After Offering $50K, Spider-Man Can Film at Closed High Schools

Some Atlanta parents call move 'shameful'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 30, 2020 8:20 PM CST
Spider-Man Gets Permission to Film in Closed Atlanta Schools
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Tom Holland in a scene from "Spider-Man: Homecoming."   (Chuck Zlotnick/Columbia Pictures-Sony via AP)

Parents in Atlanta aren't happy about the fact that unless restrictions are lifted, the only students going to high schools in the near future will be Peter Parker's classmates. The schools closed in March and have not reopened, but the district is allowing two high schools to be used as filming locations for the next Spider-Man movie, the Washington Post reports. Atlanta Public Schools halted the use of schools as filming locations at the same time it suspended classes, but the Marvel movie was granted special permission after offering a $50,000 incentive. the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. In a letter to school board members, location manager Ian Easterbrook said the use of the schools was "vital to the success of this next film," since they had already been established in 2017's Spider-Man Homecoming.

Easterbrook, who described the request as "unique and very time-sensitive" said the $50,000 donation could be used for air filtration systems, COVID-19 tests, or laptops for remote learning. Some parents, however, called the decision "shameful," the Guardian reports. "Moratoriums don’t mean much when it comes down to money," one woman tweeted. By the time filming starts, however, students may have returned, meaning filming will have to happen on weekends. Officials have said in-person learning won't resume until January at the earliest. Spider-Man filming is set to take place at Frederick Douglass High School in late January and at Henry W. Grady High School around two months later. (More Atlanta stories.)

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