Water For Elephants: How Chattanooga Is Benefiting From The Shoot

Chattanooga's economy got a big boost when 20th Century Fox chose to shoot part of Water for Elephants there earlier this month. But it's just now that we are learning exactly how much that city benefited from the filming. WEDF.com says the production injected about $1 million into the local economy.

The role of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) in providing a vintage train and dedicated 3-mile track for the film set was the key to landing the shoot with 20th Century Fox.

“The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is what makes Chattanooga unique for filming,” says TVRM Marketing Coordinator Steve Freer, who has been working for almost two years to attract “Water for Elephants” to film in Chattanooga. “Vintage trains are getting harder to find, and we have several steam engines which are even more difficult to find because they are expensive to operate and maintain.”

The article goes on to talk about the planning down to the cost of the hotels, and what it took to bring the shoot to Chattanooga. Read the rest.

Over the weekend we posted several exclusive videos that blog contributor @chilbunch shot while visiting that city during the filming of Water for Elephants. They offer a close-up look at the vintage train that will appear on the big screen come April 15.