Movie makers plan sprawling studio

[LPPT]

This may be good for the Paulding movies studio in the way that large anchor stores bring business to a mall and small stores benefit.

How often have we heard the question how will a movie studio bring jobs to Paulding. The answer was the money spent on movies helped the existing economy.

This project could change all that. The opportunity to learn the trade is a huge step in bringing the film industry to Georgia to stay.

 

LINK

 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution A group of metro Atlanta investors have submitted plans to build what is believed to be the largest film studio complex in Georgia.

 

The studio will open next year in the north-central part of Fayette County on 288 acres, initially with five sound stages. The investment group, Rivers Rock LLC, is in talks with Pinewood Studios Group in London to run the complex once it opens in the spring of 2014. "The Hobbit" and the Harry Potter and James Bond film series are among the cache of films in Pinewood Studio's stable of movies.

 

Opening with an initial 305,000 square feet of space, the Fayette complex will dwarf other area film studios because it will have a lot of room to expand, according to Matt Forshee, president and chief executive of the Fayette County Development Authority, which has been working for a year to get the project to fruition.

 

As it stands now, EUE/Screen Gems' 33-acre facility in the nearby Lakewood area of Atlanta is one of the largest stages in the country at 37,500 square feet, according to state film office data. It has a total of five sound stages, offering more than 150,000 square feet of production space.

 

The Fayette complex will be near the Fayette Piedmont Hospital at the intersection of Sandy Creek Road and Veterans Parkway, also known as the West Fayetteville Bypass. The Fayette facility would be expanded in future phases as demand for sound stages and film production space increases. The initial investment is expected to be about $20 million, with construction slated to begin this spring. In addition to the five sound studios, there will be mill shops, special effects facilities, and production and administrative offices. Forshee's office has been working with Rivers Rock and Pinewood Studios for more than a year to bring the project to fruition.

 

In addition to churning out films, the state-of-the-art complex in Fayette will at some point serve as a training ground for new filmmakers, lighting and grip professionals and other film industry workers. That training is a partnership between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 479 and Clayton State University, which is in the process of opening a film school. The state ends up having to bring in film workers from North Carolina, California and Louisiana when productions are done here.

 

"It's designed to meet current needs of the film industry in Georgia. There's a need for crew members," said Janet Winkler, executive director of Clayton State University's continuing education department, which will oversee the new film school.

 

Wednesday's announcement comfortably catapults the region to the forefront of filmmaking in Georgia, which did more than $3.5 billion in film work last year, up from about $244 million when the state passed its Entertainment Industry Investment Act in 2008 to provide tax incentives to film and TV production companies.

[Just Me Again]

Looks like competition for the business in Paulding to me. I have always thought the Movie business was a risk for our county. I hope I am wrong.

[LPPT]

Looks like competition for the business in Paulding to me. I have always thought the Movie business was a risk for our county. I hope I am wrong.

 

That is a pretty common view held by many. Especially some in business. Having a choice of multiple studios and locations actually make it more worth while for producers from California and New york to make the trip to Ga. Having everything they need already here is further enticement.

We have a smaller studio but we may also have a much less expensive facility depending on their needs.

I feel more positive about our studio becoming more successful by this news. We will probably see more potential investors coming to Georgia in relationship to the industry.

[anjer1]

Atlanta has a very large Studio.

[mei lan]

Doesn't Tyler Perry have one at/near Greenbriar Mall as well?