Hall deemed 'Camera Ready'

ATLANTA - Sixteen Georgia counties - incuding Hall - have been labeled as "Camera Ready."

The Camera Ready initiative is meant to encourage select communities to promote themselves to potential film production companies and studios.

Hall is the only northeast Georgia county singled out for the program. Stacey Dickson, President of the Lake Lanier Convention & Visitors Bureau will act as Hall County liaison for the project.

The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office is hosting the kickoff for the project Thursday at the EUE/Screen Gems studios in Atlanta.

In addition to Hall, the 16 "Camera Ready" counties in Georgia are: Bibb, Carroll, Chatham, Coweta, DeKalb, Doughtery, Emanuel, Floyd, Fulton, Housto, Lowndes, Morgan, Newton, Walker, and Wilkes.

According to the state Department of Economic Development, Georgia's film industry is "thriving." More than 700 film and television projects were shot in Georgia in 2009, ranking the state No. 1 in the Southeast and among the top five states in the nation for film and TV productions. FY09 productions represented a 400 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, bringing in more than $590 million in investment, representing an economic impact to the state of over $1 billion, state officials say.

One of the incentives used to lure movie and television production companies to Georgia is the state Entertainment Industry Investment Act which offers an across-the-board flat tax credit of 20 percent based on a minimum investment of $500,000 on qualified productions or projects in Georgia. An additional 10 percent Georgia Entertainment Promotion (GEP) uplift can be earned by including an imbedded animated Georgia logo on approved projects.

In 2009, productions were shot in 50 counties - including Hall - pumping much needed dollars into local economies. For instance, the cast and crew of "The Last Song" used 12,000 hotel room nights during their stay in Savannah and on Tybee Island.

Earlier this year in Hall County, some of the scenes for "Hall Pass," starring Christina Applegate, were shot at a Gainesville motel. And, in just the last month, Clarkesville, in Habersham County, was the locale for scenes from "Wanderlust," a movie starring Jennifer Aniston, one of the stars of the long-running television series "Friends."