Georgia, US, is now No 3 in film production.

Louisiana used to be just behind California and New York in film production, but Georgia is now number 3, thanks to its tax incentives and its talent pool. This is yet another indication of the ever-increasing competitive pressures around the globe - and Africa has not even begun to show its stuff.

But there are two things that are apparent. First of all, Georgia has a talent pool, thanks to CNN, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, which provided training and experience for generations of professionals in the relevant skill sets. As I have been saying, flexibility is key in today's world - if a director or producer can't find enough work in, say, movies, he can go into documentaries, commercials, training videos, and so on. The transition can be painful, but it can be done - I've been saying this for years.

The second thing is that, even as production leaves the Golden State, film commissioners from all over the world are gathering in LA for their annual convention. Once again, no matter what, LA remains the center.
 
Got it, I totally missed that that was top 25. Looks like a big component of Georgia's growth has been television, rather than film - but it seems like that may be part of a general trend towards more high-end television production.
 
In Atlanta you have Tyler Perry who has been very productive with films and plays. You have the Walking Dead series which is drawing a lot of attention to the state. Pinewood Studios (James Bond franchise) is building a huge facility near there.

And, as noted there was already a big media presence there thanks to CNN pioneer Ted Turner who brought 24 hour news (and later movies) to cable and satellite stations.

The down side is that Atlanta is ran by Democrats and the crime rate is high and quality of living in the inner city area is low.

One big reason for the move east from California was the cost of doing business and the pro-business atmosphere of the city and state governments. It just cost less to do business in the South.

While California is hamstringing business with taxes and regulations Georgia is encouraging production companies to come do business there.

Another incentive is the fact that Georgia is a Right to Work state. People are free to join any union they want but the unions here do not dictate how jobs are ran. If a company wants to hire union workers they are free to do so but a union cannot keep a non-union worker from working there.

I have friends in the military vehicle collector community that will not work with any union in any shape, form or function. We have packed up vehicles and left sites when told we would have to allow union workers to drive our trucks or join a union in order to work the picture. It just don't work that way in the South.

Here in Alabama we have an emerging film industry and are courting established production companies. Rumor has it that the spin off series from the Walking Dead may be filmed here. There is also another AMC series that is centered on Birmingham. I have contacted a member of the production company and he is passing my info to the location scouts.

I have also reached out to another producer that has shot three films here already and has a deal pending for five more. He has seen my primary location (idled steel mill) on my website (blackcreekproductions.com) and is flying out from LA to see it in person.

The Alabama Film Commission works hard to promote the state but they have a limited budget. My associates and I are considering a private organization to lobby lawmakers to offer more tax incentives and lower the budget thresholds from 500K to 200K to attract more filmmakers to the state.

If you are looking for a place to stretch a budget this is it. You can contact me through the website.
 
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