Might your kids take on the role of Katniss Everdeen in a virtual Hunger Games in Bartow County?
A theme park developer and movie producer Lionsgate want to make it happen. On Monday, developers of the planned special effects-driven Avatron Park near Lake Allatoona announced a deal with the film company that could bring attractions based on films like the Hunger Games.
They still have a lot of work to do before opening day, however — including buying land and lining up financing for the $625 million theme park.
Partners and siblings Jo and James Ram said they hope to close on the land, along Paga Mine Road near Cartersville, by the end of the year. Assuming financial backers sign on, they hope to break ground in early 2016 and open the first phase of the park in January 2019.
The partners declined to disclose terms of the deal with Lionsgate, which at a minimum gives the project a headline-grabbing anchor attraction to help build interest. The second, third and upcoming fourth Hunger Games films were largely shot in Georgia.
The Rams said they will also license the Step Up and Now You See Me film franchises for attractions at the 700-acre park, which would be about 40 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.
The deal is part of Lionsgate’s plans to diversify amid the boom or bust business of modern Hollywood, getting into the theme park business like much larger rival Disney. A similar partnership, in which Lionsgate essentially gets royalties and part of ticket sales, was announced Monday for a park in China.
Avatron Park, first announced as Avatron Smart Park in March, will feature attractions with special effects that "will be like being inside a video game," company CEO David Garrett said at the time.
The developers said they are working on other content as well, including discussions with toy manufacturers and video game studios. Lionsgate will be the exclusive film partner, and other film franchises in its stable — such as the Saw horror series, Divergent, Twilight or the Expendibles — could be added.
“At this point we’re still planning the attractions with the studio,” Avatron President Jo Ram said.
The New York Times reported roller coasters will be the main draw at parks in near Atlanta and in China, but Ram said the attractions, while not final, will be mainly indoors with smaller ones outside.
“I think the park will have traditional rides but they way they are envisioned is to have them ingrained in technology,” said Jenefer Brown, Lionsgate senior vice president of location-based entertainment. Lionsgate also has a Hunger Games stage production in London and a zone within Motiongate Dubai, a Hollywood-styled theme park that’s under development in the United Arab Emirates.
Brown said Lionsgate picked Avatron in part because of Georgia’s booming film industry, its familiarity filming Hunger Games installments here and the location near the new LakePoint youth sports complex. It also wanted to be outside the congested theme park market of Florida.
The Rams and Garrett are unlikely theme park operators. The Rams have deep ties to the Atlanta area and are partners in Indusa LLC, an information systems company which deals with tourism companies and in national security. Garrett is a developer and former chairman of the Georgia Lottery.
The Avatron theme park follows a number of film industry-related businesses and permanent film studio facilities that have come to Georgia since the state turbocharged its hefty incentives to Hollywood.
British studio operator Pinewood manages a sprawling studio campus in Fayette County that was developed by local investors, including Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy. Tyler Perry recently acquired much of Fort McPherson to expand his studio complex south of downtown Atlanta.
The state said in July that film and television productions spent $1.7 billion in Georgia in the 12 months ended last June. That has come in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars over many years in tax breaks to one of the world’s best-known and profitable industries. Some states are backing away from such lures after concluding they don’t pay off.
Avatron executives said much of the park will focus on “immersive” technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality, as well as social media. Attractions will have the technology to interact with fans.
“Our interactive platforms cannot be replicated to scale inside the home,” Jo Ram said in a news release. “The goal is to deliver the most technologically advanced and real-time socially engaged, entertainment experience.”
Like many traditional theme parks, Avatron would feature “lands” or zones dedicated to individual films or other franchises. Most of the park will be indoors, a reflection that North Georgia doesn’t have the year-round warm weather of an Orlando or Southern California.
The Hunger Games franchise tells the story Katniss Everdeen and a rebellion in the post-apocalyptic society of Panem. The fourth film installment is set to premiere Nov. 20.
Step Up is a franchise that tells the story of street dancers, while Now You See Me, which has a sequel coming next year, is a story about illusionists who pull off daring heists.
In a filing in March to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Avatron developers described a “totally immersive, technology driven theme park drawing on the expertise of Hollywood’s leading visual effects professionals.” The project also would include two hotels, retail and a music venue.
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