Savannah Georgia Famous in Popular Culture

Savannah is a beautiful historical city with its own unique culture, full of local color and haunting tales. In Savannah tourism is an active and rapidly growing segment of the economy. The city's attractiveness as a visitor destination is enhanced by its charming historic district, accommodations, tree lined drives, unique rural settings, and downtown art scene. Savannah GA has frequently become the setting, or subject in popular culture media such as; works of literature, music, film, and television.Artists and authors are attracted to living in this beautiful city with its rich history and coastal beauty. Local and distant authors have helped make Savannah a famous literature destination. The most well-known is the 1994 nonfiction novel and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which takes place in downtown Savannah. Other notable books include;

•  Chris Fuhrman’s The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, which depicts life as a Catholic Schoolboy growing up in Savannah.
•  Author Mary Kay Andrews a romantic comedy mystery novelist wrote two books that take place in Savannah, Savannah Breeze and Savannah Blues.
• The Shadow Man by Savannah native newspaper columnist Dr. Mark Murphy, is a medical thriller about a Savannah surgeon who is framed as a serial killer.
• Savannah resident, author N.Y.W. Peacocke, has two books (Savannah Spell and Mirror My Soul) that weave a love triangle around the events of independence in Georgia and in particular, Savannah.
•  Behind the Moss Curtain and Other Great Savannah Stories written by Savannah resident Murrray Silver
• Plethora of other books too many to list here.

Savannah in Film

Savannah’s attractiveness as a setting for fictional stories goes well beyond book publications. More than 75 movies have been filmed in Savannah since 1915, with 10 Academy Awards having gone to movies filmed in the city.  Most recently the Miley Cyrus movie The Last Song was filmed on Tybee Island in Savannah. The film The Conspirator was filmed completely in Savannah. The Conspirator is a 2010 historical drama about the trial of Mary Surratt, the only female co-conspirator in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be hanged by the United States federal government. Another famous film production was the 1977 TV mini-series Roots. Of course the most well-known is the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil also referred to as ‘the book’ Savannah. In 2010 the city’s first production facility, Meddin Studios,opened. Since then Meddin has had 12 movie projects and has plans to create a production building five times its current size. The city of Savannah now boasts a film office and dedicated to attracting and assisting film companies to the city. There is also a Film Commission which advises and assists the film office in achieving its goals.

Savannah in Television

The city also has a list of home town celebrities gone national, the most famous is chef and restaurateur Paula Deen. Paula has her own restaurant in Savannah – The Lady & Sons in addition to her own cooking show on the Food Network. Paula's Party was one of Paula’s shows on the Food Network, the first few episodes were filmed in Savannah. Savannah has seen its fair share of exposure on television.  The Style Network created a documentary style reality TV series that followed a woman named Ruby Gettinger (a Savannah resident) on her journey to lose weight. Special to Savannah is its ghost history with daily tours showing tourists the most famous places to spot ghosts and associated stories. The Travel Channel’s show Ghost Adventures came and filmed an episode investigating paranormal activity at the Moon River Brewing Company located in downtown Savannah in July of 2009. Savannah’s ghost reputation also drew the attention of PBS and the show Southern Haunts that aired two episodes about the ghosts in Savannah.

Because of Savannah’s wealth of unique locations its growing infrastructure, supplemented with regional resources and the nation’s largest historical district the city has become home to many productions in today’s pop culture.