If you’ve ever stuck around until the end credits of a major movie or TV show, then you’ve probably seen the “Made in Georgia” logo. That small logo tacked on the end credits can save productions hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars.

There are so many reasons to be proud of our state. But I’d like to share with you something that Georgia has quietly done which should be not only a point of pride for all of us, but should also give us a sense of optimism about our collective future and the role our state will play in the burgeoning entertainment, technology and creative industries.

There were triumphs on other fronts but not sufficient to pull the box office back to pre-pandemic levels. Although worldwide gross has sprung from $12.4 billion in 2020 to $21 billion in 2021, it’s still only 75% of the 2019 figure.

As this story is being written, Peter Parker’s latest saga has already become the 10th biggest domestic release in history. Globally, Tom Holland’s latest outing as the web-slinging hero has become the 12th highest earning movie of all time. With its $1.37 billion earnings, Spider-Man handed Sony Pictures its biggest-grossing title.

A group of students from Mill Creek High School’s Computer Science Club have developed a series of educational video games created exclusively for young people with autism.

After seeing such success, it was only natural for the company to expand. The question for miHoYo was: where to go? That question was answered in November when the Chinese developer announced they were setting their sights on the west and establishing an office in Montreal, Canada.

The BBBA eliminates a permitted exclusion in the Net Investment Income tax provisions by subjecting all trade or business income of individuals with earnings over $400,000 (individual) or $500,000 (married couples) to the 3.8% net investment income tax—except to the extent already subject to self-employment tax.

As more colleges offer scholarships for students interested in careers in the booming video game industry, more girls are jumping on board. Some of them are right here in Georgia.

We all know that films are typically filmed or set in places like New York City or Paris. While films are not increasingly set in Georgia, within the last 15 years, they sure are filmed here. 

“I had to do research. I reached out to the Georgia Film Office. I talked to industry professionals [and] economic development partners. I reached out to the city of Savannah, who had a film commission before us. I visited Film Los Angeles, then provided all of that research to the county commissioners and the CEO.”

DreamHack has announced the 2022 world tour schedule today as part of its annual “DreamHack Day”, a celebration of the festival’s past and early beginnings in 1994, as well as its present and future.

One of the most beloved concerts of the year returns on Christmas Day. The Annual Savannah Jazz Christmas Concert and Jam will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the JW Marriott’s Plant Riverside District in the beautiful Salzburg Ballroom.

In October, a three-day film and production workshop was held for all students, but specifically for students in high-crime areas to get hands-on knowledge about careers in the film industry.

The biggest new production the past month is Disney’s big-budget “Guardians of the Galaxy 3″ starring Chris Pratt. ABC has started production of its new prime-time show “Judge Steve Harvey.” And Netflix has begun shooting a Marlon Wayans comedy with “Stranger Things” breakout star and Atlanta resident Priah Ferguson. And a raft of Twitch shows have begun shooting as well.

In a large house nestled in an affluent Snellville neighborhood, a young woman reclines on a fluffy white sofa wielding a card and a pen. She wears a formal scarlet gown, a matching hat, and a focused stare—like someone straight out of an Agatha Christie mystery—which isn’t too far off.

As COVID-19 began spreading through a South Georgia immigration jail, one detainee fashioned a face mask from a sock. Another used a headphone cord to secure a plastic cup over his face.

We’ve been putting on these holiday parties for more than a decade now, bringing together members of the GGDA, Atlanta Game Dev Meetup, IndieCluster, IGDA and more. Join us Dec. 14 at the Doraville Digital Studio (the same place we held SIEGE) for our annual game industry holiday party.

Currently, the global eSport industry is valued over $1.08 billion and is projected to grow to $1.62 billion by 2024. With an industry boom, Georgia and other states are taking a closer look at how they’re responding to the income and revenue generated by the eSports industry and professional players.

In the past few years sim racing has experienced a growth in popularity. In 2020 that growth was maximized when NASCAR races were cancelled because of covid and sim racing was broadcast live on national TV. Now sim racing is getting its first feature film. ‘The Sim Racer’ was produced by Brock Drury, a Georgia native.

The virtual ME Film Festival kicked off last week, with a selection of 7 animated short films on Stream Moko. Each film had a designated start date and will be available to watch on the MOKO platform for a duration of one week. 

Ghost Gaming announced it has acquired the esports content organization One Percent and appointed the One Percent Chief Executive Officer, Julian “Aeolus” Castro, as Managing Director of Content and Community for Ghost.

Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, and WarnerMedia – last month were awarded a collective 193 Green Seals from the Environmental Media Association (EMA), the leading nonprofit recognizing sustainability in the media industry.

A coming-of-age, rock and roll comedy film shot in Columbus had two advanced screenings in the city . “Electric Jesus,” from writer and director Chris White and wife Emily, follows the exploits of a young, Stryper-inspired Christian band in the summer of 1986.

Some see this time as a chance to lower the field’s carbon emissions, grow the green economy and even position Massachusetts as a leader in green film production. With a wide range of enthusiasm levels, however, the consensus among those interviewed suggests that getting there would take a lot of doing.

The School of Film, Media & Theatre in Georgia State’s College of the Arts will offer its first Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in Digital Filmmaking* with a Filmmaking concentration beginning next fall.

Moonshine and Bare Knuckles started preparing for this year’s Halloween in September 2020 on the stage and cutting room of Creepshow Seasons 2 and 3. Amidst a global shutdown, we helped make back-to-back seasons for Shudder’s streaming platform and AMC television—just in time for spooky season.

Under the banner theme “Virtual / Vital / Visionary,” SAG-AFTRA kicked off its fifth biennial National Convention Friday afternoon. The convention began Oct. 15 and runs through Oct. 18. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher officially opened the event by inviting first responders, active duty and veteran delegates to lead the pledge of allegiance.

A local Columbus organization is calling for all school-aged children to come learn how to make their own commercial. It’s part of an effort to stop the violence.

Disney is coming to Coastal Georgia for a new feature film. And it’s just in time for Halloween. According to Tammy Smith Casting, a Disney feature film is scheduled to shoot in Brunswick later this month.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents crew members ranging from technicians to makeup artists, came to an agreement with the group that represents producers such as Netflix, Viacom, Paramount and Disney. IATSE has 6,000 members in Georgia and 60,000 overall.

“Our team is stronger and deeper than ever. We’re so grateful for everyone who works with us – for their constant vigilance and endless oversight – who help us do what we do! We’re now offering rapid molecular testing via Cue devices. With Cue, we can test over a dozen people in about 20 minutes.”

Current awards include: Best Game $500, Made in Georgia $100, Best Production $100, Best Design $100, Most Fun $100, Best Student Game $100, Best Analog Game $100, Best Audio $100, Best Art $100, Best Booth $100, Audience (SIEGE) Choice $100

There was a day not all that long ago that movies set in Minnesota were actually filmed here, too. Fargo, Purple Rain, Grumpy Old Men—they’re all films that helped put Minnesota on the Hollywood map.

The Georgia Latino Film Alliance (GALFA) has appointed Julie Ann Crommett, a former Walt Disney Studios, NBC Universal and Google exec, as its new board chair.

Roughly 17,000 set designers, make-up artists and other behind-the-scenes film and TV production workers who helped make Georgia an East Coast rival to Hollywood might walk off the set if their national union and the producers’ guild don’t negotiate a new contract.

Making it to the top five was Dear Evan Hansen, Stephen Chbosky’s movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical which continued to underperform with $2.4 million. The film, top-billed by Ben Platt who reprises his stage role on the big screen, has made only $11.7 million so far.

Because video games are a mix of creative content and technology, there are many types of businesses that benefit, and/or benefit from,  video game development.  Past presenters have included:

We are glad to announce a mix of new and veteran SIEGE speakers when SIEGE2021 goes online Nov. 5 & 6, with great presentations online and safe networking events in person. The first sessions we have announced include:

Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s well-received feature adaptation of roughly the first half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science-fiction novel, debuted impressively in the international market, especially in Russia, Italy, Germany, and France.

The decision was made in light of the current situation surrounding Covid-19 and the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the virus as part of ongoing efforts to keep the health and safety of DreamHack staff and visitors a priority.

This year our annual SIEGE Investment Conference will be hybrid, with pitch teams presenting at Axis Replay to judges both virtual and in person.

The industry’s top concern at the Capitol is the film and TV tax credit, which provides a 20-25% discount on eligible production spending in the state. In July, Newsom signed a two-year expansion of the program, bringing it to $420 million a year, and indicated he would support making that increase permanent.

The Motion Picture Association congratulates Fran Drescher on being elected the new President of SAG-AFTRA. The last year and a half have demonstrated yet again how much we can get done as an industry when we work collaboratively together.

They watched eight short films ranging from two to 20 minutes produced by college student filmmakers from the United States and Germany. Following the screening, the students participated in a Q&A session with four of the filmmakers.

With the demand and need for sound stages and production space in Savannah growing, the news of a new studio opening in December 2022 was welcoming news and the talk of the town for the film community in Savannah.

Two films starring Gerard Butler and a Disney flick starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have been shot in Georgia in recent years.

Governor Brian P. Kemp announced the allocation of $5.8 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to Explore Georgia, the tourism division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). Kemp shared the news with tourism industry professionals from across the state at the Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference, an annual industry event.

Previously known as the Milledgeville-Eatonton Film Festival, the ME Film Festival is announcing new dates and a new location for screenings. The 8th Annual ME Film Festival will be taking place Nov. 15 – 21, 2021 in Eatonton, GA. Screenings will be shown at the Plaza Arts Center located at 305 N Madison Avenue in downtown Eatonton.

In light of the recent Delta variant surge and fan feedback regarding travel, mask mandates and increased risk, the Fandemic Dead event, originally scheduled at the Georgia World Congress Center for Sept. 17-19, has been postponed to March 18-20, 2022 in the same locale.

Home audiences around the world will have the chance to see two major new productions from The Atlanta Opera next month, with Spotlight Media’s release of The Threepenny Carmen, starring Megan Marino, Richard Trey Smagur and Michael Mayes (Aug 12), and The Threepenny Opera, featuring Jay Hunter Morris, Ronnita Miller and Gina Perregrino (Aug 19).

The alternative venue at Savannah Station is designed to meet the dual goals of presenting world-class jazz and blues free of charge to the City of Savannah while adhering to the guidelines of promoting the health and safety of our musicians, attendees, sponsors, and suppliers.  

Located just 3 miles from downtown Savannah, Fort Jackson began construction in 1808 as part of President Jefferson’s Second System coastal defense…

With less than a month left, The FRIENDS™ Experience wraps its massively successful run in Atlanta on Sunday, Sept. 26.  The 18k square foot immersive experience created by Superfly X, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Television Group, won’t be back in the Peach State, so there is a very limited time to still check it out.

Roam, a coworking operator, will open a new location in September inside the Two-Ten office building within Town at Trillith in Fayetteville. The mixed-use project is located adjacent to Trilith Studios, a 1,000-acre movie studio formerly known as Pinewood Atlanta Studios that has produced movies such as Avengers: Endgame and Ant-Man.

Tosca Musk, the younger sister of entrepreneurs Elon and Kimbal Musk, also is moving her permanent residence to south Fulton County and locating her production office in Palmetto.

Burnett is known for developing reality competition shows “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” as well as a raft of faith-based television and film projects such as “The Bible,” “Son of God” and “Woodlawn.”

“The unprecedented record-breaking numbers we are seeing for the state of Georgia with its film and entertainment efforts, we certainly in DeKalb County are seeing that too,” Decide DeKalb Development Authority Director of Marketing and Communications Terra Washington said. 

The FRIENDS™ Experience Atlanta has caused such excitement since opening on July 15that the end date has been extended from Sept. 6 to Sept. 26. Fans can continue revisiting some of the most iconic moments from the hit series, FRIENDS™ at the 17,959-square-foot immersive experience created by Superfly X, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Television Group.