The next time you watch a movie or TV show set in Nashville, look very closely — there’s a chance it was actually filmed here.
That’s the mission of the city’s new Music, Film, and Entertainment Commission, approved by Metro Council and signed into law by Mayor John Cooper this week. In other words, Music City is ready for its closeup. Here’s what know as the commission gets underway.
The basics
The 15-member commission will be tasked with promoting Nashville’s entertainment industry and attracting more film, music, and TV production opportunities (read: create more jobs for city’s entertainment workforce).
Within the group, there will be three councils: the Music City Music Council, the Film and Television Advisory Council, and the Diversity and Equity Council.
Next steps
It will be made up of music, film, and entertainment representatives — meaning anyone from recording artists and songwriters to casting agents, videographers, and playwrights. Some members will be appointed by the mayor and Metro Council and others nominated by the industry at large.
Council Member Joy Styles, the bill’s sponsor, says it could take ~3 months to form the commission, which will later appoint an executive director for the Nashville Office of Music, Film, and Entertainment.
Nashville’s screen time
Is this news bringing back memories of the hit TV show “Nashville” or the 1975 Robert Altman film of the same name? Not only does the Batman Building make a brief appearance in “The Matrix,” but “The Green Mile” and “Walk the Line” feature scenes at the old Tennessee State Penitentiary.
More recently, reality and competition shows “Married at First Sight” (Lifetime), “Barmageddon” (USA Network), and “My Kind of Country” (Apple TV+) filmed in Nashville.
