By Jim Thompson – The Walton Tribune
Social Circle is on the cusp of becoming the set for a Warner Brothers Television and Amazon MGM Studios adaptation of the three-volume graphic novel series “Stillwater” for release on Amazon Prime Video.
Amber McKibben, the city’s downtown director, broke the news at Thursday’s meeting of the Social Circle City Council, calling it “a situation … that’s evolving very rapidly.”
If the city does become the video version of the fictional town of Stillwater, which seems highly likely — “They’re pretty set that Social Circle is their place … They’d start filming here tomorrow if they could,” McKibben said — it will mark the single largest film or video production ever done in the city, according to McKibben.
Briefly, “Stillwater,” based on the graphic novel series by Chip Zdarsky and Ramón Pérez, tells the story of an ex-con who comes to the town to claim an inheritance. He discovers an eerie community where no one ages, no one dies, and no one ever leaves.
The graphic novel series has won wide critical acclaim, with one review in AIPT Comics noting that its “characters are all very expressive without coming off as cartoonish,” and a Comics Bookcase review noting that there “are really cool concepts handled here.”
Social Circle already has an impressive television, film and video résumé, with TV series credits including “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “In the Heat of the Night,” and recent film credits including “Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” and “Jerry and Marge Go Large,” representing just some of the on-screen appearances the city has made. And just this past spring, some of the location work for the Netflix series “Scooby-Doo: Origins,” was done in the city.
“Stillwater” could, however, become a longer-term presence in Social Circle, particularly in the downtown area, which the production company working on the show plans to transform into the fictional town, McKibben told the council.
If “Stillwater” moves beyond the eight episodes currently ordered, production will return to Social Circle annually for work that would run from three to five days each month from January through April, McKibben said Thursday.
One feature of downtown Social Circle that won’t be part of “Stillwater,” though, is the iconic “well house” harking back to the city’s origin story. That story holds that the town got its name from a stranger who approached a group gathered at a well and pleasantly called them a welcoming “social circle.”
That moment has been commemorated in a series of fake, but lovingly crafted, well houses that have occupied various spots on South Cherokee Road, the central downtown route, over many years.
McKibben said the production crew has made it clear they don’t want the well house to appear in “Stillwater,” prompting some discussion at Thursday’s council meeting regarding where the structure might be moved to accommodate the production. Any move will be the first time any well house has been taken out of the downtown area, according to Thursday council discussion.
Judging from that discussion, it appeared Thursday that the most palatable option would be to move the well house out of downtown Social Circle for the entire time the production of “Stillwater” is underway, rather than moving it on days when filming is being done, and setting it back in place when the production crew isn’t in town. Friendship Park, a city park set back from the main downtown area, or perhaps even City Hall just outside downtown, were mentioned Thursday as possible temporary relocation sites for the well.
Balanced against any concerns about the well, though, is what production of “Stillwater” could do for downtown Social Circle. For one thing, the production team has expressed some interest in using the three problematic downtown buildings purchased by the city government nearly two years ago for $850,000.
The dilapidated buildings, now under renovation, were purchased in hopes of getting them fixed up and offering them for sale or lease to restaurants or other businesses to continue spurring the ongoing redevelopment of downtown Social Circle. That plan, however, has run into some snags as work needed on the buildings has outstripped initial expectations.
In an interview following the council meeting, McKibben said use and modification of the three buildings by “Stillwater” could move the needed renovations closer to completion. And, she added, other work on “Stillwater” could bring still more improvements, including new coats of paint, to other downtown buildings.
Of course, production of “Stillwater” could bring some challenges as production work potentially interrupts downtown business, necessitating “buy-in” by those businesses, McKibben pointed out Thursday. To get that process started, McKibben planned to send an email to downtown businesses Friday to let them know about “Stillwater,” she said.
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