"Really no one has come forward with a business proposal that makes any sense in terms of taking advantage of what is on the ground and bringing investment opportunities that are complementary to it," Borrero said. Efforts to attract suitable businesses to the area have been largely unsuccessful, said Lavelle and Luz Borrero, deputy chief operating officer for the city. to possibly develop some of the trade skills to make people employable within the industry, and not just for clerical or administrative type jobs."Ĭity officials say EUE/Screen Gems is the first company to make a serious bid for the Lakewood area in the nearly three years since the city began searching for development proposals. "Those opportunities locally are something we want to work with on. We see it as a potential for job creation and generation of a new industry that helps diversify its base. "They’ve expressed their concern, not for film-making itself, but for what opportunities it might have for the neighborhood. "That’s something near and dear to our hearts and concerns, as it is for the neighborhood's," said Lavelle. "There’s always the question of what would have happened had they been able to capitalize on that in the '80s."Ĭity officials say the move won't just benefit the film industry here, but also the Lakewood community, a seemingly forgotten area in southeast Atlanta. In the heyday of high-production location, even in the '80s, we were consistently in the top five and that was before incentives," Judson said. The company also has sound stages in New York and Wilmington, N.C.Ĭharles Judson, communications director for the Atlanta Film Festival, said the idea of converting Lakewood into a studio has been tossed around since the early 1980s, after Burt Reynolds filmed "Smokey and the Bandit" in the area. Those tax credits, in addition to Lakewood's proximity to the airport, talent base and variety of settings, is what drew EUE/Screen Gems to the area, said Chris Cooney, President and COO. Since the package was signed into law, entertainment productions have increased statewide by 400 percent, while investment numbers have jumped from $262.1 million in 2007 to $770.2 million in 2009, according to Stefanie Paupeck, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. In 2008, the state legislature passed the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act, giving a production company that spends at least $500,000 in a year up to 30 percent of its budget in tax credits. The tax incentives we have in place are huge, but one of the missing parts is having a soundstage for rent." We have a world class airport, a lot of hotel space, we have terrific base of technicians here in town and more and more equipment. "Having been around town for a long time, I think it will help cement deals in terms of. "It will create a big buzz in town and certainly help us land more films, I believe," said Jim Sedlak, an Atlanta-based production manager, assistant director and stage manager with the Directors Guild of America. The EUE/Screen Gems deal provides just that. Even though technology is allowing us to do more and more without location pieces, you’ve gotta build some things." "The truth of it is, especially with larger movies, they need stages. "Over the years - and it’s not an exaggeration - we’ve lost dozens of movies because we didn’t have sound stages," said Norm Bielowicz, a location scout in Atlanta and former department head for the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. While the region has drawn studios for its breadth of locations and industry workers, it hasn't been able to offer a major facility that meets the technical needs of filmmakers. While the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office declined comment, pending the council's vote, local film insiders say transforming Lakewood into a large-scale production hub will further Atlanta's reputation as a major destination for the industry.
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