Georgia has rolled out the figurative red carpet to lure Hollywood projects to the South. This week, Gov. Nathan Deal and state officials key to Georgia’s booming film industry joined movie folks on the literal red carpet.
The Marvel superhero film “Ant-Man,” which opens Friday, is the first product of the huge new Pinewood Studios facility in Fayette County. A red-carpet advance screening for local cast and crew members was held Sunday at the Regal Atlantic Station theater.
“It truly has become a Georgia industry,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Economic Development. “There’s no doubt that the tax incentive did a great job at bringing companies back here. We’ve been a place that folks like to film, and now we’re a place where these companies want to do business. We really have invested the right way.”
Last month, his agency spelled out the math. “Georgia-lensed feature film and television productions generated an economic impact of more than $6 billion during fiscal year 2015,” the department said in a release. “The 248 film and television productions shot in Georgia represent $1.7 billion in spending in the state.”
Production companies can earn a credit of up to 30 percent of what they spend on qualifying projects. Georgia’s booming film industry is the result not only of the state’s tax incentives but of other states’ decisions to amend theirs. Tax incentives in North Carolina have been drastically scaled back.
“The film industry is all but dead in North Carolina because a General Assembly incentives jihad has sent movie producers scurrying to other states offering better deals,” a dolorous Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer editorial lamented this week.
Louisiana lawmakers have imposed a new $180 million cap on film tax credits, something that may spur legal action.
“Louisiana’s Film Entertainment Association may take legal action to challenge the constitutionality of the legislative cap placed on film tax credits redeemable in a given year,” Shreveport station KTBS reported this week.
When it comes to Georgia’s tax incentives, state and film officials are reading from the same script.
“The one thing the industry wants is stability, certainty you’re not going to have the tax credits jerked out from under you,” Deal said. “As I’ve told the film industry, if you want certainty, look at a state that keeps its own finances stable. If a state’s finances get in trouble and the entertainment industry is pitted against things that the taxpayers feel are essential, such as education and public safety, then entertainment’s going to lose out. The fact that our state has been stable financially across the board gives us that ability to maintain those credits.”
“Ant-Man,” starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas along with Atlanta rapper-actor T.I., filmed mostly here, mostly on Pinewood soundstages. Attending the Sunday screening were folks from the current project filming out of Pinewood, “Captain America: Civil War,” who echoed the governor’s sentiments on keeping Georgia’s tax policies film-friendly.
“I’ve really enjoyed Atlanta,” executive producer Nate Moore said, noting that “Guardians of the Galaxy 2″ will be the next project to film at Pinewood.
While traffic here is vexatious, the local filming infrastructure is impressive, and folks at each filming site have been welcoming, co-producer Mitch Bell said.
“It’s refreshing to come to a place and have that,” he said. “Atlanta’s been great.”
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