Matthew McConaughey spent summer 2023 filming crime thriller “The Rivals of Amziah King” in Birmingham, and later praised the city when the movie debuted at the 2025 SXSW festival. Now the famed celebrity is at it again, touting Birmingham in an interview linked to his bestselling book, “Poems & Prayers.” During an appearance on “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” a podcast hosted by Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson, McConaughey gave a glowing review of Birmingham. “I found Birmingham on a film I did, ‘Rivals of Amziah,’ and I did not know that that place existed in the state of Alabama," McConaughey said. "And it did, and we fell in love with it and met a lot of great people there.” McConaughey’s experiences here inspired a two-page poem called “Birmingham” that’s included in his book, in a section titled “Navigation & Livin’ Ditties.” In the poem, McConaughey describes Birmingham as “Manicured and mannered/honored and clean/rugged and tough/without being mean.” During his time in ...