When a Georgia high school allowed its football field to be used for a group baptism , it caused a bit of a stir.
Credit: George Mathis
Credit: George Mathis
Schools are used for non-educational purposes more often in California, where a school district has banned the filming of TV shows and movies on its campuses after an investigation revealed a school was used to produce a pornographic film.
The Los Angeles Unified School District temporarily banned filming after an NBC News report revealed producers of "Revenge of the Petites" paid cash to film the porn at Alexander Hamilton High School.
A parent complained after seeing a nude car wash scene being filmed in the school's front parking lot.
The adult film company paid cash to use the school on two different occasions.
I'm sure there's little chance of cash (or other Hollywood favors) being misplaced, and school officials say they don't make much for filming privileges anyway -- only about $2 million a year.
NBC learned L.A. schools are commonly used for raunchy scenes, including the movie "Bad Teacher," HBO's "Shameless" and "Big Love" and Showtime's "Masters of Sex."
YouTube personality Trisha Paytas used a school for a "Hot for Teacher" video which suggests a teacher had sex with a student in a bathroom stall.
Singer CharliXCX sings about "getting high and getting wrecked" in her "Break the Rules" music video.
At Hollywood High, the cast members of Glee dressed as underage students for racy pictures in the school locker room.
In the R-rated "Bad Teacher" film, actor Cameron Diaz was filmed at a middle school performing a suggestive carwash dance to pay for her character's breast implants. Another scene at the "drug free" middle school showed actors smoking marijuana.
I wonder if these same schools have "zero tolerance" for students that bring aspirin to class?
I recall Cobb schools infamously suspended a child for bringing a weapon to school -- a Tweety Bird keychain that was categorized as being as dangerous as a sword.
NBC News suggests there are so many film shoots it interferes with education.
One teacher was surprised to enter a classroom to find her students witnessing a scene featuring a bound man with a ball gag in his mouth. The school system says that scene was not approved.
Documents show film crews caused thousands of dollars in damage, were "rude and frequently used profanities," and forced classes to be moved. One email telling a teacher to find a new place to educate her students suggested she try the cafeteria.
When filming requires students or teachers to be inconvenienced, additional funds are doled out -- as much as $3,000 per day according to one film company.
School board members and school administrators mostly refused comment on the NBC News story, but one administrator said in a 2014 radio interview that the additional revenue "helps with a lot of extra things like computer labs, band uniforms or our athletic teams" in April 2014.
What does the money pay for? It's not known because the additional revenue is not "coded or tracked" because it goes into the "general fund," said one official.
Does all the filming affect education? Maybe not, but graduation rates are up. This is because the same school board that allows film crews to take over classrooms also voted to reduce the requirements needed to graduate.
With more films being produced in Georgia, it might be a good time for the legislature to pass a law that prohibits filming at schools, or at least requires nude car wash scenes use the BACK parking lot.
