While Atlanta screenwriter Brian Egeston was learning how to fly a plane in 2014, an instructor played an actual flight traffic controller recording of a civilian with minimal flight experience who landed a King Air twin-engine turboprop in Florida after the pilot died midflight on Easter Sunday in 2009.

Ringgold resident Jamison Braly’s fascination with movie-making began when he was a child watching films like “Star Wars,” “Back to the Future” and “Indiana Jones.”

“Are you a musician, or are you in the music business? Because there is a difference.” This quote, attributed to the American rock band Kiss, resembles the direction that the South Georgia Entertainers networking group has taken in serving South Georgia’s entertainment industry.

“Our festival depends on the amazing films and filmmakers sharing their work,” said Jason Brown, South Georgia Film Festival Director. “As the industry continues to grow here in Georgia, we are working to nurture those native and independent voices along with shining a light on how those in our community can be involved.”

The Creative Conference serves to educate, entertain, engage, and enlighten festival-goers by pulling back the curtain on film and television production, giving audiences a behind-the-scenes look at how projects get made. While covering a wide range of topics, this year’s programming will focus on community, craft, and the future of filmmaking.

The University of Georgia Entertainment and Media Industry Club, more commonly known as The Industry, is hosting its second annual Backlight Student Film Festival on April 13 and 14 to celebrate student filmmakers and their creations.

Also an affirmation that toys and video games are good sources of franchise fodder, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may be the start of a new movie series for Paramount Pictures if the John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein-helmed action adventure fantasy keeps its opening momentum.

In our survey, you asked for GGDA meetings with bigger impact, and we are delivering. Our April 11 meeting at Hi-Rez Studios includes…

Game Tech Hub focuses on new companies making technology for game developers. Tools like the Unreal Engine, Unity 3D, Discord and others have shown the massive potential of these companies, but traditional accelerators do not cater to or understand their needs.

Kennesaw State is rolling out the red carpet for two former students who helped create one of the highest grossing films of all time, “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

This is a significant step in the negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP as there was a planned two-week break starting from the end of today, with the original idea to come back to the table for eight days beginning on April 17. However, sources have told Deadline that there seems to be a willingness to keep discussions going, in some form, after some common ground was found between the WGA and AMPTP.

“The present slowdown in production notwithstanding, Los Angeles cannot afford to lose its competitive edge when it comes to sound stages and other production infrastructure,” observed FilmLA President Paul Audley. “Local studio expansions and the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program are prerequisites for sustaining the high level of production we have in LA, and for growing it further.”

Eclipse Creative, an Atlanta-based team of full-service storytellers, is proud to announce the April 1st launch of the third season of its hugely successful creation, “Homegrown,” on HBO Max, Magnolia Network and Discovery+.

Alabama took center stage at the 95th Academy Awards with Birmingham native Daniel Scheinert’s big wins for the movie he co-wrote and co-directed, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

When David Kramer landed his first full-time job, two years after graduating from UGA and fresh out of film school at the University of Southern California, he started at the bottom.

Keanu Reeves and his hunted assassin alter ego accomplished what only a few succeeded to do. On its fourth and supposedly adieu installment, John Wick: Chapter 4 demolished – just like how opponents are vanquished in the film – its predecessors’ opening records and also dealt a blow to its competition.

The 47th annual Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference (ATLFF) today revealed key programming highlights, including the opening night presentation and the full lineup of selected works from nearly 10,000 submissions.

Apple Inc. plans to spend $1 billion a year to produce movies that will be released in theaters, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, part of an ambitious effort to raise its profile in Hollywood and lure subscribers to its streaming service.

One of my original goals before graduating college in 2020 was to complete my certification at the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) and be placed on a set through GFA to get more production experience. However, due to the pandemic, I had to shift my intentions since productions were shut down.

Streaming grew 7% to $13.3 billion, and comprised 84% of revenues in 2022. The number of paid subscriptions to on-demand music services grew 10% to reach a new high, averaging 92.0 million in 2022, versus 84.0 million the prior year.

According to the report, tourists inspired to visit the home state of the fictional Dutton family spent an estimated $730 million in 2021 and helped generate more than 10,000 jobs across industries like food, hospitality and entertainment.

If Newsom’s plan is passed by the Legislature and signed into law, California’s film tax credit program would become “refundable” in 2025 — meaning that on top of giving qualifying film and TV productions credits that wipe out their state tax liability…

A Taste of Christmas was filmed in multiple locations throughout White County. You can also spot the magical town of Dahlonega, in Lumpkin County. Keep an eye out when you watch for any other familiar spots.

Join us June 17, 2023, as we celebrate the Columbus game and simulation industries. Check out the most recent games, try out new technology and meet other tech leaders in this fast-growing community.

Celebrated for distinctive live performances spanning American and international roots music, jazz, classical, jam, rock and blues genres in beautiful, historic Savannah, Georgia, the Savannah Music Festival (SMF) is gearing up for a stellar 2023 season, which runs from March 23 through April 8, 2023.

China, the world’s second-biggest film market (North America has reclaimed the crown), has been lukewarm to Hollywood titles that have the coveted opportunity to release in that country.

Eclipse Gaming, a provider of top-performing casino games for tribal gaming markets and select commercial markets, today announced that it will be exhibiting at the Indian Gaming Association (“IGA”) Trade Show at the San Diego Convention Center March 29-30.

“There are many voices in the Atlanta Arts community and we are looking forward to working with them as we shape the future of Arts and Culture and secure Atlanta’s presence on the international stage,” said Camille Russell Love, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

From 1,921 total submissions, there now remain only 18 feature film screenplays, 11 pilots, and 8 shorts. To call these 37 wonderful screenplays the lucky few still in competition would be a disservice to the amazing talent on the page, but we do hope you join us in wishing their authors nothing but luck and fortune with the rest of the competition and with their screenwriting careers!

All Georgia’s game jam locations nominated their top game to take part in the GGDA’s annual Best in Georgia competition. We got our first look at all these games March 2, as the teams showed off what they have created and let you in on the great things they have planned.

This event takes place on Sunday, March 19, 2023 from 12 pm to 7pm, at the Wild Heaven Brewery and Gardens, 1010 White Street, Atlanta, GA, 30310. We will have Short Film Screenings, Industry Panels, Table Reads, Filmmaker Q&As, Networking, and the Awards Ceremony.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. will be the anchor tenant for a new film and television production complex rising in Douglas County, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The additions — the result of a successful multiyear fundraising effort that began in 2017 — enable the downtown venue to continue presenting its popular year-round live events series and Georgia State’s student music and stage performances while also offering a new big-screen experience for Atlanta film screenings.

As digital communication technologies evolve with new innovations in producing, mixing and mastering sound, so has the demand for audio engineers. Columbus State University’s Audio Technology Minor Program is preparing students for the growing workforce demands in this diverse and ever-changing field.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is entering the race to buy BET, joining fellow media moguls Tyler Perry and Byron Allen as they vie to purchase a majority stake of BET Media Group amid reports that owner Paramount Global is exploring a sale of the asset, Variety has confirmed.

Throughout the last year, Kentucky has played host to big name actors, from Orlando Bloom to Ethan Hawke. They’ve visited our restaurants, bars and graced excited fans social media feeds. The stars aren’t here without cause.

Eligible productions would get a 30 percent base transferable tax credit that could reach as high as 42.5 percent, depending on the type of project and if it shoots in economically distressed areas.

It was a night of fabulous fashion and hard-working winners at the 2023 Oscars. I told you about several nominees that were representing Georgia last week, and now the winners are in!

Adam Driver has been spending some time in Georgia lately filming Francis Ford Coppola’s next flick, Megalopolis. And the star, who is currently appearing in 65, isn’t shy about how much he’s enjoyed working on the project.

Husband and wife Ray McKinnon and Lisa Blount, and friend Walton Coggins won the Academy Award several years ago for best live-action short film for writing, directing, acting and producing “The Accountant,” a movie about two brothers who hire an eccentric accountant to help them save the family farm.

But while COVID-19 dealt the final blow to some theaters like the Mitchells’, streaming was already forcing a shift. Now, huge changes are underway in the film industry, as a writers strike looms and the business reckons with the impact of streaming services, as well as lingering effects of the pandemic.

Texas is missing out on projects to other states like Louisiana, New Mexico and Georgia, Parker said. “Because the reality is, there are plenty of awesome opportunities and projects, and even longstanding film studio opportunities for the state of Texas that we just aren’t funding right now because we don’t have a robust enough fund,”

Netflix and Warner Bros. Pictures, which have led the way in the previous four allotment of credits over the last two years, have no to titles on the list of films getting tax breaks for filming in California.

In this bonus episode of Political Rewind, host Bill Nigut sits down with The New York Times’ Manhola Dargis. Dargis has been the co-chief film critic of the Times since 2004. She gives us insights into Georgia’s booming film industry, the state of women in film, and her predictions for the Oscars this year.

On any given summer day in the late ’80s, the square of a small Georgia town would routinely be filled with curious bystanders and the flashing lights of police cars. With roads blocked off and officers roaming through the streets, one might have thought it was a crime scene or traffic accident rather than the filming of a popular television series.

Grammy Award-winning record producer and songwriter Dallas Austin imagines a music and entertainment destination in Downtown Atlanta, an idea he is pitching to top city leaders.

Peacock has released the official trailer for its latest original movie, Praise This, which stars Chloe Bailey, Tristan “Mack” Wilds, Loren Lott, Birgundi Baker, gospel artists Jekalyn Carr and Koryn Hawthorne, and Augusta’s own, Kiara Iman.

Michael B. Jordan’s feature directing debut, Creed III, delivered a knockout punch at the box office, instantly becoming the sports-themed movie…

In 2022, California voted to pass SB 485, which revised the state’s film tax credits legislation to introduce a new credit which could only be receive if a given project provided “a diversity workplan that includes goals that are broadly reflective of California’s population.”

A new year is bringing more film projects to the Coastal Empire. And it all comes on the heels of a record year for film in Georgia.

“Market conditions continue to shift favorably for us, and we had a tailor-made opportunity to tap equity financing that will accelerate growth and scale our team in several key areas,” said FilmHedge Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jon Gosier.

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is proud to announce the contributions of over 150 alumni who have contributed their talents to films nominated for the 95th Academy Awards. This year, SCAD alumni contributed to a total of 18 films that received nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“As I welcome Michael to NATO, I also want to thank my good friend John Fithian for his counsel, wisdom and decades of leadership at NATO. NATO’s growth over the past 23 years is due largely to John’s energy, creativity and dedication, and we are all grateful for his commitment to this iconic American industry.”

Georgia is one of the most popular filming locations in the United States and not all productions have an emphasis on sustainability. The Sustainable Production Alliance, found that between 2016 and 2019 major motion pictures produced an average carbon footprint of 33 metric tons per shooting day.

Robert Greene’s “Aberration” is one of 95 films that will be screened during the seventh annual South Georgia Film Festival March 3-5 at Valdosta State University.

Popular faith-based filmmakers, based in Albany Georgia, have a new film out on DVD, a movie they shot in the Chattahoochee Valley, that tackles a controversial topic and their first project based on a true story.

It was the visionary Jimmy Carter—Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975—who first turned the state’s business hub into a production-friendly playground for entertainment companies. As early as 1973, he established a state film commission in Georgia, the first entity of its kind outside of California.

There are plenty of surprises behind GWTW, which portrayed life in Georgia, before, during and after the Civil War. The first surprise: nary a frame was shot in the state. All was filmed in California.

A new BMD camera is here. What is it, why does it have an “iPad” on the back, and why do you need it? When we think of broadcast, I think a majority of folks still imagine a news studio or someone standing on a street corner with a mic reporting on current events.

Marvel and Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may have stayed atop the domestic box office chart in its sophomore outing with an estimated $32.2 million, but the real superhero of the weekend was Universal’s high-concept genre pic Cocaine Bear.

Right before I graduated in Fall 2019, I was approached by two incredibly talented and gifted women — Cathy Parker and Honnie Korngold. They were fiercely passionate about bringing film to South Georgia, something I very much wanted to see happen myself, and they offered me the chance to work with them in doing just that. It’s amazing to see that dream become a reality!

THIS SATURDAY, the largest prize pool in the history of collegiate Call of Duty! Four HBCU students will each earn a $50,000 contract to become a MTN DEW All Star.