Marvel would love to film its superhero blockbusters in Hollywood but keeps filming in Atlanta instead.
The reason why is simple. It's much less expensive to film here, thanks to Georgia's film-friendly tax policies.
"If you ask any business person, they would say that's the biggest part of it," brand president Kevin Feige told reporters during a tour of Marvel Studios' California facility, Deadline reported.
"We’d love to make movies (in Hollywood)," he continued. "We made a handful of the early movies here, we hope to make some [here].”
Georgia's generous tax credit system has helped make the state the No. 3 filming location in the U.S. behind California and New York.
Production companies can earn tax credits up to 30 percent of what they spend in Georgia when they meet certain standards, a perk that's lured a slew of Marvel movies - "Ant-Man," "Captain America: Civil War," "Guardians of the Galaxy 2;" and upcoming projects including "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "Black Panther," two "Avengers" movies and "Ant-Man and the Wasp."
Georgia’s tax credit program has become the state’s single largest corporate perk, directing $925 million to production companies from 2009 to 2014, according to a study by Georgia State University.
It's not going anywhere as long as Gov. Nathan Deal and Speaker David Ralston have anything to say about it.
“I am excited by the success of this industry,” Ralston said during a celebratory "Georgia Film Day" event at the Capitol last month. “As long as I sit in that office, there will be no bigger fan of that tax credit and this industry than I am.
Georgia-lensed productions generated an economic impact of more than $7 billion during fiscal year 2016 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016), the Georgia Department of Economic Development said. Citing stats from the Motion Picture Association of America the department says "the film and television industry is responsible for more than 85,000 jobs and $4.2 billion in wages, directly employing more than 25,000 Georgia residents."
During FY 2016, 245 feature films, television movies and series, commercials, and music videos were filmed here and 2017 looks to keep up the pace. At the time of Deal and Ralston's film event, there were 42 filming projects rolling.
About the Author
