The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia tops for filming as industry leader looks ahead
When we got on the phone with Georgia Film Academy executive director Jeffrey Stepakoff last week, we figured he’d be popping Champagne corks. An industry study had just found that Georgia was tops for major motion picture filming in 2016, with California coming in fourth, behind the United Kingdom and Canada. He sounded happy for sure — but not at all ready to rest on any laurels.
“Several years ago … Louisiana made national news when it hosted more of the major feature films released in 2013 than any other location worldwide. Fast-forward to 2016, and it is another Southern U.S. state that finds itself in the top spot,” the study by FilmLA found. “Georgia hosted primary production for 17 of the top 100 domestic films released in 2016.”
California hosted 12. In 2015, the ratio was reversed, with 21 filming there compared to eight in Georgia. The study considered the top 100 domestic films for each year for its findings.
Georgia-lensed productions generated an economic impact of more than $7 billion during fiscal year 2016 ( July 1, 2015June 30, 2016), the Georgia Department of Economic Development said at the Film Day event featuring remarks by Gov.
Nathan Deal and House Speaker David Ralston during the 2017 legislative session. Citing stats from the Motion Picture Association of America, the department said “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.”
The state’s film-friendly tax policies have lured the industry here (and they’re here to stay as long as Deal and Ralston have anything to say about it), but Stepakoff heralded the state’s efforts to support the industry beyond just making production less expensive. To wit, the Georgia Film Academy, aimed at preparing folks for jobs.
“This report is very exciting, and it’s evidence we continue to do all the right things in Georgia,” he said. “Georgia is now clearly the world’s undisputed king of feature-film production.”
He doesn’t see the state’s top-spot designation as a finale, though, but rather the opening credits.
“I think we’re just getting started,” he said.
Stepakoff is the author of novels including “Fireworks Over Toccoa” and “The Orchard” who worked as a screenwriter and producer for projects such as “Dawson’s Creek” before taking the helm at the Georgia Film Academy, which operates a teaching soundstage across the street from bustling Pinewood Studios Atlanta. Dignitaries including then-University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby, Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Gretchen Corbin, and Chick-fil-A President
Dan Cathy, an investor with the group that owns a majority of Pinewood, were on hand for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting.
Fast-forward to the present, and more than 1,000 people will have taken a course at the academy by the end of this fiscal year, and more than 400 will have completed an internship, Stepakoff said.
“I’m not talking about putting students in jobs where they’re carrying coffee,” he said. “They’re working on 30 major productions.”
Pinewood has hosted a slew of blockbusters, including Marvel’s “AntMan,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “SpiderMan: Homecoming” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” The next two “Avengers” movies will be in production for the next several months. Pinewood also hosts smaller-budget projects, such as last year’s “Krystal,” directed by and starring William H. Macy.
Moving forward, Stepakoff is eager to see more of the film-industry content creation originating here.
“We’re not calling ourselves the ‘Hollywood of the South,’” he said. “This is our time.”