Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayetteville and Riverwood-Raleigh Studios in nearby Senoia are two of the players in Georgia’s growing film and television industry.
It is an industry that saw a $5.1 billion economic impact statewide in 2013. Gov. Nathan Deal announced Aug. 5 that Georgia-lensed feature films and television productions generated an economic impact of $5.1 billion during FY2014. The 158 feature film and television productions that shot in Georgia spent $1.4 billion during that time, Deal said. “Not only has this industry created jobs and investment opportunities for Georgians, it also has revitalized communities, established new educational programs, tourism product and more,” said Deal.
“I will continue my commitment to growing this industry and to developing a film-ready workforce to meet the needs of the productions that are setting up shop in Georgia.” For its part Pinewood Atlanta Studios is currently the site of Marvel Studio’s production of “Ant-Man,” a “tent-pole” feature film with reported production costs ranging from $150-200 million.
Next door in Senoia, the filming of the hit television show “The Walking Dead” is now in its fifth season of production and has been responsible for a continuing increase in tourism and money spent in a town that saw a 700 percent increase in business openings between 2007 and 2012. Senoia for the past two years has what is essentially a waiting list for businesses wanting to locate in the downtown area.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the motion picture and television industry is responsible for more than 77,900 jobs and $3.8 billion in total wages in Georgia, including indirect jobs and wages. Nearly 23,500 people are directly employed by the motion picture and television industry in Georgia, including 8,188 production-related employees. MPAA member companies comprised of Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal and Disney paid $696 million to 4,066 vendors in Georgia in 2012. These local businesses include technology, lodging, real estate and food service. “The film industry is a powerful economic generator and is creating jobs for Georgians as well as new opportunities to a highly skilled workforce,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
“Since 2008, more than 90 companies have located in Georgia to support the industry. These new businesses are generating jobs and ensuring the industry’s sustainability in Georgia well into the future.” In FY14 the state saw a rise in the number of big budget box-office productions filming in Georgia, including “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2,” “Insurgent,” “Taken 3”and “Fast and Furious 7.” As these films are released in theaters they will create numerous opportunities for Georgia locations to be seen by millions of people all over the world. It also gives communities in Georgia an opportunity to create tourism-based product at a filming location and beyond.
Last year the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office launched the highly popular www.ComeTourGeorgia.com to respond to the rising demand in film induced tourism. Georgia-filmed movies that are scheduled to open in theaters in the coming months include “Last of Robin Hood” starring Kevin Kline; “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon; “Kill the Messenger” starring Jeremy Renner; “Dumb and Dummer To” starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels; and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.” Upcoming television productions that will resume and premiere in the next few months include “The Walking Dead” on AMC, “Constantine” on NBC, “The Red Band Society” on FOX and “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW. On July 1, to assist with providing crew for film productions, Deal’s High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) focused on the film and digital entertainment industry.
The meeting was an opportunity to help identify specific needs of businesses that are producing film, television and digital entertainment projects. These skilled positions require training and special certifications that Georgia is prepared to cultivate and implement through a collective effort between the Georgia Department Economic Development, the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia and key leaders in the entertainment industries in Georgia.
