Todd Phillips' First Movie Led To A 20-Year Ban On Filming At The University Of Georgia

Last year, I had the good fortune of visiting the set of Blumhouse's upcoming horror movie "The Woman in the Yard." It took place in a college town called Athens, Georgia, about an hour away from Atlanta, give or take. What I expected to encounter during that visit was some behind-the-scenes knowledge of Jaume Collet-Serra's return to the horror genre. What I didn't expect to discover was how Todd Phillips was responsible for a near-total ban on filming at the University of Georgia that lasted more than 20 years.

Phillips is best known as the director of DC's $1 billion smash hit "Joker" from 2019. Before that, he was known best for his work in R-rated comedies like "The Hangover." His first foray into the genre was 2000's "Old School," which served as his feature directorial debut. He'd previously directed a documentary about Phish called "Bittersweet Motel" and an unaired HBO documentary called "Frat House," but this was his coming out party as a filmmaker.

During the set visit, we spent most of our time at Athena Studios, a then-newly built production facility just outside of Athens. "The Woman in the Yard" was one of the first major productions to use the facility. Speaking with Joel Harber, the President and CEO of Athena Studios, he revealed that they have a good relationship with the University of Georgia, which is essentially at the heart of Athens.

"Through that relationship we have an inroad to be able to get productions onto campus if needed. So that's something that's been relatively shut down for the last 20 years or so," Harber explained to me and the other journalists in attendance. So, why was production shut down on campus for more than two decades, exactly? "When I was in school there, there was a movie called 'Road Trip' that was filmed there," He added. "Road Trip" was the culprit.

For those who may need a refresher, "Road Trip" centers on Josh (Breckin Meyer) who films his affair with another girl and accidentally mails it to his girlfriend. After realizing his error, Josh and two of his college buddies head out on an 1,800-mile, debaucherous road trip from Ithaca, N.Y., to Austin, Texas, to save his relationship.

Despite being Phillips' first narrative feature, he had the backing of a major studio in DreamWorks and a decent budget to work with. As Harber further explained, he also had the full cooperation of the University of Georgia:

"They were like, 'Yeah, sure, film anywhere. If you want to get in the stadium, you want to do this.' They were all over the place. The movie came out and needless to say, the administration was not really thrilled."

The movie was a hit, one that spawned a little-seen DTV sequel titled "Road Trip: Beer Pong," but it was also an R-rated, sex-filled, teen romp that isn't exactly the sort of thing a prestigious school typically wants to be associated with. "I don't think that gelled with the image they wanted to project," Harber said. "So they basically put up an iron gate and said, 'You can't come out here anymore.' So there's been very little filmed on campus since then."

Phillips went on to have a big career, most recently directing "Joker: Folie a Deux," which was a big commercial bomb. Maybe that means he'll return to R-rated comedies for a change of pace. As for Harber and Athena Studios, they've actually been working with the University of Georgia to making filming on the campus possible again by getting the school's students involved directly:

"We've been working with UGA to try and loosen that up. And then make some of that filming about getting the students involved and it's like, 'Hey, you want to film on campus? We need 20 headsets and students in video village and we want them to be able to be a part of that.' And so that's what's happening right now."

"The Woman in the Yard" hits theaters on March 28, 2025.