Georgia Entertainment recently released the names of the 200 Most Influential of Georgia’s Creative Industries. The individuals are highlighted in the bi-annual printed publication – Georgia Entertainment: The Creative Economy Journal. See the digital version. Our 200 Spotlight series showcases many of those that were included.
By Carol Badaracco Padgett, Senior Writer
Favorite film: “Den of Thieves shot on my first studio Lot 108 in 2017,” says J.B. Vick of MVP Studios. Coolest person in the film world that he’s met on a Georgia set: producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Bad Boys: Ride or Die).
As president of MVP Studios, the entrepreneur has seen a lot of action since the studio opened its first of three locations in metro Atlanta in 2016 — all of them providing specialized production services (such as an XR studio) to the entertainment industry. The first studio in Atlanta’s lower West End shot out of the gate with Spider Man: Homecoming as its maiden production. Next came an Upper West End location followed by a third studio that opened downtown in 2021.
“Our goal at MVP Studios is to provide productions an alternative to the traditional soundstage that raises production value and lowers cost,” Vick says.
“We hosted Stranger Things for four seasons, hosted MGM’s movie Creed 3, and Netflix’s crime drama Pain Hustlers in 2022,” says Vick. “In 2023, [MVP Studios] provided primary shooting locations for Netflix’s The Piano Lesson and Sony Pictures’ Bad Boys: Ride or Die.” Currently, MVP Studios is hosting an Amazon Studios film.
In 2023, the studio also began seed funding creative content ventures in live immersive events, including action games for Meta Quest, a line of virtual reality headsets, as well as women’s sports television shows.
When asked what makes Georgia’s creative industries special to him and so much fun to work within, Vick reports, “People in Georgia’s creative and entertainment industries try to help each other. There are lots of artists and support [for]people in our industry who do it for the love of the art. This makes it authentic. Real. [And] soon, more people will notice.”
One person who recognized Vick’s potential in the industry early on – and the Peach State’s role as a whole — is his daughter.
As he says, “[My daughter] told me many years ago, ‘Dad, you should get a building and rent it to Netflix.’ And I did.”
Learn more about MVP Studios here.