Atlanta Now On The Map For Movie & TV Production

NEW MOVIE STUDIO COMING TO ATLANTA

Move over Hollywood!

Many of us in the movie and TV production community here in Atlanta knew months ago that EUE/Screen Gems planned to lease the property at the former Lakewood Fairgrounds near downtown for production. Now it is official.

The Atlanta Journal-Constituion has published an article claiming that this is the first "state-of-the-art" movie production facility in Atlanta. Well, not quite. Not yet.

http://www.ajc.com/business/ready-for-your-close-528580.html


Riverwood Studios in Senoia, Georgia south of Atlanta has been operational for years. The Tyler Perry Studios and huge backlot with standing street sets opened in November 2008. While Riverwood is open to the public for rental and while Mr. Perry's studio is not, his facility is the latest up-to-date production complex in Atlanta.

Word on the street is that Screen Gems will first produce a FAST AND FURIOUS sequel at their new Lakewood complex using existing buildings. State-of-the-art upgrades and new construction will come at some point in the future.

Versfelt Communications Group shot for EUE/Screen Gems at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards held in Atlanta. The focus was on the stars and creative executives behind NOTORIOUS who attended the awards event and a lavish after-party at an Atlanta mansion.

Many in the film and TV production community and the Georgia Production Partnership (GPP) have worked hard for many years to encourage production in Atlanta and Georgia. The lobbying for the state-wide film production tax incentives worked in a big way. In 2008 and 2009 Atlanta hosted more productions here than Los Angeles did.

Hollywood is looking east and south. Not a week goes by that I don't receive many job applicants from experienced movie and TV production people defecting to Atlanta.

Let's hope that the new competition for jobs won't freeze out Atlanta-based crew who are very qualified as well.

Here are more stories about the Screen Gems move:

http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=144106

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/may/17/studio-expands-outside-of-state/


http://www.wsbtv.com/entertainment/23532642/detail.html


http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/entertainment/Film-Studio-Coming-to-Atlanta-051310


http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2010/05/10/daily35.html


FREE MUSIC LIBRARY FOR POST-PRODUCTION

Last evening I stumbled across this subsidiary of Wikipedia offering free and often public domain music for movie and TV production: Wiki Commons.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Music_sound


Wiki Commons also offers free-use photos as well. This is a huge resource for those of us who are producing content.