One of NYT’s ‘100 Best Movies of the 21st Century’ was filmed in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A critically acclaimed movie that was filmed in south Alabama recently made The New York Times’ list of the best movies so far in the 2000s.

The list, which the news organization released in daily installments over the course of the week, includes 100 movies selected by different actors, writers and directors of what they considered to be the “best movies of the 21st century.”

A few of the movies had connections to Alabama, such as co-director Daniel Scheinert of “Everything Everywhere All At Once” being from Birmingham, or Bessemer’s Andre Holland in “Moonlight,” but only one of the films on the list was filmed in Alabama.

“Get Out,” the 2017 psychological horror movie from Jordan Peele, was filmed in and around Fairhope, Alabama, making over $255 million at the box office on a $4.5 million budget and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Production on the film first began in February 2016 with shooting taking place in Fairhope over the course of three weeks. Parts of Mobile, specifically Barton Academy and the Ashland Place Historic District, were also used in the film.

“Get Out” starred Daniel Kaluuya as a man who travels with his girlfriend, played by Allison Williams, to visit her family, where Kaluuya’s character uncovers a sinister plot that ultimately turns deadly. Despite being shot in Alabama, the film is set in upstate New York.

The movie, which was nominated for four Academy Awards, was critically lauded on its release, being one of the highest rated movies of the decade with a 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

For the NYT’s list, “Get Out” received votes from people like director Sofia Coppola, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, actress Molly Ringwald, talk show host Ziwe Fumudoh and “Arrested Development actor Tony Hale, who studied at Samford University.