From the image of Forrest Gump sitting on a park bench in Chippewa Square to the chase scene starting at Forsyth Park in The Longest Yard, Savannah’s landscapes have become an iconic part of American cinema and brought millions of dollars to the local community.
State officials this month are peering behind the scenes of the movie business in Coastal Georgia to evaluate the benefit of lucrative tax credits that put Savannah on Hollywood’s map. The city has earned the ranking of third-best small city and town to be a movie maker, according to MovieMaker magazine.
The review by state lawmakers comes following a report published in October 2022 by the Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts reviewing the impact of Georgia film tax credits on local economies. It’s expected to address one missing piece of data that neither production companies nor industry boosters track: the number of local jobs and the kinds of permanent jobs created as the state has rewarded the industry with billions of dollars in tax credits. See more.
