Francis Ford Coppola plans to open All-Movie Hotel July 25


The outside of Francis Ford Coppola's All-Movie Hotel in Peachtree City (Photo by Aaron Colussi).
The outside of Francis Ford Coppola’s All-Movie Hotel in Peachtree City (Photo by Aaron Colussi).

The newest addition to Francis Ford Coppola’s travel properties is right here in Georgia and features a movie-making twist. 

The All-Movie Hotel is located in Peachtree City, where Coppola spent over a year while he worked on “Megalopolis,” his new film that recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is expected to be released in the U.S. on Sept. 27. In addition to accommodations, the hotel features on-site post-production facilities for filmmakers shooting in the area. 

Christine Gaudenzi, the director of marketing and business development for The Family Coppola Hideaways, said the idea to purchase the Days Inn that would eventually become the All-Movie Hotel started around the time Coppola decided he wanted to shoot his film in Georgia. Coppola did something similar with Jardin Escondido, one of his hospitality properties located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Coppola filmed his movie “Tetro” in the city, and stayed in the property while filming. 

“Francis’, and I believe some other film directors, preference [for] the time they spend making a film – they like to do it in as communal, convivial style as they possibly can,” Gaudenzi said. 

But with the All-Movie Hotel, Coppola wanted to integrate production into the mix as well. The Days Inn in Peachtree City happened to be for sale, and was large enough to accommodate a big group of people, and was only about 15 minutes from Trillith Studios, where much of “Megalopolis” was shot. 

“Francis does a lot of things by gut,” Gaudenzi said. “He walked in and said, ‘I’ll know when I arrive here, if this is the place – if this will be a good place for me creatively to work with the cast and the crew to finish this start and finish this project.” 

Apparently, he did. After Coppola bought the hotel, he had it completely renovated. The property contains 27 rooms and suites all designed by Coppola, along with a plethora of production facilities: two edit suites with laser projection and Meyer Sound 2.1 monitoring, two edit bays, offices, an ADR recording room, a small sound stage that can be used for reshoots and where actors can rehearse, on-site equipment and a screening room. 

Film productions will be able to rent the entire property out for production if they wish, but film enthusiasts and regular travelers will also be able to book rooms if they’re available. 

“We’re operating under the assumption that the demand for filmmakers will be high, but no one would expect that demand to be 365 days a year,” Gaudenzi said. “I think it will be a hybrid of events that happen. I think there will be productions that take over the entire space … The way the property is laid out, it’s also entirely possible for filmmakers to take the entire top floor and have all they need for filmmaking, and for the everyday guests to take the lower floor.” 

If there are no productions on site, Gaudenzi said they are planning to offer tours of the production facilities. Guests will also be able to take advantage of the screening room. While details are not totally nailed down, Gaudenzi said she thinks the hotel will offer scheduled movie nights, and guests will have to reserve their spot in advance. 

The hotel is expected to open July 25. Gaudenzi said that there have already been productions who have expressed interest, but she estimates the lead time necessary for a big budget film that might need the whole space would be three or four months. 

“I would encourage those who just are curious and don’t work in production to stay sooner than later, because it might be harder to get later,” she said. “I don’t want to be overconfident, but that’s what I think will happen.”