Innovation drives the Georgia production sector — it’s adapting in the face of a production decline and increased competition from Europe.
“Studios are really looking inward. They’re incorporating more vertical integration. They’re doing partnerships and acquisitions,” says Jezlan Moyet, president of Georgia Entertainment. “They’re making sure that not only do they have the infrastructure, but also the resources to continue to have competitive bids and world-class ecosystems.”
Georgia’s incentives remain reliable: a 20% base transferable tax credit, with an additional 10% uplift for adding an animated or static Georgia promotional logo, according to the Georgia Film Office. It’s uncapped, and regional incentives and rebates also figure into the mix. “We’ve added a great film tax incentive for post-production,” Moyet says: As of Jan. 1, Georgia post-production companies spending at least $500,000 on qualified expenditures in the state can receive a 20% credit, with an additional 10% credit for projects shot in Georgia and another 5% credit for expenditures incurred in qualifying rural counties.
And on top of that, this past fall, the ceiling for returns was capped at 12 months. “They heard the challenges that existed in their audit systems, so they made active changes to simplify and expedite the process,” Moyet says.
Series such as “Scooby-Doo: Origins” and big-budget features like “The Comeback King,” directed by Judd Apatow and starring Glen Powell, and “Superman” sequel “Man of Tomorrow” — marking the return of Georgia production fan James Gunn to the state’s soundstages — are filming in the state.
While headlines bemoan the drop in production, Robert Halmi, CEO of Great Point Studios, which has facilities in Georgia, New York state, New Jersey and in Wales in the U.K., remains pragmatic, noting that Great Point’s facilities in Yonkers, N.Y., are full. Great Point operates eight soundstages (145,000 square feet) just outside Atlanta, shored up by Phygital, its lighting, electric and grip services venture.
“Content is still king,” says Halmi. “Last year, the streamers accounted for 52% of viewership, which is the first time they were the majority of television viewing. That trend is going to continue to grow. They spent close to $100 billion on content last year. They’re going to spend a similar amount this year, a little bit more. … Our studios are all giant studios made for streamer shows. And we’re pretty confident that that’s not going to go anywhere. And if you look around, I think we’re sort of being proven correct.”
For many in Georgia, the immediate future involves embracing all budget levels and content platforms.
“We have weathered the same experience in Georgia as other businesses and crew members. Our strategy has been to open our doors to all,” says Jeremiah Cullen, director, global sales, Shadowbox Studios. “Wherever we are in the world, we want Shadowbox Studios campuses to be hubs of creativity for both TV and film production and beyond. Somewhere where a person with a story to tell, an experience to create, or perhaps a product to market can find a welcoming and helpful home. This approach, and our experience in other regions, has enabled us to make sure our Atlanta campus has been occupied with a broad breadth of creative projects.”
Commercials, live entertainment rehearsal spaces and tailoring fees and services to fit indie filmmaker budgets has also proven fruitful for Georgia studios.
Take, for instance, Trilith Studios, which hosts blockbuster shoots, is also thinking small.
“The correction that we’re living through right now is one that’s causing us to say, ‘OK, there’s not going to be enough projects at the scale that we’ve been working with,’” says Trilith Studios president and CEO Frank Patterson. “So what can we do? And because we are focused on great storytellers, who are they? We know that young storytellers are critical to this pipeline. That’s why we have the Trilith Institute, by the way.” The institute offers training workshops and intensive production courses on its studio campus. Shadowbox also offers training and education through its Backlot Academy.
Trilith works with indie filmmakers on things like free virtual production plans and other professional outreach to help keep their costs down while also accessing the same state-of-the-art facilities that a tentpole production will use. Patterson says that about 65% of its facilities will continue to be used by the James Gunns of the world, while 35% will be the smaller productions.
And Trilith is thinking big, too. It’s not only a production campus, it’s a town.
“By the way, my mom lives in the town,” says Patterson, adding that there are about 67 businesses there, ranging from “the largest lighting and grip company in the U.S. to, I think, one of the best donut shops in the U.S.” and a 65,000-sq.-ft. wellness center (good to visit after all those donuts). He notes that the cast from the feature “Saturday Night” lived in the town while shooting, and there are tons of green space while the houses are powered with sustainable energy.
Trilith is also home to U.S. soccer’s national training center, with 17 pitches.
Actor Danny Ramirez makes his directorial debut with “Baton,” produced by Victoria Alonso, and Georgia offered the perfect mix of environment and facilities for shooting. “Baton” is being sold at the Cannes Market by Manifest Pictures.
“With ‘Baton,’ we had a production that required us to tap into a massive amount of soccer infrastructure, and the Atlanta metro-region happens to have some of the best young soccer talent, stadiums and training facilities in North America, which was really essential to pull off an authentic soccer environment and gameplay,” says Alonso. “It’s also a movie that is deeply connected to the Latino experience, so being able to have a crew and a cast that reflects and connects to that side of the story was essential as well. Atlanta has 500,000-plus Latinos and most of them love soccer, so we knew we had the right ingredients to make something vibrant and authentic there.”
Ramirez also filmed on the campus of his alma mater, Atlanta’s Oglethorpe University, where he
played soccer.
Assembly Studios is another prime example of a studio that is embracing vertical integration and a commitment to support productions of any scale at any stage. Assembly, in collaboration with Universal Production Studios — which operates several of Assembly’s soundstages — is supporting the development slate of Georgia-based filmmakers Ty Walker and Autumn Bailey. They will both be at Cannes with their lineup of independent features, microdramas and television series. “It once again underlines the fact that Georgia is looking to invest in its creative storytellers and in its own IP,” says Moyet.
“That has been a big evolution over the past couple of years. It is not just being a production hub, but learning to identify, develop and sustain talent and IP,” says Patterson.
And in the end, the people of the Georgia production community want filmmakers and producers to know that they are hard at work to bring in business and to keep it. And on May 17, the FilmUSA Pavilion in Cannes hosts Georgia day, featuring producers, directors, studio operators, financiers, city officials, film commissions and resource providers.
“It’s been an interesting time for the city and state industry with a lot of production leaving, but the crews are top notch, the locations and facilities are all first class and flexible,” says Alonso. “ ‘Baton’ is my first movie since leaving Marvel, and it just felt right to come back and make it in Georgia.”
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