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Published Thursday, August 28, 2008 in Local

Coweta's state senator in Hollywood drumming up movie business

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

Coweta's Senator Mitch Seabaugh is in Hollywood this week, trying to bring more movie money to Georgia and Coweta.

Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, and Paul Lombardi of Riverwood Studios in Senoia, left for California Wednesday afternoon.

Seabaugh will be meeting with movie industry executives, and the Motion Picture Association of America, to talk up Georgia's new income tax credits for film productions.

The tax credits apply to movies, television shows, music videos, and similar productions.

The credits were approved in the 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Seabaugh was instrumental in getting the first film credits passed in 2005, and the newest credits are an extension and enhancement of those.

Going along with Seabaugh is a representative from the Georgia Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment Office, as well as a representative of the Georgia Department of Revenue. Sometimes, he said, he and Lombardi will be meeting with officials together, and other times they will be off doing their own things.

The revenue expert will be able to cover the technical aspects of the tax credit.

"This industry is unique when it comes to applying the tax credit to certain aspects," Seabaugh said. "That's why we're going to answer their questions."

In addition to the meting with the MPAA, "we also have meetings set up with different segments of different studios, that are specially interested in sitting down and talking about what Georgia has to offer, in the way of crew, vehicles, and tax credits," Seabaugh said. "They're looking to bring projects to Georgia."

The whole purpose of the tax incentives is to bring jobs, and money, to Georgia.

The tax credits are a percentage reduction in the Georgia income tax that must be paid by the productions, which means that the companies have to spend money to get the credit.

While most people think of movie stars, stuntmen, and perhaps camera operators when they think about the movie business, there's much more involved than that.

"The things they teach in technical schools are really the heart and soul of the film industry," Seabaugh said.

Those includes carpenters, electricians, food service workers and, especially, hair and makeup artists.

While a movie production needs lots of workers for a short time, "what we're looking to do is bring studios here to make a long-term commitment," Seabaugh said. If a studio sets up an office in Georgia, they'll do project after project. Television shows, which film for about 26 weeks a year, are another long-term influence.

And, of course, the more productions Georgians work on, the more experience they will have in the film and television industry. That experience means they are more qualified, and can make Georgia workers very desirable.

The incentives are already bearing fruit.

Three projects have already been "greenlighted" to come to Georgia, Seabaugh said. All three will be shooting in the downtown Atlanta area.

The possibility of a strike by the Screen Actors Guild is "kind of putting a damper" on the big budget, major feature films, Seabaugh said. But there are plenty of independent production companies that are planning new productions.

"There is a lot of talk going on right now. It's just a matter of time," Seabaugh said. "I think we're really going to start seeing a lot of activity here in Georgia.

"That's good. It's good for our economy, it's good for jobs, and it's good for our people."