Oglethorpe may not be ready for the red carpet just yet, but it certainly has star potential. During the past year, OU has served as the backdrop for some of Hollywood’s most promising movies—and it’s been the set for a number of small screen gems, too.

Back in September, the crew from the 2013 thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist took over Oglethorpe’s Anderson field and covered the scoreboard with black and orange—Princeton University’s colors. They were shooting a baseball scene for the film, which stars A-listers Kiefer Sutherland, Liev Schreiber, and Kate Hudson. Just a few weeks later, Oglethorpe’s Philip Weltner Library welcomed the live audience of WSBTV’s The Clark Howard Show, in which the money-saving guru talked college finances with a room full of Stormy Petrels.

OU has made its appearance in a number of other TV spots this year, including a fall tailgating scene for a Belk department store commercial, an ad for Moe’s Southwestern Grill, and even a scene from Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. In August Dina Marto ’05, who’s featured on page 25, returned to campus with an artist from her music group to shoot a Roman gladiator-themed music video at Hermance Stadium.

So what makes OU so attractive to filmmakers? Its characteristic collegiate towers and granite, to be sure, but according to Special Events Coordinator Kimberly O’Dell ’10, OU’s Atlanta location likely has just as much to do with its star power as its stunning good looks.

“Obviously, our architecture lends itself to films trying to capture an Ivy League atmosphere,” said Kimberly. “But, we’re also situated near the city, and that makes it more affordable for filmmakers who would otherwise have to travel much farther out to find a campus that looks similar to ours.”

Like so many others, those in film are of course looking to get the biggest bang for their buck—and it seems Atlanta is the perfect place for affordable filming. For the past three years, the city has become a hot-spot for the film industry, and with major studios like EUE/Screen Gems and Tyler Perry Studios taking up residence, it’s no wonder Atlanta is often dubbed the “Hollywood of the South.” Production companies are attracted to Georgia’s recent industry-targeted tax credits that allow any production spending $500,000 or more a tax credit of up to 30 percent from the state. In just two and half years, the film industry has already brought over $2 billion to the local economy.