Atlanta the new ‘Zombie Capital’

Everyone loves zombies, especially Atlanta, the newly dubbed Hollywood of horror.

"Hey, can you direct us to Little 5 Points?"

Atlanta magazine, which clearly wrote its article before seeing the stumbling season two debut of “The Walking Dead,” rhetorically asks “Why is the best new show on television filmed here?”

“Simple. Atlanta is the zombie capital of the world.”

The New York Times parrots that lead in an article published Tuesday.

The Walking Dead –filmed in and around Atlanta — is hugely popular, more than 11 million people watched the show Sunday night on AMC.

Like a buxom blond traipsing through the woods, the show’s success has attracted even more undead, according to the Times.

“If you look at the TV being filmed in Atlanta now, you’ve got a werewolf show, a vampire show, a zombie show and a show about reincarnation,” said Tom Luse, a line producer for “The Walking Dead,” referring also to “Teen Wolf,” “Vampire Diaries” and “Drop Dead Diva.”

The news isn’t all good. Horror movie makers are high on Atlanta because our real estate market is so scary.

“This sprawling city, with swatches of foreclosed or abandoned property, is easy to make look spooky,” writes Robbie Brown in The Times.

Movie extras are digging the extra work almost as much as tax collectors.

In fiscal year 2007, before a 30 percent reduction in taxes for films was passed by the Georgia Legislature, movie productions valued at $241 million were shot here. By fiscal 2010, that number topped $1.3 billion.

With that kind of money the state can build some more HOT lanes! How’s that for frightening?