Lights, camera, Boro

Why aren't more movies filmed here?

July 28, 2010 Jake Hallman

jake@connectstatesboro.com

    The wife and I watched "Now and Then" Sunday night.
    I know, I know. What's your beloved Connect Statesboro editor doing watching a coming-of-age movie about adolescent girls in Indiana?
    First, it has Janeane Garafalo, Lolita Davidovitch and Demi Moore.
    Rawr.
    Second, it was filmed in and around Statesboro during my first year of college here.
    Call me sentimental, but it was cool seeing the courthouse, Averitt Center (before it was the Averitt Center) and lots of East and West Main. Kids, watch out for that storm drain on the corner of Walnut and Proctor. Young Samantha almost bought it there, before she was rescued by Crazy Pete.
    There's a positively encyclopedic site about the movie's filming over at http://www.frontiernet.net/~rcowart/.
    It's far from the first movie filmed in Statesboro, though. There was "Buster and Billie" released in 1974 and "1969" in 1988 ("Culloch County!").
    Winona Ryder was in that one. Rawr.
    The way I see it, it's been about one every decade — which means we're way overdue for a major Hollywood production to invade. Sure, movie-makers come to Savannah all the time. But that's not home.
    And I don't mean to cast aspersions on any local filmmakers, especially the guys behind "Automata," which will be incredibly cool.
    And I'll be divorced if I don't drop a mention about my locally-filmed wedding musical, which you can see on my Facebook page.
    Georgia's already got an insane tax credit for film production. Filmmakers get 20 percent, which goes up to 30 percent if a Georgia logo is shown anywhere in the production.
    That brought "The Blind Side," "Hell Pass" and God-knows-how-many TV shows to the state.
    It's about money, not talent or technical skills — LA and New York have those in droves, and the conventional wisdom has been that Georgia simply can't compete on those grounds.
    The conventional wisdom is wrong, and it's time for Statesboro to get in on the action.
    Extras? We've got a campus full of 'em. Grunt labor, too, for moving heavy things.
    Statesboro's full of skilled labor for things like building sets and rigging equipment, and there are more than a few people who know how to operate cameras and run sound.
    We've got some pretty good locations, too. Downtown works four about eight different decades alone. We might not be able to pull off "urban" without lots of CGI, but Statesboro can do suburban and rural, no problem.
    The problem is that Statesboro's not actively courting the entertainment industry. The state sends out a list periodically of productions that are looking to film in Georgia, but lots of times Statesboro gets passed over in favor of Savannah. There's no push going on to bring another movie here.
    That's understandable. Hollywood is a fickle beast, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau just got a budget cut.
    But what if there was a decidedly low-budget push? Maybe a website touting Statesboro's filming benefits? Some kind of discounts offered to movie crews? A special  "If Christina Hendricks Appears in a Movie Here We'll Give Her The Key to the City and Free Meals at El Sombrero" ordinance?
    Rawr.
    Or even incentives aiming at the low-budget production that Savannah College of Art and Design students are pumping out? "Hey, come film in Statesboro, and we'll pay for your gas."
    These are students who are making, well, student films, but then going to work in the real-live film industry. (Thanks for the tip, Phil.)
    Point is, movie producers are already looking into Georgia for filming, and Statesboro's being passive about it. Why not do a little big of legwork to give ourselves a competitive advantage?
    And while we're at it, a "Statesboro Movie Night" in the Emma Kelly Theater would be awesome.
    Update:
    That time of year is upon us. Connect's approaching its fifth birthday. That's a major milestone for us, but it also means that it's time for the yearly swimsuit issue.
    It's gonna be huge. Look for details next week about the online swimsuit contest. Prizes, pictures of lovely people, and Connect Statesboro — what more could you want?
    Also, I'd like to welcome our newest columnist, Ben Hallman, "The Beer Guy."
    Okay, so he's my brother. But he's also preparing a book all about beer (he's an expert), and is graciously sharing his insights with us in weekly columns.
    Finally, there was some stuff for this week's issue that we just plain didn't have room for. Check out our website to get Matt Yogus' retrospective of the early years of GSU football.
    Jake Hallman is the interim editor of Connect Statesboro. He can be reached at (912) 489-9405 or via e-mail at jake@connectstatesboro.com.

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