By Carol Badaracco Padgett, Folio: Eddie Award-winning writer and editor who covers the professional film and television industry
Joshua Harris was on a film set in Northern Ireland when he reported, “It’s a family business.”
The Atlanta-based president and managing partner of Peachtree Media Partners, formerly known as Gala Media Capital, and Gramercy Park Media was on location for the filming of World Breaker, a sci-fi action thriller he is producing, starring Milla Jovovich, Luke Evans and co-starring Mila Harris, his 13-year-old daughter.
“Anytime I’m a producer on a film and creatively involved, I go to set,” Harris shares. And anytime Mila is on set, which is quite often these days, he is there as well. In this particular heavy-hitting film directed by Brad Anderson, Mila plays the supporting role as Rosie, a mysterious young girl who encounters a family on the run during an apocalyptic event.
Josh Harris with the cast of ‘The Surfer’ at its Cannes 2024 premiere
Immediately before the production of World Breaker, both father, mother and daughter were in Morocco working on the recently announced biblical action thriller Mary, which Harris is producing, starring Academy Award-winner Anthony Hopkins as King Herod and Georgia’s own young star Mila Harris as Young Mary. Global juggernauts CAA and UTA repped the film at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, where Harris had another film, The Surfer, competing in this year’s festival.
Family business, indeed – one Harris says is enriched by the fact that Georgia is in the picture.
“It’s the people that we have here, it’s not like LA,” the entrepreneur, financier, producer and father notes. “Georgia stands out. You come here and your neighbor wants you to be successful. Georgia is unique and special because of the people and the collaborative spirit here.”
Of note, Harris’s collaborative spirit has led him to serve as current Vice Chairman and presumed incoming Chairman of the nonprofit Atlanta Film Society and its Atlanta Film Festival, one of the top 10 in North America, with two Oscar-qualifying categories. In addition, he serves on the Creative Industries board for Invest Atlanta, among many other Georgia philanthropic causes he supports.
Another key component that makes the film industry dream a reality in the state comes down to foresight and planning, Harris notes: Georgia has an exceptional infrastructure for film and TV. Add to that, studio-studded and location-rich Georgia has wisely monetarily incentivized the film industry, which benefits other industries in the region, as well.
Again, collaboration. It’s one of Georgia’s leading strengths, which is not lost on the industry nationwide or globally.
“People are permanently opening up shop in Georgia now. We have one of the world’s largest talent agencies, UTA, here now, as one example. We have resources like the world’s busiest and most connected airport, we’re a real economic and transportation hub, so it’s easy for people to do business here,” Harris notes.
All of Georgia’s progress and promise are incredibly dear to Harris, who sees the industry from a unique lens. “I’m someone from the state and from the industry, a hybrid, and that’s rare.”
The Georgia native credits other business players for helping him flourish in the industry. “Some of my greatest allies in business are the Entertainment group of attorneys at Barnes and Thornburg; they are the most celebrated in LA and Atlanta, as well as my bankers at Western Alliance Bank. They’re the right and left hands for my partners and I when navigating the ever evolving legal and financial framework of film and TV,” Harris states.
“I also surround myself with excellent producers,” Harris notes, crediting these creative individuals with helping him understand how to produce a film from the ground up.
There’s true economic significance in the film industry being a central part of Georgia, and Harris knows it firsthand. The economic impact of his last few Georgia lensed films alone is staggering. As he notes, “We’ve spent more than $50 million in Georgia in the last six to nine months alone.”
Yet, Harris knows what’s truly important at the end of the shoot: family, people’s lives, and the positive impact the film industry can have on Georgians.
“That is the most important thing,” Harris notes. “My daughter is a perfect example. From a young age she has had opportunities that some people never get by being here in Georgia. This state, this industry – from cast, crew, local businesses — it’s a big deal and has become a permanent establishment here.”
Then the business leader, producer and dad delivers this parting thought about the film industry in Georgia and the creative economy as a whole: “This isn’t just a transactional business, it’s personal to me. It’s a family business that impacts people young and old all across Georgia.”
To read more features from the Creative Economy Journal, visit here.
