Georgia Ranked in Top Five States in U.S. for Film and Television Productions (Atlanta: credit, how much)

[tonygeorgia]

Georgia has recently, and very apparently, become a hot spot for the film industry. Over the past couple of months, celebrities have been spotted all over metro-Atlanta deeming the area a new hub for the industry.

CarterBlog: Current Affairs

[waronxmas]

It's really exciting what has happened over the last 15 years or so when it comes to the movie biz in Atlanta. Part of that success has been in carving itself a niche film market on which to build upon such as Vancouver has done with science fiction films. The first, "Black movies", everyone is already aware of. The other though doesn't get much play: tv movies and "chick flicks".

The latter has been ratcheting up in the last few years, and the latest from Lifetime (was forced to watch it by Mrs. Waronxmas) had some beautiful shots of the city and did a good job of presenting Atlanta as it is. A modern cosmopolitan city.

Watch Marry Me Part 1 - Watch the Full Movie Online Now! | myLifetime.com

[testa50]

Trying to get a better understanding of the industry. What are the strengths and weaknesses of movie production in GA?

Totally guessing, but I would imagine the following are some strengths:

- The tax breaks
- Having a major city with a variety of different cityscapes (old storefronts, modern office areas, parks, old industrial areas, etc)
- Good airport access (try getting all of this specialized labor and stuff to Oklahoma)
- Variety of landscapes (mountains, beaches, forests, lakes, etc)
- Reasonably long filming season with good weather (April - November?)
- Cost of production could quite possibly be lower for a number of things

I guess the heat could be considered a weakness, as well as the distance from California.

[RandyWatson13]

Good news!

[tonygeorgia]

I wonder what ever happened to the movie studio project in Henry County? Last I heard was that the county voted on the project and they had a couple of months to get back to the county commissioners on their plans

[K-SawDude]

Originally Posted by testa50

Trying to get a better understanding of the industry. What are the strengths and weaknesses of movie production in GA?

Totally guessing, but I would imagine the following are some strengths:

- The tax breaks
- Having a major city with a variety of different cityscapes (old storefronts, modern office areas, parks, old industrial areas, etc)
- Good airport access (try getting all of this specialized labor and stuff to Oklahoma)
- Variety of landscapes (mountains, beaches, forests, lakes, etc)
- Reasonably long filming season with good weather (April - November?)
- Cost of production could quite possibly be lower for a number of things

I guess the heat could be considered a weakness, as well as the distance from California.

I'd imagine having Atlanta and rural parts of GA allows for a really nice range of choices for cinematography. If you want folksy, we got folksy. If you want upscale cosmopolitan, we got that too. If you want post-apocalyptic industrial despair, check out parts of the Westside and Southside!

In other words, Georgia can look both Southern and not-Southern, urban and rural, as needed.

And certainly the tax breaks must help. As does the cost of living, since ATL food/entertainment/housing is generally cheaper than LA.

Does anyone know just how much the state paid to the film industry in tax credits/subsidies this past year?

[architect77]

Movies are constantly being filmed in NYC, and those production-company, big, 18-wheelers hauling the equipment usually are all white with only 3 painted names down the side: "Los Angeles"..."New York"..."North Carolina"...

Dino DeLaurentis (producer) came to Wilmington, NC in the early eighties and started what is now Screen Gems Studios.

Atlanta's production scene now probably puts Georgia ahead of NC, but the Tarheel State definitely wrote the playbook for luring movie production to the South...

[JoeP]

it's all about the tax breaks.

[atler8]

Yes, Wilmywood up in N.C. was a gamechanger for the southeastern film industry a couple of decades ago but it is sort of in a relative down cycle at this time. De Laurentis built some wonderful facilities there but that area is lagging now in overall production, say as compared to that found in Georgia, especially in metro Atlanta, to the extent that I anecdotally know of people in the film industry who now regularly make the trek from Wilmington to Georgia for steadier work.
Earlier this year I saw a posting on a Charlotte page here that bragged about Wilmington as a film center. That person noted that it had the largest sound stage in the southeast. I'm not sure if that is the case anymore but the size of a stage pales in importance to whether or not it is thoroughly & regularly utilized.
One of the major expansions in production space going on now in metro Atlanta is the redevelopment of the old Lakewood Fairgrounds site into a filming facility.
A major side of the industry often overlooked in reference to film production in Georgia is that, beyond the myriad of tv shows & movies shot here, over 250 commercials were made in metro Atlanta last year.

[DTL3000]

What other states rounded out the top 5?

Of course I'd be willing to bet Ca and NY were the top 2 and Tx was #3. The other one could be Louisiana I'd think but I could be wrong. Georgia was neck and neck with Louisiana for a while and may be ahead now. Maybe NC is still in the top 5 instead of Louisiana.