ATLANTA — A few years ago, Georgia was locked in a bidding war with North Carolina over the Disney movie, “The Last Song,” starring Miley Cyrus.
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Both states wanted the movie to film in their state, and North Carolina was close to sealing the deal with an attractive tax incentive package. But Georgia snapped up the production — the movie was filmed on Tybee Island and in Savannah — largely because it had recently expanded its own tax credit for films.
The state hasn’t looked back since. Not only are TV shows like “The Walking Dead” and films like “The Hunger Games” sequel filmed in Georgia, but tens of millions of dollars are being invested to build up critical infrastructure. No fewer than five major studio developments or expansions have been announced in recent months with the goal of luring big-budget blockbusters.
On Monday, the British film studio home to the James Bond franchise announced plans Monday for its first U.S. movie production facility at a site near Atlanta. Pinewood Shepperton PLC, has studios in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany and Malaysia.
Recent films shot at Pinewood Studios, based outside of London, include the upcoming Angelina Jolie film, “Maleficent,” and “Jack Ryan,” directed by Kenneth Branagh.
It’s the fifth major studio development or expansion announced in Georgia in recent months.
Plans call for the studio to be developed on 288 acres south of Atlanta in Fayette County and include at least five soundstages as well as production offices.
“It really is about the whole package,” said Lee Thomas, director of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. “They can do everything here now.”
Last fiscal year, productions filmed in Georgia generated an estimated $3.1 billion in economic activity, a 29 percent increase from the year before, according to state estimates. And Thomas said that will only increase with the studio projects in the works that will add large soundstages and back lots to lure big productions, such as “Iron Man 3,” which Georgia wasn’t able to accommodate. The state didn’t have a studio that fit the requirements of the film’s production company.
A survey last year found that California lost $3 billion in wages from 2004 to 2011 because of film and TV production moving to other states and countries, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. Half the wages went to states such as Georgia, North Carolina and Louisiana that offer tax incentives and rebates to the industry.
Georgia has come a long way since the 1939 Civil War epic “Gone With The Wind,” arguably the most famous movie about the state, was filmed in California.
Three decades later, the 1971 Burt Reynolds movie “Deliverance” helped put Georgia on the map as a shooting location. The state created a film commission, and Reynolds returned to the state to shoot hits such as “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Longest Yard.”
In recent years, the state has been a shooting location for films such as Clint Eastwood’s “Trouble With the Curve,” the new Jackie Robinson biopic “42” with Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington’s Oscar-nominated turn as an alcoholic pilot in “Flight,” the Katherine Heigl rom-com “Life as We Know It,” the current Reese Witherspoon project “The Good Lie,” and comedies such as 2011’s “Hall Pass” and the coming “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” starring Will Ferrell.
While studio developers building soundstages are not eligible for Georgia’s tax credit program, the production companies making films are. Georgia provides a 20 percent tax credit for companies that spend $500,000 or more on production and post-production in the state, either in a single production or on multiple projects.
Georgia also grants an additional 10 percent tax credit if the finished project includes a state promotional logo. Further, if a company has little or no Georgia tax liability, it can transfer or sell its tax credits.
“The industry follows the dollar,” Forshee said. “They are going to go where they can do the best product for the cheapest cost. This tax credit has made Georgia a viable and lucrative place to make films.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers in North Carolina are debating a plan that would place certain limitations on the state’s program, with supporters of the effort saying there’s no evidence the $30 million in tax breaks in 2011 matches the job growth cited by the industry. In comparison, Georgia handed out $140.6 million in tax credits in 2010.
Gov. Nathan Deal said it’s the combination of the tax credits and Georgia’s diverse landscape — from the mountains to the coast — that has made the state so attractive to filmmakers.
“It is an affirmation of several things, some of which is just the natural beauty of our state,” Deal said in a recent interview. “You are seeing ample evidence that the tax credits for the movie and film industry are definitely paying the dividends that we anticipated.”
There are a number of ripple effects. The films bring jobs, and the state has an estimated 5,000 union and non-union professionals associated with the film industry along with more than 1,000 production suppliers and support companies. Major components of the proposed studio projects also include educational programs aimed at training the next generation of industry employees.
Last week, Atlanta-based Jacoby Development announced plans to build an estimated $1 billion multiuse project north of downtown Atlanta that will include 12 soundstages as well as production offices and an arts and media school.
Other projects include a planned expansion of Tyler Perry’s sprawling studio complex that already includes five soundstages, a $100 million project east of the city in Newton County.
Savannah, Effingham movie studios planned
Savannah and its historic district have long drawn filmmaker interest, dating to the production of the 1977 TV mini-series Roots. The 1997 release of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” made Savannah a movie destination.
The city’s first production facility, Meddin Studios, opened in 2010. Meddin has been home to 12 movie projects and dozens of commercial and television productions. The studio’s owners have plans to relocate from a 22,000-square-foot building to one five times that size later this year.
Effingham County officials announced plans in March for a movie studio and entertainment facility to be called Medient Studios. Medient’s leader, India-born Manu Kumaran, has 19 feature films to his credit and envisions a production facility that could handle eight to 10 feature films and a year.
Medient also plans to develop video games on the site.
Construction on the project, which is to include 16 soundstages, is to begin in June.
— Savannah Morning News