By bri

February 15, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

YAY YIPPY WOO HOO…(with as much sarcasm as possible)

By MovieWatcher

February 15, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

Has it always been against the rules to bring alcohol? I remember everyone having wine and beer last year, including myself. Oops!

By summer bunny

February 15, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

This should be interesting…I can’t wait to see how the parking situation turns out. It will probably shoot up to $20.00. Well, at least I work a couple of blocks from Centennial, so I guess I will be walking from work. (not a bad trade off-for me) I still prefer Piedmont Park, not as many vagrants around.

By J

February 15, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

Rules are meant to be broken. Bring your beer, smoke, and whatever else!!! Yea!

By summer bunny

February 15, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this

This should be interesting…I can’t wait to see how the parking situation turns out. It will probably shoot up to $20.00. Well, at least I work a couple of blocks from Centennial, so I guess I will be walking from work. (not a bad trade off-for me) I still prefer Piedmont Park, not as many vagrants around.

By summer bunny

February 15, 2008 1:58 PM | Link to this

This should be interesting…I can’t wait to see how the parking situation turns out. It will probably shoot up to $20.00. Well, at least I work a couple of blocks from Centennial, so I guess I will be walking from work. (not a bad trade off-for me) I still prefer Piedmont Park, not as many vagrants around.

By sm

February 15, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

No alcohol = NO SOTG

By Dan

February 15, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this

PLEASE bring it back to the PARK (PIEDMONT) next year….the neighborhood loves and supports it TED!!

By R1070

February 15, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this

Parking should not be a problem since you can just hop on marta and WALK. people in this city are so scared of doing things that people in real cities do!

By Walking

February 15, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this

I think this is a good idea - It’s just off Marta, so easier to get to. I don’t see them enforcing the no alcohol thing unless someone gets out of hand.

By KG

February 15, 2008 2:13 PM | Link to this

Hooray! Nothing beats sitting on bricks and concrete.

By Bruce

February 15, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

Unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, there remains the perception that it is not safe to venture downtown, especially after dark. Luckily, this series, from a business standpoint, is presented with little overhead.

By Bruce

February 15, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this

Unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, there remains the perception that it is not safe to venture downtown, especially after dark. Luckily, this series, from a business standpoint, is presented with little overhead.

By Bruce

February 15, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this

Unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, there remains the perception that it is not safe to venture downtown, especially after dark. Luckily, this series, from a business standpoint, is presented with little overhead.

By Bruce

February 15, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this

Unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, there remains the perception that it is not safe to venture downtown, especially after dark. Luckily, this series, from a business standpoint, is presented with little overhead.

By Marta Sucks

February 15, 2008 2:20 PM | Link to this

Please don’t compare MARTA to any public transportation system used in so called ‘real cities”. Get a subway/train that runs on time and actually gets you where you need to go and people will use it. If you don’t live right next to a station you have to drive to the station - might as well drive to the event.

People are scared here - just sick there is no real, viable public transportation options.

By jim

February 15, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this

Folks just can’t wait to complain.

By Fuggedaboudit

February 15, 2008 2:28 PM | Link to this

If I can’t sit on the grass, if I can’t bring my own beer, if I can’t comfortably walk back to my car after parking on the street for free - I’ll stay home and watch movies with my friends on my 60 inch flat screen. Or I’ll do like my friend Smelly did last year during a party and put up a screen in the backyard, rent a projector and show beach party movies all night.

By Kerry

February 15, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this

Why do these things always attract the grumps who complain and put everything down? Just don’t go and keep it to yourself instead of downing the city, downing the park, downing Marta. I mean, for God’s sake - MOVE!!

By Stop being negative

February 15, 2008 2:37 PM | Link to this

Does anybody on these blogs ever have anything positive to say.

KG - half the park, a sizable area, is actual grass, not bricks and concrete.

Bruce - downtown, particularly that area, is as safe as any area around. Look at the crime statistics - crime is dropping in that area. Get a clue. I am tired of all of these people who haven’t been downtown in 5 or 10 years making remarks. I was down there last weekend and there were many people visiting the attractions and playing in the park, etc…

By NICK

February 15, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this

Great!

Now white folks can be harrassed and robbed by black thugs!

By Bunky

February 15, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this

Just think of it, Ted will be able to look out his window above Ted’s and see the movie….he can’t do that at Piedmont Park!

By david

February 15, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

I agree that MARTA is worthless. Atlanta is one of the worst major cities for getting to one place from another, and the traffic isn’t getting better. We don’t need more road construction projects; we need reliable & usable public transportation so we can attend events like SOTG. It’s my (our) civic duty to complain about what is horribly wrong with Atlanta.

By Law-Abiding Taxpayer

February 15, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

YES!!!

I cannot WAIT to take my wife and children to downtown Atlanta and have Terrell, Jamal and Javernius “shuck & jive” their way over to us… REPEATEDLY… and aggressively panhandle us while trying to watch a movie while sitting on grass that has already been saturated with their urine.

What a great idea!

…..

By the way,

BURN IN *H E L *, *A T L * !

By Fuggedaboudit

February 15, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

Kerry and Stop - I did ride MARTA from Avondale to the Omni station every day last week to attend a conference. Had to put up with smelly, unkempt people at all the stations, had to listen to a guy ask everybody who walked on to the MARTA, “whatchoodrunkon?” (translated: What are you drunk on?), had to pass the urban outdoorsmen with their shopping carts full of crap on my way to the hotel, took a walk in Centennial Park at lunchtime and saw lots of vagrants hanging out. I’d say I have the right to comment and I’m not going to go through that hassle just to sit on the hot pavement in June and watch a 30 year old movie that I could see at my house on cable with people I actually like to be around.

By Stop being negative

February 15, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

NICK - when is the last time you have been downtown or inside the perimeter in general? I bet it has been a long time and you just are stuck with your small minded, immature attitudes.

Why does EVERYTHING on these forums turn to race!?!?!?!

By MD native

February 15, 2008 2:49 PM | Link to this

Boooooooooooo! Terrible news…no interest in going downtown for this event.

By local

February 15, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this

I remember when star 94 had the free concerts on the bricks at Centennial. A bunch of us would ride Marta from midtown to Peachtree Center and walk down there. We had a great time and was fun to go someplace other than the Piedmont Park which I live a block away from. So all the complainers who probably don’t live in Atlanta just stay home and spare the rest of us your comments.

By Kerry

February 15, 2008 2:56 PM | Link to this

Comment all you want; it’s a free forum! But it doesn’t matter what the topic, race invariably comes up from both sides. And it’s always distateful. We all know Marta needs to be updated, but it’s not the city or the city planners. People here DID NOT want Marta in their neighborhoods for the same reason this joker on here cited of Jamal panhandling him. Unbelievable. and people say this is the city too busy to hate.

By Stop being negative

February 15, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

Why don’t all of you complainers, if you hate it here so much, move the f* away. Go find a job in another city somewhere. That way there would be less traffic and more water for those of us that want to be here!

By DT-SAFE?HAHA

February 15, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

To the person who thinks its safe to walk around Downtown at night, I’d like to know how many times you’ve actually done that. And I’m not talking about P’tree street. I’ve lived in Atlanta for 30 years and unless there’s a major event going on where you can walk in groups, there’s a crime waiting to happen. You can blame So So def and the rising hip hop culture for this one. Every aspiring hip hop artist feels like they have to get their start in the Atl, which means the brother from Brooklyn and sister from DC who are coming along without a job are right behind them. Thanks to Diddy, Jermaine Dupree and T.I. for increasing our crime rate by 30%.

By The Real KG

February 15, 2008 3:01 PM | Link to this

Nick - way to go! You’re such an idiot!

What about that thug that shot up those kids in Illinois?

On topic, this is great. Centennial Park is a nice escape in the middle of a concrete jungle. Screen on the Green is cool. I might encourage some people to check out the other attractions. Maybe the idiots in the world like Nick will take in the Civil Rights Museum when it opens to eliminate a little of their ignorance.

By Forrest

February 15, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this

I love Screen on the Green at Piedmont. While I am glad it will be held somewhere this year I hope this is a one year deal.

By BPJ

February 15, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this

The people who are afraid of Downtown should stay home; the rest of us will have a great time! It is one of the lowest-crime areas, btw.

As for MARTA, I ride it frequently, and my experience has been pretty good, but I agree there’s plenty to do to improve the system. But we will not get that change by complaining on AJC websites. Contact your state senator & state rep now, and tell them that transit is a priority for you, and that their support of state funding is necessary to get your vote. Then we’ll start seeing improvements.

By Rollo Tomasi

February 15, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this

Here are the difference between the two parks.
Pied = Plenty of free parking, everywhere.
Cent = very little, if any (Meters are now 24hours)And it will cost. Pied = Could bring beer and wine. Cent = They say no. Pied = Plenty of space and all grass to sit on. Cent = More brick than grass. Pied = Coolers are easy to bring from your car. Cent = Cooler on a train?? Pied = TCM was in charge. Cent = Peachtree TV? Huh?? I have gone to SOG every year and had a great time at Pied.. I just can’t see it being the same at Cent. park. The city has always tried to move everything that was in Midtown to downtown. The drought is just an excuse. I’m sure this is just a ploy to force people to go downtown. I think it sucks, but oh well, I just won’t go anymore.

By George

February 15, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this

Booooo! Bad move! I couldn’t be more disappointed in Turner and Piedmont Park Conservancy for making this move. There is no way that Screen on the Green draws more than 10,000 - not even CLOSE to the 50,000 limit.

I just called the Piedmont Park Conservancy and they say that this was not their decision, and that they did not encourage/request the move. The person I spoke with indicated that they were really hopeful that they could keep the event at Piedmont Park - but seems like to me they could have asked Turner to keep it there.

Supposedly the truck that the movie projects from has traditionally parked on the grass. So why can’t it park in the Tavern parking lot and project from there?

And by the way, this has NOTHING to do with Centennial Park… I love that park too. And the hub-bub about down town safety is bull. I work downtown every day. I shop, eat, and walk downtown every day. This isn’t about a “safety” issue… it’s about tradition! And Screen on the Green is a Piedmont Park tradition! And it needs to stay there.

By NoDogInHunt

February 15, 2008 3:23 PM | Link to this

I never thought of MARTA as dangerous until I worked in Manhattan for a year or so. Then when I would fly home and take MARTA to Decatur, I was harassed at 5POINTS…”Hey Mr. Big Shot WHITEY”…just because I was in a business suit. This is on a MARTA platform. I could see the resentful glances towards me…5POINTS even in the daytime is frightening, covered with folks just hanging out…and MARTA does nothing to remove them from the PLAZA area. Really changed my perspective on the hatred towards whites in our downtown area. In Manhattan, you are on a train with folks from all over the world, and not once did I feel unsafe. Guess I was naive before I took that job…

Anyway, back to the topic. Hopefully this is a one year thing for SOTG. Centennial is not the best location for this type of event. If the movie lineup is bad, none of this will matter, anyway.

By Gwinnett is GR8

February 15, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this

Downtown Atlanta is NOT unsafe.

It IS, however, ANNOYING with all the rude panhandlers that won’t go away and the ATL Po-Po that REFUSES to enforce the anti-panhandling ordinances around CENTENNIAL PARK.

What I hate most about Downtown Atlanta is *THE SMELL.

Don’t worry, you white-hating racists, you won’t have to worry about me or my loved ones coming into your ” ‘Hood.”

By jessica

February 15, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this

whats the difference between wrecking the grass at Piedmont park and the grass downtown? Maybe the downtown porta potties might have a little light in them. those things got kinda gross once the movie started.

By Jill

February 15, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this

I like that it’s going to be at Centennial. I work downtown, and it’s really convenient for me to go to Screen on the Green instead of Piedmont.

By the way, alcohol isn’t allowed at Piedmont, either. It’s just not enforced very well. I’ve actually seen events at Centennial where alcohol is sold by vendors (but I’m guessing there was a permit in place for that at the time of the event).

By Ad-hoc

February 15, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

There are some scary mo-fo’s in this city, man. Weird people. and I”m talking about the ones on this board!

There’s a distinct line that people aren’t getting here. There are people who are saying they won’t come to the downtown area because of crime and safety. Others are like what are you talking about? I live there/work there.

But what those people don’t get is that the ones who are afraid are not so much afraid of the crime as they are of the blacks in the park. because to them and their narrow closeted minds, it’s one in the same.

By Clara Bingham

February 15, 2008 4:00 PM | Link to this

Ad-Hoc!

Is “THE MAN” keeping you down by making English too difficult for to master?

By Aubrey

February 15, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this

This is great. Much more available parking and not nearly as much of a hassle to get to. Maybe I’m partial because my husband works at CNN and we can park for free…

By Motofino Guido

February 15, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

Oh Good Grief people…

You’re all probably right..

YES, MARTA has plenty of room for improvement, YES the will be limited parking, YES there are some homeless, YES it is a FACT of URBAN life. I have lived in 3 of the largest cities in the US. It’all the same. Get past your own insecurities and hang-ups and move on. If you don’t wnat to take MARTA or pay $20 to park, by all means, STAY HOME. If you can’t deal with the homeless, STAY HOME. If you don’t want to sit on concrete and bricks, STAY HOME, we don’t want your crabby attitude here.

As someone who LIVES downtown, and WORKS downtown it’s not that bad. There are a LOT worse place to be. Suck it up, show up and PLAN to have a GOOD time. If you can’t deal with it, sty in suburbia… afterall, is’t that why you live all the way out there anyway?

By Darin

February 15, 2008 4:07 PM | Link to this

Centennial Park will probably be a pretty cool location for downtown tourists and GSU students who want to attend the screenings. It certainly won’t be as nice as Piedmont Park, but it’s a good compromise.

Nonetheless, I’m not sure if we’ll make it down there for this location. Finding a parking place near a MARTA station in Midtown can be frustrating, and the bus routes can be crazy complicated. But I may not be able to resist the tempation to try to make it work once summer comes - I love this series.

By GA girl

February 15, 2008 4:19 PM | Link to this

For those of you who talk about downtown NOT being dangerous. You obviously are either scary looking and people don’t bother you OR you are not actually going down there at night. Just because you work there doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Daylight hours are FAR different than night in Midtown and Downtown. Although, I have seen people high and passed out in various places throughout the streets during the day time. I have also NEVER been there that I wasn’t approached by someone asking for money. Now let’s see….they want money, it’s dark and you are carrying a bag? I don’t think so. I love Atlanta and I live IN the city, not a suburb outside the perimeter. I have even lived IN Midtown. Trust me….the crime element IS there and the only way that I would go is with a large group. Piedmont park is suitable for everyone and is a much better option, if for nothing more than comfort and parking reasons. Centennial Park is nice and during the day, people are all around it check out the sites, but night is a whole different ball game. Yes, the racial stuff is rude and unfair and has nothing to do with this. Crime comes in all races! I’ll just skip it this year and wait until it is back at Piedmont Park.

By Fuggedaboudit

February 15, 2008 4:22 PM | Link to this

Department of Corrections: Alcohol has always been allowed at events like this at Piedmont Park. It’s June - GSU is out of session except for the underprivileged few.

By mj

February 15, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this

Yuppies beware! Your powers are useless downtown!

By Mr Charlie

February 15, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this

Like there was plenty of parking around Piedmont. Last year, on the night of the last showing-you know the one that got rained out-every inch of parking on side streets were taken. And, as is common fashion with the APD, they were cruising the streets, ready to tow the first violators they could spot.

Besides, wouldn’t there be less room at Centennial Park than at Piedmont?

By Stop being negative

February 15, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this

GA Girl - no, those of us that are not afraid of downtown are not scary looking and what not. I live very close to downtown, I am white, have a professional white collar job and have no problem going downtown to the park, aquarium, restaurants at night. Yes, you will probably get hit up for money occasionally. I have news for you…I have lived in New York for many years, been to London, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, etc…homeless people are everywhere. I’ve had someone try to sell me crack in Midtown Manhattan.

I think some people here cannot face that Atlanta is not some small city anymore, but instead is very large, growing city/metro. If you can’t handle that fact, move to a smaller city somewhere.

By wow

February 15, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this

Obviously the ignorance, fear, and hatred have been brewing for a while in this city…it’s amazing how far most of these comments are from the truth.

I am a white person that lives AND works downtown near Five Points. I ride MARTA almost every day. I walk the streets after dark alone…and in the two years that I’ve lived here I have never had a problem.

Sure, it’s a big city and you need to be smart and be aware of your surroundings…it’s the same in any city. Hopefully one day people in this region will be able to overcome their racist attitudes and fear.

By scott

February 15, 2008 4:55 PM | Link to this

Stop moaning and groaning. I for one hope it never leaves Centennial. It’s a great venue for this and I live around the corner. It’s about time that the Midtownite’s have to leave for once. Parking is a pain in the neck in Midtown. There are ways around bring ‘beverages’ into the park. I’m sure I’ll find a way.

The downtown area isn’t half as bad you think it is. I have lived there for 5 years without incident.

…..Already planning my menus.

By GA girl

February 15, 2008 5:06 PM | Link to this

Stop being negative:

I have to say that I don’t appreciate you telling me that I can just move if I don’t like what this city has become. This is MY home and I am proud of being an Atlanta Native. Were you born and raised here? Probably not… Most move here and then tell US to leave if we aren’t happy with how the city has changed.

No, Atlanta isn’t the mid size southern city that it once was. Yes, it is a HUGE city that is more metropolitan and is more of a melting pot. That’s great, I don’t expect it to stay small; however I DO expect its citizens to respect it! What I mean is that if WE don’t stand up and state that we are NOT going to accept the crime and homeless begging, then it will never stop. You come here and say that it is to be expected? I don’t think so. It’s only happening because people have that attitude! How about those of you who don’t respect my HOME….move to somewhere else! Sound good Mr. Negative?

By Google

February 15, 2008 5:11 PM | Link to this

Stop being negative - I think you are right. People can’t deal with what Atlanta has become. they are still stuck in some 70’s time warp.

It’s called Urban living people. It’s not for everyone. I’m dumbfounded when people talk about how unsafe it is downtown. I spent four years at GSU, 3 years working at the AJC, 8 working at Georgia-Pacific and a combined 9 years living between midtown and downtown.

I’m a white relatively good-looking female as well! I say all that to say - no problems. You guys are all full of fear and seriously, SERIOUSLY need to stay in Alpharetta…