Entertainment venue, movie theater open at Trilith’s new complex
Trilith’s public-facing live entertainment complex is now open for business.
A 2,200-seat auditorium, a movie theater, office space and a 730-car parking garage are the latest additions to Trilith, Fayetteville’s 235-acre mixed-use development, which is the largest on the Southside of metro Atlanta.
The entertainment complex represents the development’s largest financial investment to date. Matt McClain, the executive director and general manager of Trilith Live, said it feels surreal to see the project in its final form. The project, he said, finished early and under budget.
“I’ve been on this project for almost three years,” McClain said. “A lot of work, a lot of effort went into just ensuring that the community can feel like it’s theirs, and that guests that are coming really have the experience that we’re hoping that they can have.”
Over the past decade, Trilith has come a long way from its beginnings as a studio lot with five soundstages. With the backing of the Cathys, the founding family of Chick-fil-A, Trilith has evolved into a minicity with hundreds of single-family homes, apartments and townhomes, a private K-12 school and more than 20 retailers and restaurants. There are now 32 soundstages on the studio campus, where features such as “Avengers: Endgame” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” have filmed.
Trilith Live, along with the retail and residential areas of the development, provide a steady stream of foot traffic to the property that isn’t necessarily tied to production. This has become increasingly important as production in Georgia remains sluggish after the 2023 Hollywood union strikes.
The first phase of Trilith Live opened last summer and included two soundstages geared toward studio audiences, along with production offices and support space. During a tour of the space Dan Cathy led in October, two very different tenants were occupying the stages: Fox’s forthcoming dating show, “Marriage Market,” and the Zac Brown Band, who were rehearsing for their multidate stop at the Sphere in Las Vegas. McClain said at least nine music groups and artists have rehearsed their tours on Trilith Live’s stages so far, including Usher.
The new auditorium is flexible: It can play host to a comedy show, a concert or a church service. It was modeled after the Moody Center in Austin. If Trilith were to remove the seats, it could fit about 3,000 people for standing room only shows. There are five ways the stage unit can be positioned. In theory, a crew can offload a Steinway piano after an R&B show ending at midnight and turn it over in a few hours for Sunday service.
Passion City Church is a tenant of the complex, and will make use of the auditorium for worship services.
A little more than a dozen shows have been confirmed for the space so far, including Dwight Yoakam and 38 Special in February, as well as Randy Travis with guest vocalist James Dupre in May. The first show, Gabby’s Dollhouse Live!, will take place Jan. 15.
The cinema is another centerpiece of the development. It is operated by the Georgia Theatre Co. and has nine screens, one of which includes the largest LED wall in any theater in the country.
In addition to film screenings, the cinema can be used in other ways. During the October tour, Cathy said he believes public discourse and conversations could be held in theatrical spaces, and he’s supportive of hosting symposiums on a wide range of topics. The rooms can also be reconfigured to allow productions to do their final audio mix in a theater setting.
“So you may be watching ‘Superman’ here at 7 o’clock at night, but if you come at 10 o’clock, you’re going to hear a lecture from somebody,” Cathy said in October. “It’s a place to be educated. Even though you’re in recliner seats, hopefully there will be enough attention.”
About the Author
Savannah Sicurella is an entertainment business reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
