479 NEWS
Georgia Film Industry Advocate Speaker David Ralston Passes
Today we are saddened to report the passing of Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, David Ralston, long an advocate of the Georgia film industry.
For more than 12 years Speaker Ralston has been a stalwart supporter of Georgia’s film industry and the jobs that it has provided our members. He helped shape, strengthen, and protect Georgia’s film tax incentive.
“I am excited by the success of this industry. As long as I sit in that office, there will be no bigger fan of that tax credit and this industry than I am.”
House Speaker David Ralston, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 15 March 2017
Please join us in offering our most sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
Georgia Productions Set New Record in 2022 Fiscal Year
The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, reported that productions spent $4.4 billion in Georgia during fiscal year 2022. The press release is provided below.
ATLANTA – August 1, 2022 – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced a chart-topping year for the film and television industry as productions spent $4.4 billion in Georgia during fiscal year 2022 – a new industry record. The Georgia Film Office, a strategic office within the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), reported that the State of Georgia hosted 412 productions, represented by 32 feature films, 36 independent films, 269 television and episodic productions, 42 commercials, and 33 music videos between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Film Industry References Removed from HB 1437
THANK YOU.
The current threat to Georgia’s film tax credit is over.
Your activism, in coordination with our industry partners and the support of our friends in the Georgia Legislature, helped eliminate recent unwanted amendments to HB 1437.
Yesterday (Wednesday), the bill was sent back to the Senate Rules Committee.
Later in the day I met directly with the Governor, key Senate leadership, and our industry colleagues to reaffirm the widespread support for the State’s motion picture industry.
Today (Thursday) all references to the film industry tax credit were stripped from HB 1437, and the bill was passed out of the committee. It is expected to be placed on the Senate calendar for tomorrow (Friday).
At this time IATSE Local 479 has no further concerns with HB 1437.
We encourage you to reach out to your legislators and thank them for their continuing support of Georgia’s motion picture industry.
You can identify your legislators by visiting https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/.
In Solidarity,
Michael Akins
Local 479 Business Agent
HB 1437: Your Activism is Working
Your activism is working with HB 1437. More progress will be made. Read more to see the next steps we need to take.
Thank you for your emails and phone calls to members of the Georgia Senate last night and this morning. Your activism is working; namely, HB 1437 with the offensive film tax credit language was removed from today’s vote calendar and sent back to the General Calendar, so the bill can be cleaned up by removing the tax credit cap and the transferability language.
HB 1437 has to go through some legislative steps and we have another chance to impact on that process, so please look at the attached link to the list of Senators with email addresses and phone numbers and send them another message to first thank them for recommitting HB 1437 and then to ask for the removal of PART III, Section 3-1 in the current bill which contains the negative film tax credit language (caps and transferability).
You have a chance to repeat today’s success with another display of how important it is for the Legislature not to disturb current film tax credit law which has proven to be so helpful to job creation in our industry.
Please click the link below to access the contact list for the Senators.
Click here to download list of Senators
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Urgent: Georgia’s Film Industry in Danger
On Monday, the Georgia Senate Finance Committee unexpectedly proposed a measure that would amend HB1437, capping the film tax credit at $900 million annually, and eliminating the ability to transfer credits out of state.
The consequences of these two amendments to our tax credit would be devastating.
This amended bill is set to go before the Senate floor TODAY.
We believe that it is important to reach out to the Republican majority senators and ask them to please vote to “re-commit HB 1437 to the Rules Committee” when it comes to the floor today.
We have compiled a list of those Senators and are asking you to reach out and request that they send HB 1437 back to committee.
Please click the link below to access the contact list for the Senators.
Click here to download list of Senators
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Doug Collins Requests Financial Relief for Georgia’s Film Industry
United States Representative Doug Collins has written a letter of support for our industry to the Speaker of the House, encouraging Congress to pursue financial relief for entertainment workers affected by the pause in production due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Freelancers, contractors, gig workers and the entertainment industry make significant contributions to our communities and economy here in Georgia. As Congress considers relief for American workers, I’m hopeful these folks will be offered similar protections as other industries.”
Doug Collins, United States House of Representatives
As the International IATSE notes, Doug has been a champion for the entertainment industry in Georgia, and we thank him for joining the dozens of congresspeople on both sides of the aisle fighting to make sure congress doesn’t leave IATSE members behind.
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Hurricane Donation Drive
(UPDATED September 13) – IATSE Locals 479, 600, and 798, in association with the Teamsters Local 728, have joined in a collaborative effort with Georgia’s production companies, studios, and other industry professionals to contribute to the relief efforts for the victims of the recent hurricanes. We have partnered with an organization called Caring For Others, Inc. and are collecting items on their behalf, which they will sort, pack, and transport directly to Houston, Orlando, and surrounding areas impacted by the storms. (more…)
Governor Deal Announces 2017 the Year of Film in Georgia
This past Wednesday morning under the gold dome of the Georgia State Capitol, Governor Nathan Deal declared 2017 the “Year of Film in Georgia“, leveraging the state’s rising image in the global filmmaking community to encourage people to choose Georgia as a vacation destination and to explore locations from popular movies and television series.
Representatives from Local 479 joined with Lee Thomas and members of Georgia’s Film Commission, along with representatives from Local 600, Local 798, SAG/AFTRA, the Georgia Production Partnership, the Georgia Film Academy, the Georgia Studio Alliance, Marvel Studios and more to demonstrate the appreciation of Georgia’s film and television industry for the (more…)
IATSE Local 479 Recognized by House Resolution
On the morning of March 15, 2017, IATSE Local 479 was recognized in the legislative session with House Resolution 488, the full text of which is included below. A link to a PDF of the actual resolution is (more…)
MPAA Releases Economic Report on Film And Television Industry
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. recently released new statistics on the film and television industry’s economic impact in all 50 states (link) – here’s what they had to say about Georgia:
“In Georgia, the film and television industry directly employs 25,700 people and pays more than $1.7 billion in wages. There are over 2,700 motion picture and television industry businesses in Georgia, including 1,822 production-related companies. The production of Selma spent $470,000 on in-state wardrobe purchases, dry cleaning and laundry. The film also purchased $180,000 worth of lumber, hardware, and other supplies. Popular TV shows like The Walking Dead bring tourism to the area when fans flock to see filming sites.”