ATLANTA — Nearly two weeks after the Georgia Film Office released a 'best practice guide' for resuming business for TV, film, and streaming productions, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans to reopen the industry as a means to help jump-start the state’s economy following the coronavirus pandemic.
An estimated 40,000 production workers will gain employment as 75 production projects are expected to launch over the next 18 months, Kemp wrote in a statement Friday.
According to the Motion Picture Association-America, which compiled the data from its members, that estimate will also be the result of major productions supporting more than 17,000 Georgia businesses.
These productions have supported the state’s economic supply chain over the years.
The major production companies, which are members of MPA-America, include The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros.
In 2019, the 391 film and television productions filmed in Georgia supported 3,040 motion picture and television industry businesses.
"Production companies want to be in Georgia and create tens of thousands of jobs for workers across the state, and today's announcement is welcome news as we continue safely reopening our state," Governor Kemp said. "I thank the Georgia Film Office for their work during the pandemic, and I thank the production companies who always vowed to return to Georgia when the time was right for them to safely get back to work.”
Mega-producer Tyler Perry is the first to set a start date for productions to resume.
On July 8, Perry's BET series "Sistas" will begin production again at his studios in southwest Atlanta, according to Deadline.
Then on July 28, his other BET series "The Oval" will pick back up.
On April 27, the mogul outlined a plan that includes a COVID-19 testing protocol for all cast and crew.
Back in March, 11Alive’s Ryan J. Dennis spoke with Bert Brantley, CEO of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, during Georgia Film Day, which celebrates the economic benefits that the TV and film industry has had on the state.
“So, the real number that we focus on is the direct spending,” Brantley said. "These are the dollars that production companies spend in Georgia, and that’s $2.9 billion in 2019."
"People can talk about the economic impact of what those dollars are but you can’t dispute where those dollars are spent in Georgia. They’re spent employing Georgians, catering, restaurants, hotels, really all across Atlanta, and all across Georgia,” Brantley added. "We really want to celebrate those dollars coming in the state, and turning our economy."
Films like ” “Jumanji,” and hit shows like "Stranger Things," "Ozark" and HBO's "Watchmen" have all contributed to making the state the top location for filming last year.
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