Up to this point, Georgia film executive Lee Thomas believes Columbus has done the right things and been “very aggressive” in working itself into a solid position of being a major player in the state’s flourishing movie production industry.
“One thing that Savannah’s done that’s really helped put them on the map is they started an additional incentive, in addition to what the state has,” said Thomas, deputy commissioner of Film, Music and Digital Entertainment for Georgia. She was in Columbus this week to speak about the future of the state’s $9.5 billion movie industry now attracting major film blockbusters and popular TV programs for production.
“It’s a two-part incentive,” Thomas said of Savannah, which is perhaps best known for being the location for “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” the 1997 Deep South murder mystery movie produced and directed by Clint Eastwood. “They incentivize shows to go to an area, and they do that to offset the cost of traveling with a bunch of crew people. But they also incentivize crew people to move there,” thus setting up a permanent community of set production staffers for use locally in future productions.
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