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J o u r noaf C D i s c i p l i n e/sS e p t ' O c2t 0 0 1

l reative

aauffi
 MichaelGoles, Chairman
oftheGeorgia Filmand
24
o VideotapeAdvisory Board,
t
spearheads legislation
to
to attractfilmproduction
o

bY
courtneY bvKenTakata
Barnes / vhorowphv
to G eo rgi a.storY
Filmmakers
aredrawnto the Southeast's
l u s h ,c h a m e l e o n - l i k lea n d s c a p et h a t
rangesfrom subtropicalwetlandsthat
canresemblethe ricepattiesof Vietnam
to quainttree-linedold townsthat can
passfor New Englandfishingvillages.A
solidinfrastructure
of studiosand skilled
crewsalsoenticesthe film and videoin-
dustrytogo south. Butthe ultimatelure
for filmmakersis a financialincentive.
LastApril,GovernorRoyBarnessigned
H o u s eB i l l6 10 , l a n d m a r kl e g i s l a t i o n
grantingtax incentivesto production
companiesthat shootfilmsin Georgia,
to givethe statea competitiveedge in
attractinglucrativeprojects.Entrepre-
neurMichaelColes,Chairman
of the
GeorgiaFilmandVideotapeAdvisory
Commission,spearheaded
the legislation.
"Thislegislationis the firstmajor
stepGeorgiahastakento helpthe (film)
industryand to showit takesthe business
seriously,"explains
GregTorre,Director
of the GeorgiaFilmandVideotapeOffice.
"l'm ecstatic,"
remarksMatt
Timmons,VicePresidentof the Georgia
ProductionPartnership(GPP),
who par-
yearlong
ticipatedin the aggressive
c a m p a i g nt o p a s st h e B i l l .T i m m o n s
believesCole'sinfluencewasa crucial
factorin the recentchangesunderthe
drafteda wish listof imorovementswe
wantedto implementovera fiveyear
period,and tax incentiveswereat the
top ofthe list."
AccordingtoTimmons,"Withthe
backingofColesand Barnesit passed
remarkablyswiftlyand it is a big win for
a smallprice.The(film)business
isa non-
p o l l u t i n gi n d u s t r yt h a t c a n d r o p a n y -
wherefrom 52-510million(of revenue)
into a town during a production.Someof
the generalpublicmay perceivethe tax
breaksasa 'freeride'for filmmakersbut
manyotherbusinesses-rental
caragen-
cies,hotels,restaurants-benefit when
productionscome in." Overthe years,
the film industryhasgeneratedover 53
billionin revenuesfor Georgiatecono-
my,accordingto the Governor's
office.
Timmonsgoeson to saythat the
legislationlevelsthe playingfield for
Georgiaasit competeswith other in-
dustry-friendly
stateslikeNorthCarolina,
which offersfi lmmakersa 1Yocap on
salesand usetaxesrelatedto produc-
tion equipment.
"NorthCarolinaisthe numberthree
statein the country,afterCaliforniaand
N e w Y o r kf o r f i l m p r o d u c t i o nn o t b e -
c a u s ei t o f f e r sb e t t e r l o c a t i o n st h a n
Georgiabut becauseit becamevery
a^dra<<ir/F ah6r rt <nliritino
the pasttwo decadeson itsown unpre-
cedentedgrowth and economicsuc-
cessfrom a varietyof industries,
aswell
asthe challengesthat comewith rapid
develooment."
Georgiaonce rankedamongthe
top five statesfor film productionactiv-
i t y b u t d u r i n gt h e m i d -1 9 9 0 sd r o p p e d
to numbernine. Colescontinues,'Al-
though JimmyCarterestablisheda film
commissionwhen he wasgovernor,it
hastakenGeorgiaa while to demon-
stratewe arevery seriousabout the
business.In the past,localperceptions
about the film industrymay havebeen
a factorsinceit was not a traditional
'smokestack'industry would come
that
i n a n d b u i l da l a s t i n gm a n u f a c t u r i n g
Dlantin a town."
Nory,horuever,with NorthGrolina
enjoyingaverageannualrevenuesof
5350millionand total revenuesof 55
wantsa bigger portion
billion,Georgia
marketshare."l
ofthe Southeastern
think we all haveNorth Carolinaenvy,"
quipsColes.Wilmington,North Carolina,
hometo 800crew membersand Screen
GemsStudios,the
largestfilmstudioeast
of California,
hasbuilt a strongeconomy
aroundnumerousfeaturefilm,television
and commercialproductionsincluding
m o r e f i l m m a k e r sa n d C o l e ss a y s , " l
w a s n o t a t a l l s u r p r i s e dt h e l e g i s l a -
tion passed."
GregTorrepointsout that Barnes
m a d e i t k n o w n d u r i n g h i sc a m p a i g n
f o r g o v e r n o rt h a t h e a p p r e c i a t e dt h e
e c o n o m i ci m p a c to f t h e f i l m i n d u s t r y
i n G e o r g i aa n d p l a n n e dt o s u p p o r ti t .
"TheGovernorreallyshepherded(HB
610)through the fascinating,multi-lay-
ered processof passage,"Torre
says.
H o u s eB i l l6 1 0h a st w o i n t e g r a l
components.Thefirstgrantsan exemp-
tion from statetaxeson the saleor lease
of certaindigitalor high def equipment
for broadcaststations.Theother segment
affectsproducersoftelevisionand mo-
tion pictureproducts.Exemptions
apply
when someor all of a productionis
filmed in Georgia.
Colesviewsthe Billas beingsig-
nificantbecauseof itsbreadthandform.
Thosewho lobbiedfor the legislation,
who spokebeforea state
includingTorre
senatecommitteeand MattTimmons
ofGPBareespeciallypleasedthat HB
610 wasacceptedand passedasit was
originallywritten
I nt h e l a n g u a g eo f t h e B i l l , ' F i l m
Producer'meansany personengaged
in the businessoforganizingand super-
activities'meansthe productionor post ment of RevenuewhereHB610 is under andEaswvood,
andthe longlistoffeature
productionoffilm or videoprojectssuch review.Thelogisticsof implementing filmsthat havebeenfilmed there. Be-
pilots,moviesfor
asfeaturefilms,series, the Bill,when it becomeseffectiveJan- causeit remainsgreenthroughoutthe
television,
commercials,
musicvideos,or uary 1,2002,and the specifictermsof year,Savannah
is alsofavoredfor com-
soundrecordingsusedin featurefilms, the tax exemptionson both products mercialsand it is home to an important
series,pilots,or moviesfor television, and servicesarebeing mappedout. technicalcenter,SCAD,the
Savannah
for which the film produceror film pro- could be grantedtotal
Filmmakers CollegeofArt and Design.Thecity has
duction companywill be compensated exemptionon salesand servicetaxes, itsown film officethat worksin partner-
a n dw h i c ha r ei n t e n d e df o r n a t i o n w i d e or greatlyreducedtaxesas in North shipwith the stateoffice.
c o m m e r c i adl i s t r i b u t i o n . Carolina."l'm optimistic,"saysTorre, "When'FriedGreenTomatoes'
Productionequipmentis clearly " T h em e e t i n g sa r eg o i n gw e l l a n dl ' v e wasfilmed in Juliette,Georgia
around
definedasitemspurchasedor leased found membersof the department 1990the town only had one business. 25
for useexclusivelyin qualifiedproduc- favorableto our interests." Afterthe film'sreleaseat least12 new
o
t i o n si n G e o r g i ai n
, c l u d i n gb, u t n o t l i m - Thisphase-rules and regula- werecreatedand they still
businesses
ited to,cameras,camera
supplies,cam-
=
tions-representsthe end of a long existtoday,"says
Coles.Noted Land-
o
eraaccessories,
lightingequipment, journeyforTorreand HB610. Although scapeArchitectFrederick
LawOlmstead
generators,
cables,wires, motion pic- it waswidely known that the Governor d e s i g n e dp a r to f t h e D r u i dH i l l sn e i g h - !
z
ture film and videotapestock,cranes, supportedthe legislationand no oppo- borhood in Atlanta,but often it isthe
teleprompters.HB
booms,dollies,and sitionto the Eillemerged,Torre
saysthe community'sassociation
with"Driving
6 l 0 s p e c i f i e s ' p r o d u c t i os ne r v i c e st o' way in which a bill becomesa law is"an MissDaisy"thatdrawsthe attentionof
o
be servicespurchasedfor useonly in amazingprocessthat keepsyou on a wide audiencewho enjoyswalking
Georgia,including,but not limitedto, oinsand needles."Numerousfactors toursofthe areaeachspring. Non-prof-
digitalor tape editing,film processing, can sabotagea bill beforeit everreach- it institutionslikeAgnesScottCollege,
transfersoffilm to tape or digitalfor es a governor. CallanwoldeFineArtsCenter,andthe
mat,soundmixing,computergraphics Anyonewho watchedSaturday AtlantaHistoryCenter,earnincomeby
services,
specialeffectsservices,
anima- morningcartoonsin the 70smay re- rentingtheir facilitiesas locationsfor
scriptproduction.
tion services,and m e m b e r8 i l l ,a n a n i m a t e dr o l lo f p a p e r filmsor photographyshoots.Agnes
Torrehasspenta greatdealof w h o s a n g " l ' mj u s ta b i l l .Y e s , I ' m
o n l ya Scott'sGothicRevivalarchitecture
t i m de d u c a t i n gb u s i n e sasn d g o v e r n - bill.And I'm sittinghereon CapitolHill," resemblesan lvy Leagueschooland
ment leadersabout the film industry a n dt a u g h tk i d sa b o u tl a w m a k i n gd u r - the Decaturwomenl collegehasbeen
and likesto emphasizethat,froman ing ABCl"Schoolhouse
Rock."He usedin moviesrangingfrom "TheFour
economicstandpoint,afilm is a manu- summedup the processin a nutshell. Seasons"to"Scream
ll."
facturedproduct,similarto a building. Firsta group of citizens-in this case Thinkingabout the big picture,
P r o d u c t i oe
n q u i p m e n itsa n a l o g o utso Georgia's
fi lm community-share con- MichaelColessays,"Early
on I kept ask-
Iumberand tools usedto constructa cernswith their senatorsand lobbyfor ing'Whatcanwe do to attractmore
dwelling,and actors,animatorsor spe- new legislation.GeorgiaRepresenta- productions?'Then
I decidedto reframe
cialeffectstechniciansarecomparable tivesJeanetteJamiesonof District22 the questionandask'Whywouldanyone
to carpenters,
masonsor designers. and DavidGravesof District125 decided secondquestion
cometo Georgia?'The
new point of purchaseexemp-
Georgia's to sponsorHouseBill610. lt circulated helpsus to accuratelyseeour assets. Tfs{inl?m'd'o
tionswillsavesubstantialsums
of money
for businesspeoplewho producefilms
throughseveralHouseand Senatecom-
mitteesbeforebeingsignedby the
Asidefrom competingfor businesswith
neighboringstates,wehaveto compete xnns
*Jds*
hereand will motivatethem to keep Governor.Mostbillsdie in committee with the globalmarket,thephenome-
work in the state.Accordingto the statet or may spendyearsin the capitol.Torre non of runawayproductionsto Canada
shouldproveto
FilmOffice,Georgia sayshe was unfamiliarwith this process and other sites.
haveone ofthe most effectiveand initially,but that it revealeditselfasthe "WhenI startedmy cookiebusi-
beneficialtax incentivesamong its team went along. ness(TheGreatAmericanCookieCom-
comoetitionin the united states. Recentlythe stategovernment p a n y )| w a s n o t t h e o n l y o n e o n t h e
"RobertRedfordtold me he had a furtherdemonstrateditssupportof block,so I had to find waysto do things
betterexperienceworking in Georgia, Georgia's
FilmandVideotapeOffice a littledifferentlyand a little better,"he
shooting'TheLegendof BaggerVance,' with a budget increasefor marketing, adds."TheAdvisoryCommissionplans
than filming in any other statein the followingthe leadof both Northand to leaveno economicstoneunturned
country.Thereis no questionGeorgia SouthCarolina.Filmshavea ripple and we want the Georgiafilm commu-
hasa reputationfor providingoutstan- effecton the economyand benefit nity to know we arehereto servethem.
Coles."l'm immensely
ding service,"says communitiesand institutionsin ways Somestateshaveactuallyestablisheda
impressedwith GregTorreand his that aresometimeshardto measure. pool of moneyusedto issuetashback'
team-they becomepartnerswith Tourismis clearlyimpactedby films. incentivesto very largeproductions.
filmmakers,
helpingthem locatewhat Moviessuchas"Midnightin the Garden However,I don't seeGeorgiagetting
they need. Thisis what securesrepeat of Goodand Evil,""ForrestGump,"and into the businessof auctioningto the
business.Georgiais blessedwith the "TheLegendof BaggerVance,"that highestbidder.HB610isourfirststep-
mosttalentedcrewsand outstanding showcasethe graciousarchitecture, likebuildinga qualityhome,sometimes
locations,fromSavannahto the moun- leafygardens,and flamboyantcharac- constructiondoesnot moveas swiftly
tains,andnow with our tax incentives haveattractedleqions
tersof Savannah asone wantsbut with a soundfounda-
we canoffera truly desirablepackage ofvisitorsto the city. tion the housewill lastfor generations.