Image: Athena Studios recently welcomed its first major studio production with Blumhouse’s The Woman in the Yard, helmed by Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra. Three University of Georgia MFA Film students and one MFA Film alum were enlisted to work on the film during its Athens shoot, which lasted from mid-April to May. First-year MFA Film students Zach Calhoun and Jesse Scales served as production assistants, building furniture pieces for locations in Bostwick, GA while second-year student Leah Francois served as a principal stand-in for the film. Clare Methe, an alumna of the 2022 MFA Film class, was also a part of the production, having recently been hired as a part of Blumhouse's Traineeship Program, an initiative which aims to help filmmakers from under-represented populations start careers in the industry. Per the Athens Banner Herald, the film will be produced by star and Atlanta-native Danielle Deadwyler, who received massive acclaim for her recent turn as Mamie in 2022’s Till. Residents and business owners of Athens-Clarke county can support the budding film scene (as well as the UGA MFA Film program) directly by registering their properties and businesses as potential filming locations. More information on that process can be found here.
