Zombies, Car Chases Generate $5.1 Billion for GA Film Industry

The 158 feature film and television productions shot in Georgia during the past fiscal year brought more than zombies, car chases and death-defying tournaments to the state.

They also brought a total of $5.1 billion to the state’s economy, along with nearly 80,000 jobs and investment opportunities for Georgians, says Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal in a press release. The film and TV industry has also generated tourism.

“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,” Deal said.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, the film and television industry is responsible for more than 77,900 jobs -- $3.8 billion in total wages paid -- in Georgia. Companies such as Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal and Disney paid $696 million to 4,066 local businesses in Georgia in 2012.

“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.”

Most productions are hiring people already located in Georgia and paying vendors already in the state instead of bringing in people from out of state, according to a video created by the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office to share the impact the industry has had on the state.

But the Hollywood boom is due in part to the use of Georgia taxpayer money.

Georgia has some of the more generous incentives in the nation, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and if those incentives ended the film and TV production would likely leave the state.

Production companies can earn a credit of up to 30 percent of what they spend on qualifying projects. Film tax credits cost the state a total of $250 million from 2008 to 2011, the newspaper reports.

Big budget box-office productions filmed in Georgia in fiscal year 2014 include “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2,” “Insurgent,” “Taken 3” and “Fast and Furious 7.”

Georgia was also the location for the embattled Gregg Allman movie, “Midnight Rider,” though production has halted after a freight train plowed through the set, killing camera assistant Sarah Jones in February.

Television productions filmed in the state 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.

Producers for “The Walking Dead” have even built a 15-foot-high wall near Senoia, a prop for season 5 to keep “walkers,” flesh-eating zombies, out and create a safe haven for the survivors of the apocalypse.

Georgia-filmed movies scheduled to open in theaters soon include “Last of Robin Hood” starring Kevin Kline, “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon, “Kill the Messenger” starring Jeremy Renner, “Dumb and Dumber To” starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1” starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Georgia’s Film Industry Video