Pinewood Atlanta Studios hosted the 2019 Reel People Care Gala on Saturday, January 12th, honoring 21 charities located in or primarily serving Fayette County. This year’s event brought 750 people to Stage 17 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios and raised over $800,000 for the selected charities (list below). The event has raised over $3 million dollars since its creation in 2014.
This year, Pinewood Atlanta Studios rechristened the event as the Reel People Care Gala and partnered with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, tapping into the Foundation’s expertise as a grant-making organization to help identify strong charities as beneficiaries and to ensure a seamless selection and grant award process. The Gala is a true community effort and provides an annual opportunity for Pinewood vendors to come together, many of which donate in-kind services and trades for the event.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to invite the community into the studio,” says Brand and Buzz Executive Abby Bradley. “For security reasons, we are rarely able to invite the public to the studio, so the Gala provides an annual opportunity for us to ‘open our gates’ to the local community – while benefiting charities right here in our own backyard.”
This year’s theme, Homegrown, spoke exactly to that sense of community, as guests experienced a look at local talent from Georgia and the Southeast. Actor-Comedian Chris Tucker joined Pinewood Atlanta Studios President Frank Patterson on stage to discuss the booming film industry in his home state. Following dinner, Jon Erwin of the Erwin Brothers and Director of I Can Only Imagine joined Patterson, stating how “stoked” he was to be on the “famous Pinewood stages” and to support the event. Erwin then showed guests a brief behind-the-scenes clip from the movie.
In addition to special guests, attendees had the opportunity to see a live “hot set,” hair and makeup trailer, animal actors and even have their portraits drawn as caricatures.
“Fayetteville is our home, and we are fortunate to be a part of this great community,” says President Frank Patterson. “We look forward each year to hosting an event for Fayette County’s non-profit organizations that together make a big difference in our community.”
Originally established by Dan Cathy as The Fayette Winter Gala, the event served as a way to thank partners, vendors, contractors, local dignitaries and staff who completed Phase One of Pinewood Atlanta Studios. Since the stage was already dressed, Pinewood decided to host a second event the next evening, with all proceeds from the event benefitting local Fayette County charities, a list provided by the Fayette Chamber of Commerce.