Ask the Memphian: Why doesn’t Memphis land as many big movie productions as it used to?
The last big studio feature shot in Memphis was the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line.” Joaquin Phoenix poses for photographers prior to a news conference about his role as Cash. (Markus Schreiber/AP Photo file)
When thinking about where most major movies are made, chances are Memphis doesn’t come to mind.
But through the ‘90s and into the early 2000s, a string of studio features boasting big names were shot in the Bluff City.
Stars like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and Reese Witherspoon came to town, so did Oscar-winning directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Sydney Pollack and Miloš Forman.
Productions injected millions of dollars into the local economy.
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John Klyce
John Klyce is an enterprise reporter with The Daily Memphian who writes a wide range of in-depth features, as well as profiles about local leaders, scientists, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and anyone else doing exciting and important work in this city. He previously spent four years with the Memphis Business Journal, where he covered public companies, startups, and innovation, and a fifth year with The Commercial Appeal, where he covered education, and chronicled how gun violence and poverty were affecting Memphis youth and their families. He has also been a fellow with the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. John has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Boston University.
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