Deal: Film industry generates $5.1 billion in economic impact
Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Georgia-lensed feature films and television productions generated an economic impact of $5.1 billion during Fiscal Year 2014. The 158 feature film and television productions that shot in Georgia spent $1.4 billion during that time.
“Not only has this industry created jobs and investment opportunities for Georgians, it also has revitalized communities, established new educational programs, tourism product and more,” said Deal. “I will continue my commitment to growing this industry and to developing a film-ready workforce to meet the needs of the productions that are setting up shop in Georgia.”
According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the motion picture and television industry is responsible for more than 77,900 jobs and $3.8 billion in total wages in Georgia, including indirect jobs and wages. Nearly 23,500 people are directly employed by the motion picture and television industry in Georgia, including 8,188 production-related employees. The MPAA member companies comprised of Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal and Disney paid $696 million to 4,066 vendors in Georgia in 2012. These local businesses include technology, lodging, real estate and food service.
“The film industry is a powerful economic generator and is creating jobs for Georgians as well as new opportunities to a highly skilled workforce,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Since 2008, more than 90 companies have located in Georgia to support the industry. These new businesses are generating jobs and ensuring the industry’s sustainability in Georgia well into the future.”
On July 1, to assist with providing crew for film productions, Gov. Deal’s High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) focused on the film and digital entertainment industry. The meeting was an opportunity to help identify specific needs of businesses that are producing film, television and digital entertainment projects. These skilled positions require training and special certifications that Georgia is prepared to cultivate and implement through a collective effort between the Georgia Department Economic Development, the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia and key leaders in the entertainment industries in Georgia.
To tell the story of how important this industry is to Georgia, the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office created a video to share with legislators, constituents, industry partners and the public to shine a spotlight on the individuals who are benefiting from this booming industry in Georgia. The informative film is being officially released today and is available for public viewing here.
In FY14 the state saw a rise in the number of big budget box-office productions filming in Georgia, including “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2,” “Insurgent,” “Taken 3”and “Fast and Furious 7.” As these films are released in theaters they will create numerous opportunities for Georgia locations to be seen by millions of people all over the world. It also gives communities in Georgia an opportunity to create tourism-based product at a filming location and beyond. Last year the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office launched the highly popular ComeTourGeorgia.com to respond to the rising demand in film induced tourism. Fans of Georgia-lensed movies and television shows can visit the award-winning site to learn more about Georgia’s film history, movie tours, film locations, destination and events.
Georgia-filmed movies that are scheduled to open in theaters in the coming months include “Last of Robin Hood” starring Kevin Kline; “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon; “Kill the Messenger” starring Jeremy Renner; “Dumb and Dummer To” starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels; and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.” Upcoming television productions that will resume and premiere in the next few months include “The Walking Dead” on AMC, “Constantine” on NBC, “The Red Band Society” on FOX and “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW.
About GDEcD
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts events and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. www.georgia.org