Tom Cruise Movie Will Be Filmed in Ball Ground

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The north Cherokee County town of Ball Ground has been chosen as the location where a new movie starring Tom Cruise will be filmed.

Ball Ground City Manager Eric Wilmarth told Patch the city was notified on Thursday that it was chosen by producers and location scouts to be the main backdrop for Mena.

The city had been in the running as one of the top few options movers and shakers behind the movie had been considering, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.

Wilmarth informed the Ball Ground City Council of the decision at its Thursday meeting. Mena stars Cruise as Barry Seal, a TWA pilot turned drug smuggler for the Medellin cartel.

Seal was later recruited to provide intelligence for the DEA and CIA, and was later killed in 1986, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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Wilmarth said the main filming location will be on Gilmer Ferry Road between Civic Drive and Old Canton Road. He also said crews also plan to film in several other locations around the city, as well as other parts of Cherokee County, Pickens County and Roswell.

He noted filming could start in mid-May, but those details are still in the works.

“Within the next couple of weeks, we will be provided with a letter to send out to our residents telling them information about the movie, filming dates, locations etc.,” he added.

Wilmarth also said he’s not sure if producers will seek movie extras while in Cherokee County.

As for the production having an impact on traffic in and around the city, Wilmarth stated the company will be responsible for obtaining a permit for road closures from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Each detour location will be staffed by police officers hired by the company.

“It is their intent to keep car and light truck traffic moving through and around the city while big truck traffic will be re-routed along I-575 to Highway 20 back to Highway 369,” he stated.

Photo credit: Patch file