by Randy Davidson, Founder & CEO of Georgia Entertainment
Georgia’s film and television industry is at an inflection point.
The challenges facing production today are real. Overseas incentives are aggressive. A strong U.S. dollar can instantly make international production more attractive. Labor costs differ dramatically from country to country. At the same time, the nature of content itself is changing – smaller budgets, more projects, shorter production cycles and an explosion of platforms demanding constant storytelling.
But to frame this moment as a downturn is to miss what is actually happening.
What we are seeing is a rebalancing of where, how and why creative work happens. And Georgia is uniquely positioned to weather that shift and to lead it.
For nearly two decades, Georgia has proven what smart policy, strong partnerships and long-term thinking can accomplish. Communities across the state have built infrastructure, trained workforces, welcomed productions and aligned local leadership around the creative industries. That foundation matters now more than ever.
The next phase, however, requires a broader lens.
A Production Hub with an Intellectual Property Engine
Traditionally, film incentives have been evaluated through a production lens: spend, payroll, hotel nights and immediate economic impact. Those metrics still matter. But the global creative economy has moved beyond single-medium pipelines.
Today, the most valuable asset is not the film itself, it is the intellectual property and people behind it.
Think of creative ideas and intellectual property as sitting in the palm of a hand. Stories, characters, concepts and formats originate there. From that palm extend multiple fingers representing all the ways this intellectual property can be monetized: film, television, gaming, music, live experiences, sports content, merchandise, tourism and digital platforms. The same story can travel across all of the monetization channels.
Georgia’s opportunity is to be the place where the palm lives. That means supporting environments where ideas are born, refined, owned and scaled.
The Convergence Is Already Happening
Film is an important part of entertainment, but certainly not siloed.
Sports organizations are now media companies. Music festivals are cinematic experiences. Gaming engines are becoming production tools. Live events generate content that lives far beyond a single night. Tourism marketing is increasingly story-driven and cinematic by design.
Georgia already sits at the intersection of these worlds.
Our film infrastructure overlaps with sports venues, music ecosystems, universities, gaming talent and fast-growing creative communities in cities and rural towns alike. When local leaders align these assets intentionally, the result is a production win. And it’s long-term economic development.
We are seeing this play out in communities that understand the full value chain: supporting creative workers who live locally, attracting projects that return repeatedly and generating sustained tourism impact that compounds year after year.
The creative economy is the older brother of the innovation economy. It is a workforce strategy, a tourism strategy and an economic competitiveness strategy.
Film production may fluctuate year to year, but creative ecosystems are durable. In places like Columbus, Savannah, Fayetteville, Athens, Macon and Atlanta, they attract young talent, retain skilled workers, activate underused real estate and create identity for communities competing on a national and global stage.
Georgia’s leadership has long understood this. The alliances formed between the state, local governments, educational institutions, labor and industry have made Georgia a model others are trying to replicate.
That means continuing to modernize policy where needed and recognizing that incentives alone are not the whole story. Education, health and wellness, quality of life, community engagement and cross-industry collaboration all play a role.
The Path Forward
Georgia does not need to chase every trend or outspend every competitor. Our advantage has never been about flash. It has been about credibility, partnership and intelligence.
If we lean into the convergence of film, sports, gaming, music and live experiences and if we position Georgia as a place where ideas originate and grow – we will continue to attract projects, talent and investment even as the global landscape shifts. Leaning in helps us future-proof it.
This moment calls for confidence. The creative economy is evolving into a full blown innovation economy touching every industry segment. And with thoughtful leadership and continued collaboration, the next chapter of storytelling, across every medium, can be written right here in the Peach State.
This story originally appeared in James Magazine
