Putting Macon on the Silver Screen
A look at how a volunteer film commission and a huge tax credit put Macon, Georgia on the map
By Taylor Drake
The year 2017 was a star-studded one for Macon, Georgia. The city set the scene for multiple blockbuster films starring performers like Taraji P. Henson, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Margot Robbie. Since 2010, the city of soul has moonlighted as a film location in seven major motion pictures and four television series, including “I, Tonya,” “42,” “Need for Speed” and “Brockmire.”
While Macon’s architectural appeal and volunteer film commission have played large roles in bringing productions to the city, Georgia’s increased film production has largely been made possible through the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act.
According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the act gives a 20 percent transferable tax credit to companies that spend over $500,000 while producing any form of digital entertainment in Georgia. The act also gives companies an additional 10 percent tax credit when the state’s promotional logo is featured on any finished product.
“These films are coming here because of the tax credits. If we didn’t have the tax credits, they wouldn’t be here,” said Elliott Dunwoody, a commissioner and location guide with the Macon Film Commission.
Offering studios up to 30 percent in budget savings has proven an effective incentive for studios and production companies to work in Georgia. Since its revision in 2008, the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act has turned the state into a major hub for film and television production. In a 2016 study done by Los Angeles’ official film office, Georgia was slotted as the number one production center in the world with 17 live action productions and a combined budget value of over $950 million.
Georgia’s tax incentives have brought a large number of films to major cities like Atlanta and Savannah and created something of a trickle-down system for smaller towns like Macon.
“When a film comes to Georgia and they can’t find what they’re looking for in the Atlanta area, they start to spread out,” Dunwoody said. “They have a script and they’re looking for certain locations and Macon is just a good place for them to come and look.”
The film commission has been around since the early 2000s but did not pick up steam until 2009, Dunwoody said. Since then, the commission has worked hard to assist production companies looking to film in the area.
Places like the Hay House, Macon Terminal Station, Luther Williams Baseball Field and Macon’s downtown area have been tapped by films and television series for their historic Southern architecture and aesthetic.
“We really don’t convince them to come. Macon is pretty much location specific,” Dunwoody said. “Macon can be a big city. It can be a small city and it can also be a period piece.”
Outside of location scouting, the film commission does a lot of work to market Macon as a city that is open to the film industry.
“There’s so many people that have come to [Atlanta] from Los Angeles. They do not know the state,” said Terrell Sandefur, a former commissioner with the MFC. “It takes a lot of shaking hands, meeting people for them to even know that Macon exists.”
Before resigning from the commission, Sandefur was a driving force behind creating its social media presence and talking up the town at film industry events.
The amount of work that the film commission puts in to making Macon a film location is impressive, especially when considering that the organization is run completely by volunteers.
“We’re kind of a small group,” Dunwoody said. “On a single film that’s coming here just to look around we could possibly put in 60 hours and so being a volunteer that can kind of spread us thin.”
While the film commission pulls a heavy workload, the rewards are well worth it.
“Any time a film production comes, they bring quite a few people with them,” Sandefur said.
These people end up spending good money on food, lodging, supplies and gasoline. Productions also put money into the city by renting parking lots and buildings.
Additionally, production crews help beautify Macon. According to Sandefur, crews can improve the infrastructure and facades of buildings and sets at no cost to the building’s owner.
“They gave Second Street a facelift when they were filming 42,” Sandefur said. “They painted all the buildings and they’re still like that.”
Filming has had a large and positive economic impact on Macon and increased filming in Georgia as a whole has heightened the caliber of productions featured at the annual Macon Film Festival.
“You got these filmmakers that have relocated from Los Angeles or New York to work in the booming Georgia film industry and on their down time they are making their own projects and they submit those projects to film festivals around the state,” Sandefur said. “As far as submissions, the quality of the work has increased as a result.”
Thanks to the state’s film tax credits, Georgia is now standing in the spotlight as an international production center. While increases in film and television production are most visible in bigger cities like Atlanta and Savannah, Macon cannot help but reap the benefits of its proximity to Atlanta.
“Macon will continue as it has over the last few years. Macon will get film productions,” Sandefur said.
