Written by on Jul 4, 2014. Posted in On Location

Marvel boss warns of Georgia crew shortage as filming incentive flourishes

An executive at Marvel Studios has warned of the issue of crew shortages for location shoots in Georgia. David Grant is Vice President of Physical Production for Marvel and is overseeing work in Atlanta on Ant-Man. The state is also home to long-running zombie drama The Walking Dead.

“We've found because Georgia is so busy, some of the advantages of being here via the incentive are wiped away because of the amount of people we have to bring in [from California],” Grant commented to Associated Press.

Grant’s words were echoed at the ‘listening session’ in Atlanta by NBC production executive Craig McNeil, who said that the success of the state’s filming incentive meant that “in a way, Georgia has become a victim of its own success”.

Lee Thomas, Director of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office, said that the crew issue was “a huge concern” and that the local industry was actively looking to “stem the problem”.

Productions filming in Georgia can access a base filming incentive tax credit of 20%, with an additional 10% available if the state’s peach logo is displayed somewhere in the credits. The programme has helped turn Atlanta into a production hub, attracting a broad range of features and TV shows, including the Hunger Games franchise, the Divergent sequels that relocated from Chicago, and now the Oprah Winfrey-produced civil rights drama Selma.

Chiquita Banks, of Atlanta accountancy firm Bennett Thrasher LLP, recently told The Location Guide that the regional production industry “has seen an influx of experienced crew members (production accountants, cameramen, lighting and grip experts, etc) who have become permanent residents of Georgia”. This influx will need to become part of a longer-term trend to complement the state’s filming incentive and growing studio infrastructure.

To read the full interview with Chiquita Banks on Georgia's rise click here.