James January-February 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 77
hese days, when I
share my excitement
about the future of
Georgia’s film industry, I’m often met
with puzzled looks.
After all, production in our state has
dropped more than 50 percent from its
peak. Studios and streaming platforms
have cut back on projects, reduced
budgets and faced waves of layoffs.
To complicate matters, labor strikes
disrupted production and encouraged
studios to move projects overseas
to places like the United Kingdom,
Canada, and Australia. Even with one
of the most competitive tax credits in
the global marketplace, Georgia hasn’t
been immune to these challenges.
But here’s why I’m optimistic: This
is a time of opportunity.
The current contraction in the
film and television industry isn’t a
sign of decline; it’s a natural part of
the business cycle. Like other industries, we experience periods of
rapid expansion followed by correc-
tions that allow for recalibration and
growth. For years, Georgia benefited
from extraordinary expansion— investments in facilities, supply chain
businesses, and a highly skilled workforce made our state a global leader in
film and TV production.
What we’re experiencing now is
not a collapse but a correction. And
fortunately, it wasn’t triggered by a
reduction in demand for entertainment
product— consumers keep finding
more capacity to enjoy quality entertainment! Instead, this correction was
triggered by a drastic increase in interest rates after our federal government
poured capital in the economy in response to the pandemic. But demand
for quality entertainment product
remains stronger than ever.
I’ve been through several business cycles in the movie industry, and
I’ve learned that these moments of
contraction spark the greatest innovations. During downturns, we question
old assumptions, experiment with new
ideas, and discover fresh talent. These
cycles don’t just challenge us; they
inspire us to grow.
Take the 1980s, for example. I
remember coming home from college
to find my dad unpacking a brand-new
videotape player. He declared, “Movie
theaters are done!” Like many at the
time, he assumed that watching films
at home would replace theaters entirely. Yet nearly 40 years later, Moana
2 produced the biggest Thanksgiving theatrical opening in Hollywood
history. Home video didn’t kill theaters;
like streaming it expanded the ways
we enjoy stories, paving the way for a
new generation of filmmakers like Spike
Lee and Steven Soderbergh. This era of
change also empowered Georgia’s Tyler Perry to become one of the world’s
most prolific creators.
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