Interest in filming in Georgia has grown due to the state’s generous tax credits. That has increased the demands for studio space. In Union City, Shannon Mall is being demolished to make room for a new movie studio. In April, the Atlanta City Council signed a deal allowing Tyler Perry to turn Fort McPherson into a studio, expanding the facilities the actor and filmmaker already owns a 1,000-plus acre property in Southwest Atlanta which houses five sound stages, a post-production facility and a 400-seat theater.
Eagle Rock Studios Atlanta, a state of the art facility in Gwinnet County, recently opened. Plans are in the works to convert the Civic Center into a mixed-use residential, retail and office space, which would include film and television studios surrounded by a performing arts center and hotel. And Pinewood Studios expanded its operation last November, adding five new sound stages.
All this means jobs for those in the film and television industry, as well as for those working in support industries, such as construction, hospitality and tourism. According to Georgia Film, Music and Entertainment Office Senior Location Specialist Craig Dominey, the industry has employed over 30,000 Georgians.
Last month, 27 movies and television shows were filmed in Georgia. That number rose to 32 in May. Television shows filmed in Georgia this spring include Archer, Love and Hip Hop, Atlanta, Halt and Catch Fire, Being Mary Jane, Devious Maids, and Divergent. Films in the works include Billy Flynn’s Long-Halftime Walk, Alvin & the Chipmunks: Road Chip, Birth of a Nation, Tom Cruise’s Mena, Table 19 featuring Anna Kendric Steve Carell and Tina Fey, The Founder (Ray Kroc), and Queen Latifah’s Barber Shop 3.
Casting calls
Casting calls have gone out for extras in Tyler Perry’s, “If Loving You Is Wrong,” The Walking Dead, Season 6, Devious Maids, The Founder, Satisfaction, Mena and an untitled Christmas film starring Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon Levitt.
Anticipated productions include Pennny Marshall’s Effa, Clive Barker’s The Entwined, Five Minutes to Live, Game of Silence, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Hindsight, InKeeping up with the Joneses, The Kingmakers
Michelle Darnell, Rings (The Ring 3D), and John Travolta’s Warbirds. Check out Project Casting [http://www.projectcasting.com/], The Southern Casting Call [thesoutherncastingcall.com], Backstage Atlanta [www.backstage.com] or The Georgia Film and TV Commission [http://www.georgia.org/industries/entertainment/georgia-film-tv-production/] web sites for updates on crew and casting calls.
Filmmakers contest
Aspiring filmmakers will gather in Atlanta, June 12 through 14, for The 48-Hour Film Project, a weekend event held in various cities around the world.
Teams of filmmakers can enter the competition. Each team will draw for the type of film genre they will create. All teams will be given a line of dialogue, a prop and a character’s name. All four elements must be included in the final short film.
The winners of the event will have their film shown around the world. The event is held to encourage filmmakers and would be filmmakers to make movies. Learn more about the competition at The 48-Hour Film Project web site [http://www.48hourfilm.com/].
