Experts explain importance of film industry in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The movie industry has been booming in the Peach State and here at home with the best tax incentives in the country since around 2008.

Our parent company, Gray, is getting ready to open a huge production studio in Atlanta called The Assembly.

Film Augusta recently announced a studio in the works for Augusta, too.

However, the tax incentives that keep our pipeline to Hollywood flowing are under review by the state and could be in jeopardy.

Money, big stars, and big films are finding their way to the Garden City.

“Film has definitely made an impact in Augusta. If we were to estimate conservatively, probably between $5-8 million over a 5-year period,” said Jennifer Bowen, film liaison for Film Augusta.

With huge state tax credits luring production to the Peach State over the past several years, we’ve seen blockbusters like The Hill with Dennis Quaid, Suicide Squad with the old Augusta jail as a backdrop, and Agent Game brought Mel Gibson to town.

“It automatically created a buzz in downtown Augusta that really reverberated out to the rest of the city. ‘Mel Gibson is in town,’ ‘Did you see Mel Gibson?’ And there’s pride and excitement in that,” said Bowen.

Remember the iconic scene from Hunger Games? That’s the dam near Clarks Hill Lake. Most recently, Five Star Murder, almost entirely shot in Augusta, with some of it in News 12′s studio with Meteorologist Riley Hale making a cameo.

Mark Crump, producer for Marvista Entertainment, said: “There’s the Five Star Murder slate that was used on the film.”

Crump works in the film industry and has seen Augusta’s star rise.

“It has created jobs. It has created educational programs where we have trained more people. It’s really been a boon to our area that a lot of people don’t even really know the amount of money that’s been spent,” he said.

Part of Crump’s job is budgeting for some of the films that are shot in Augusta.

“Here’s the budget for one that’s getting ready to start production,” he said. “This is all the money that would go to just the truck drivers on that project. Days of shooting are $36 an hour at 14 hours. These are the kinds of things. That’s just a truck driver.”

“At the end, we’re looking at $13 million that could be spent, and that’s the tax credit,” said Crump.

Big breaks luring big bucks here to a city that’s already a star in the golf world, quickly making a name for itself in the star world.

Right now, the state review panel is meeting once a month to recommend whether to change those tax incentives for film companies to shoot here or cap them.

Those in the film industry argue that without them the movie booms we’ve seen and all the revenue that comes with it will dry up.

They’re expected to make their recommendations in January when lawmakers reconvene.

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