The easiest way to kill success is to take it for granted. The growth in Georgia’s entertainment industry has been an unqualified success. Georgia’s leaders are taking steps to quantify where the industry currently stands in the state, as well as to prepare to anchor the industry for years to come.
The Georgia House of Representatives currently has a study committee focused on the creative arts and entertainment industry. The groups second meeting, held last week at the Capitol, featured Lee Thomas, the deputy commissioner of Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment for Georgia’s Department of Economic Development. A veteran of the entertainment business, Thomas now shepherds the industry’s efforts on behalf of the state.
Thomas’ presentation led with a historical perspective of the industry’s growth. From when the film office was created in 1973 by Gov. Jimmy Carter until 2008, the industry had a cumulative $5 billion economic impact on the state. In 2018 alone, the industry had 455 projects based in the state, spending $2.7 billion in direct dollars and having an economic impact in just one year of $9.5 billion dollars.
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