Georgia committed to growing film crew pool

Georgia in the eastern US has reiterated its commitment to growing its film crew pool to help sustain its position as one of America’s top production hubs.

By Nick Goundry 3 Aug 2016

Georgia committed to growing film crew pool
Sully on location

Georgia in the eastern US has reiterated its commitment to growing its film crew pool to help sustain its position as one of America’s top production hubs.

A shortage of local crew has been one of Georgia’s bigger challenges over the last couple of years.

The local industry has not always satisfied the demand created by a generous 20% base incentive - which in fact rises easily to 30% - as well as adaptable locations and numerous world-class studio facilities.

Big-budget productions have sometimes had to fly in crew from California, the cost of which has dented the benefits of the tax credit support.

Georgia’s incentive helped deliver more than $2bn in direct production spending in the last financial year when nearly 250 features and TV shoots were filmed locally, according to official figures.

“Georgia’s film industry is on a steady rise year over year and now ranks number three in TV and movie productions, just behind California and New York,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

“As long as we continue to deepen our crew base and add even more studios and businesses to support the industry, Georgia is ensuring its place in the film industry well into the future.”

A new film academy has enrolled hundreds of students but new crew training remains a long-term strategy with individuals crucially lacking experience of big-budget studio shoots. Authorities may need to balance local training with efforts to get more crew to relocate from rival production hubs.

Upcoming features filmed in Georgia include slavery drama The Birth of a Nation and Clint Eastwood’s drama Sully (pictured above), the story of Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, the airline pilot who successfully landed his stricken plane on New York’s Hudson River in 2009.

Marvel has the highest-profile local presence in Georgia and is currently filming Spider-Man: Homecoming in Atlanta. A third Avengers movie and a stand-alone Black Panther film scheduled to follow into 2017.

For more on filming in Georgia see our production guide.

Image: Warner Bros. Entertainment

The local industry has not always satisfied the demand created by a generous 20% base incentive - which in fact rises easily to 30% - as well as adaptable locations and numerous world-class studio facilities.

Big-budget productions have sometimes had to fly in crew from California, the cost of which has dented the benefits of the tax credit support.

Georgia’s incentive helped deliver more than $2bn in direct production spending in the last financial year when nearly 250 features and TV shoots were filmed locally, according to official figures.

“Georgia’s film industry is on a steady rise year over year and now ranks number three in TV and movie productions, just behind California and New York,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

“As long as we continue to deepen our crew base and add even more studios and businesses to support the industry, Georgia is ensuring its place in the film industry well into the future.”

A new film academy has enrolled hundreds of students but new crew training remains a long-term strategy with individuals crucially lacking experience of big-budget studio shoots. Authorities may need to balance local training with efforts to get more crew to relocate from rival production hubs.

Upcoming features filmed in Georgia include slavery drama The Birth of a Nation and Clint Eastwood’s drama Sully (pictured above), the story of Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, the airline pilot who successfully landed his stricken plane on New York’s Hudson River in 2009.

Marvel has the highest-profile local presence in Georgia and is currently filming Spider-Man: Homecoming in Atlanta. A third Avengers movie and a stand-alone Black Panther film scheduled to follow into 2017.

For more on filming in Georgia see our production guide.

Image: Warner Bros. Entertainment

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