James_Jan-Feb_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 77
The past few years have been
turbulent for the film and television
industry. After the historic labor
strikes of 2023, production didn’t
simply snap back to pre-strike
levels. Instead, we saw a dramatic
shift: many studio and streamer
projects were off-shored to London,
Europe, and Australia— markets
with strong tax incentives and
significantly lower labor costs due
to subsidized healthcare and the
absence of unionized workforces.
At the same time, the explosive global growth of platforms
like Netflix and YouTube reshaped
demand. With the ability to reach
audiences everywhere, streamers are leaning into indigenous
productions - local stories, in local
languages, made outside the U.S.
All of this has created the most
competitive environment domestic
production has ever faced.
Georgia has felt that pressure
more directly than most. For nearly
two decades, we have been the
standout success story of American film production outside California. But this past year, as other
states woke up to the economic
power of the industry, Georgia
saw a 33 percent decline in the
number of productions, while New
Jersey, fueled by an aggressively
structured tax incentive (including
a special provision for studios with
10-year leases), nearly doubled
its production tally. As someone
married to a Jersey girl, I say this
with affection: New Jersey played
its hand well. But when competition gets tough, we Georgians have
a long history of out-thinking and
out-maneuvering the field. And we
are still the best state in America to
make movies. Here’s why.
First, Georgia has more soundstages and production facilities
under roof than New Jersey or New
York, and second only to Los Angeles. That infrastructure translates
directly into capacity, flexibility, and
scalability. As the CEO of Trilith
Studios, I see every day how this
ecosystem enables productions to
move efficiently from pre-production through post with a depth of
resources few states can match.
Second, Georgia’s crews remain
among the best in the world.
Our film workforce— electricians,
carpenters, costumers, landscapers,
JA N UA RY /F E B RUARY 2026
77
