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Coweta’s movie business may be back on track

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

Scott Tigchelaar is one happy man, thanks to the Georgia General Assembly.

Last week, the Senate passed HB 539 that will give tax credits to movies and television shows that film in the state.

Tigchelaar, who heads up Senoia’s Riverwood Studios, said he has already been contacted by a major studio that wants to film in the state.

“Georgia’s now back on the map in Hollywood, ”Tigchelaar said.

The tax incentives should help the state’s lucrative movie-making business get back on track, because the credits are very competitive with other states, he added.

Some of the highlights of the bill include:

• Any production company and its affiliates that invest in a state certified production approved by the Department of Economic Development and whose average annual total production expenditures in this state did not exceed $30 million for 2002, 2003, and 2004 will be allowed an income tax credit against the tax imposed under this article. The tax credit under this will be allowed if the base investment in the state equals or exceeds $500,000.

The production company will be allowed a tax credit up to 9 percent of the total investment in this state. But if the investment in this state is in a lower-income county, the production company could get an additional 3 percent credit.

• If Georgia residents are employed in the production, the company will get an additional tax credit equal to 3 percent of the total aggregate payroll of Georgia residents.

The state is also encouraging television series to film in the state. If the investment in this state is in excess of $20 million for multiple television projects, the company will be allowed an additional tax credit equal to 2 percent of the investment.

“I can’t say enough about the job Sen. Mitch Seabaugh did in getting this bill passed,” Tigchelaar said.

The passage of the bill was also key to starting a unique partnership between industry and education.

Seabaugh and other officials hope to see the county’s Central Education Center expand its educational mission to Riverwood Studios in Senoia, just across Line Creek from southern Peachtree City.

Tigchelaar made it clear, though, that the focus is not in creating the next Steven Spielberg.

“We’re not training kids for a career in Hollywood,” he said.

Instead, CEC will lease 60,000 square feet at the studio to teach its classes in an industrial setting.

“Classes that are already being taught, such as construction and welding, will now be taught at the studio instead of in a classroom. It’s like if you took the robotics class they teach and held it at Yamaha,” he said.

The other 60,000 square feet at the studio will still be used for moviemaking, and students may have an opportunity to experience some interaction with some of Hollywood’s dream makers.

“They already have a film and video class at CEC, so they will have an opportunity to possibly view a hands-on experience in the movie business,” said Tigchelaar.

By moving many of their classes to the Senoia studio, CEC will now have more space at their Newnan campus to expand their offerings.

“With a tight budget, it’s a unique way to get more space without building a new school,” he added.

Central Education Center opened in 2000 as a partnership between industry and government.

The center offers high school classes along with technical programs from Carroll Tech.

Coweta’s three public high schools feed students into the center, which also offers continuing education programs, along with an evening high school.

Movies that have been filmed in part at Riverwood include “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Freejack,” “The War,” “Andersonville” and “Consenting Adults.”