice), to pretend to eat the hors d’oeuvres on gold-rimmed plates, and to enthusiastically wish each other Merry Christmas – all in the background as actors rehearsed and acted out their scenes.

About eight extras wore white shirts and black vests to portray servers. They served and took away and served again the glasses and savory appetizers, about 15 or 20 times. A power couple that included Miss Georgia circulated around the tables, along with other friendly “extras,” repeatedly and exuberantly greeting those of us seated at the round tables. I overheard one lovely extra wearing high heels exclaim that she had seven blisters on her feet.

I told my table that I felt like I was overacting, but first assistant director Josh Friedman of Hollywood told us, “This is your time to shine! Go for it!”

At one point in the long evening, around 5 a.m., he sat beside me at our table and called out direction to everyone: “Camera rehearsals up, set rehearsal. Everyone’s crossing. Quiet on the set!” The greeters and servers crisscrossed constantly. We learned how lucky were to be the seated guests.

A total of three scenes were shot from a variety of angles with the actors – Bailey, Menounos, Steve Vinovich, and others – repeating their lines with the same fervor and enthusiasm a multitude of times. One scene was a key moment in the movie’s plot, when "Seaver" learns … Well, you’ll have to watch the movie; no other spoilers here!

A light moment in the long evening was when Menounos had everyone lift a mysterious red box and guess how much it weighed. One of the directors called out for her to punch holes in the box in case it contained an animal. It turned out to be the box holding her dress, a bright red number with many sparkling and obviously heavy gems affixed to it. Tifton's Gina Purvis, one of the extras, guessed 16 pounds, which was closest to the actual 18 pounds.

Also among the extras was WALB-TV reporter Alicia Lewis and Jennie Bassett of Tifton, who said it was the fourth local film in which she has participated.

“This has been a pleasant change of pace for us,” said producer Mike Donovan, who with Alexander Kane of Fitzgerald manages Workhorse Cinema. They have been working on action films lately.

Kane said that he is looking to build a 100-acre studio in Valdosta. As for the change of location in the script, Kane said, “It’s easier to work with police cars and signage. It all says 'Tifton,' so why not use it?

“It’s for the promotion of the town’s tourism,” Kane added. “We try to benefit the local community as much as possible.”

NEW ABAC PRESIDENT TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID; WELCOMING RECEPTION

TO BE RESCHEDULED

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Dr. Tracy Brundage, the new president at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, is having to delay her arrival on campus this week because she has tested positive for COVID-19.

Brundage assumed the ABAC presidency on Monday, and a press conference had been scheduled that morning to introduce her. Just hours before the conference was to begin, ABAC announced that Brundage had tested positive for the virus during the past weekend.

“On this day, I was hoping to greet you in person as an official member of the ABAC family,” Brundage wrote in an email Monday morning addressed to campus personnel.

“I can’t wait to get to my desk in Tift Hall. I’m getting regular updates on what’s happening on the campus and being where the action is dominates my every thought. I will see you very soon, and together, we’ll begin this fall semester on a high note.”

Fall semester classes begin Aug. 15.

ABAC Public Relations Director Chris Beckham said that Brundage is "symptomatic but mainly just frustrated that she can’t get started yet."

A reception at Tift Hall scheduled Aug. 4 to welcome Dr. Tracy Brundage as ABAC's 11th president will be rescheduled, Beckham said.

Brundage, previously president of Keystone (Pa.) College, succeeds Dr. David Bridges at ABAC. Bridges has become the formal director of the Georgia Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation; he previously was the acting director.

The mural celebrating Tifton on U.S. Highway 82 is taking shape this week.

MURAL REPRESENTS TIFTON, HONORS 150th ANNIVERSARY

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

A mural in honor of Tifton’s 150th anniversary is taking shape downtown on the wall of Fifth Street Interiors on U.S. Highway 82 W. near the railroad tracks.

It features artwork representing elements of Tifton, including Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the University of Georgia, Tift Theatre and Fulwood Park, and long-time businesses such as the Town Terrace Motel and Coca-Cola.

“The tourism staff has been talking for years about wanting to develop at least one mural in the community,” said Angela Elder, assistant coordinator of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association. “We just think it brings a fun spirit and creates interest.”

As the 150th anniversary rolled around for Tifton's founding, Elder said the staff started working together with the Plough Art Gallery to contact mural artist Taylor Shaw, a Destin, Fla., native, UGA graduate, and Valdosta State University art instructor. They met and brainstormed ideas.

“We wanted this first mural to be representative of our entire community,” Elder said. “All cultures, landmarks, people, history, and even the flowers we are known for. While we couldn't put everything in there, we think we've got a great start.”

Taylor Shaw and Kaleena Stasiak began painting the mural a few days ago.

The Tourism Association thanked Mark Shiver and Lamar Boyer at Fifth Street Interiors for allowing the side of their building to be used for the mural, as well as thanked the Downtown Development Authority for its support.

“What a grand entrance to Downtown Tifton it creates,” Elder said. “Our hope is to keep this momentum going and create additional murals around town that can eventually evolve into some sort of trail for us to advertise to tourists. Public art brings the community together and creates a buzz that makes people want to know more.

“We are so excited with how the mural is turning out,” Elder said. “It's vibrant, fun and definitely eye-catching. We can't wait to see the finished product!”

TIFTON AGREES TO THIRD-PARTY MEDIATION WITH COUNTY OVER

LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The City of Tifton has accepted Tift County's offer to use a third-party mediator to help the two local governments settle disputes about renewing the Local Option Sales Tax, or "LOST."

City Attorney Rob Wilmot told the Tifton Grapevine on Tuesday that the mediation most likely will be scheduled toward the end of September, based upon the availability of the mediator.

Tift County has suggested using Savannah attorney Patrick T. O’Conner as the mediator, and Wilmot said that appears acceptable. O’Conner has served as a mediator or arbitrator in more than 1,000 cases and is a founding member of the Georgia Academy of Mediators and Arbitrators.

Under state law, cities and counties must renegotiate LOST every 10 years following the U.S. Census. LOST is a 1% sales tax primarily used to offset much of the local property taxes. Officials say that much of that tax is paid by visitors and non-residents of Tifton and Tift County.

The county maintains that any LOST negotiation must involve a settlement of the pending 2018 lawsuit between the city and county over services and use of public funds. The city maintains that the lawsuit and LOST are separate matters and that the lawsuit is currently before a judge.

In a letter to Tifton Mayor Julie B. Smith on July 19, County Commission Chairman Tony McBrayer wrote that the city and county "are at an impasse and any further negotiations would be futile. The parties should now move forward with a mediation pursuant to (state law)."

Last week, the mayor called a public meeting to address LOST with the county but county officials declined to attend unless the lawsuit is also negotiated. At that meeting on July 25, Smith told the audience that she would be requesting another meeting with the county because "we don’t need to spend your money on a mediation."

But on Friday, the mayor released a statement saying that the "county’s offer to enter mediation ... is a promising step forward. After an airing of our differences in recent weeks, I think it’s great news that Tift County commissioners are willing to work with us on a good faith plan for how we share LOST revenues over the next decade.”

Smith added that “county leaders have decided it’s best to involve a mediator, and we are willing to participate in the mediation process with the goal of reaching an agreement on LOST."

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Perky" is among the kittens 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 EXPERIENCES GROWTH

~ AUG. 3,1917

A news dispatch on Aug. 3, 1917, noted that "a very few months have brought progressive changes" to Tifton: "The streets are paved, the union depot, the marble building of The Bank of Tifton, Frank Scarboro's new office building, the modern and splendid high school, and something like five or six new and elegant mercantile stores."