Georgia Today: Hurricane season coming; New EV plant on the way; Declining film production in Ga.

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, weather forecasters are warning people on the potential danger of Georgia's upcoming hurricane season. Despite delays, a new electric vehicle factory is still coming to Middle Georgia. And in recent years, film and television productions have been down in the state, But the director of the Georgia Film Office says:

Lee Thomas: This is an anomaly. I feel like, you know, we're going to get some of our momentum back.

Orlando Montoya: Today is Wednesday, Sept. 3. I'm Orlando Montoya, and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: The Georgia Film Office says 245 film and television productions in Georgia spent a combined $2.3 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June. That's down by nearly half from the same period in 2022. Georgia's situation isn't unique. Global and national film and television productions are down sharply from 2023. Here to help us go behind the numbers is Lee Thomas, director of the Georgia Film office, the state agency that promotes Georgia film and television productions. I'm at her office at Georgia Tech. Thanks for speaking with me.

Lee Thomas: Thank you so much, Orlando.

Orlando Montoya: Lee, production is a long way off from the heady days, from before the pandemic and before the writers/directors/actors' strike. Are those the main factors behind this drop or do you see other reasons behind it?

Lee Thomas: Yeah, I think that, y'know, a series of things happened. I mean, y'know, coming out of the pandemic, Georgia was one of the first to reopen. And so we saw some of the traffic that was slated to go to other states end up in Georgia. We also saw a pent-up demand, y'know, of all of the streaming services trying to keep up with the demand of the viewership. And we also saw they were all kind of beefing up their slates. There's a big competition for a while with a lot of the streaming services trying to beef up their libraries and create as much content as they could. And then it all came crashing down.

Orlando Montoya: With the writer's strike.

Lee Thomas: That's right, I think at that time we saw a lot of our, especially our best clients that they were to try to avoid what potentially could have been another work stoppage. They were looking at overseas markets where they felt like they would be immune to it.

Orlando Montoya: Now do you see the current downturn as an anomaly or was the 2018-2022 boom an anomaly?

Lee Thomas: I mean, definitely, you know, the boom, which, you know, our biggest numbers were in 2022. And I think that I don't know that we'll ever see that level again. I mean, we had 93 projects on the ground at one time. Um, and certainly we wouldn't have predicted that a global pandemic would have been fuel for, you know, what had been our busiest time. So it's — it's hard to say. But I will say that I feel like this is — you know, in the other direction — this is an anomaly. I feel like, y'know, we're going to get some of our momentum back, that we've had a series of things that have been problematic: overseas markets, these studios getting ready for what could have been, again, more work stoppages. There are, in some cases, the labor can be cheaper overseas, and that's something that, y'know, is a challenge for us, but we have a great value and we have great package in Georgia, so we feel confident in that.

Orlando Montoya: What kind of discussions are you having with other industry leaders in Georgia on how to get that momentum back?

Lee Thomas: Yeah, I mean, we're in constant talks, you know, both with people here locally and also, you know, our main, most of our business comes from Hollywood. So we were just out in Los Angeles with the Georgia Department of Revenue. You know, we took our commissioner — Department of Economic Development here, Pat Wilson — and it was a sales trip to talk about, you now, some recent changes that make Georgia more attractive. One is streamlining of the audit process for the film tax credit. There were some issues with that as it was rolled out. And so the Department of Revenue really worked hard in streamlining those processes and make them easier for productions. We also last year were able to pass House Bill 475, which will come online in January. And that, again, makes it easier for producers. It makes it easier for us to respond to new types of projects and be more nimble as, y'know, we see new platforms pop up. It won't have to go necessarily back through the Legislature. We can address those in our rules and regulations, which is great. We saw the return of the post-production tax credit. So again, we had some good news stories we wanted to talk about, so we were out in Los Angeles talking about those.

Orlando Montoya: And while there have been some big productions that have left Georgia in recent years — the Marvel superhero movies being the most attention-grabbing of those, with their move to Europe — we've also seen some big production start up in Georgia, including episodic productions like the new CBS soap opera Beyond the Gates being shot at Assembly Studios in Doraville. So what kind of — what Georgia productions are you excited about right now?

Lee Thomas: Yeah, I mean, we are fortunate in that we have a pretty robust slate of episodic. As you mentioned, Beyond the Gates is doing very well. You know, we're getting ready for the release of Stranger Things. Unfortunately, that's the last season, Season 5 of Strangers Things. But we have other episodic like Will Trent that are here almost year round, which we're very grateful to have those types of shows. And then we are also fortunate that we have people like Tyler Perry, that's like a, you know, a one-person factory of film and television and keeps a lot of people busy.

Orlando Montoya: Yeah, I mean year-round is more stable.

Lee Thomas: Year-round is definitely more stable and you know from what we've seen historically with shows like Vampire Diaries or Walking Dead or Stranger Things it gives people, you know, it gives a project time to build an audience and with that comes film tourism which has been great with all three of those shows. So we do like episodic a lot.

Orlando Montoya: Not only time to build an audience, but also time for the crews and the production to build up here and have stable living.

Lee Thomas: That's right, it is. It's, you know, some of these shows, literally, they go year-round.

Orlando Montoya: This month, Assembly Studios also saw the grand opening of the new Georgia Film Academy. What can you say about that project and what it can do for film and television production in Georgia?

Lee Thomas: I mean, that was one of our challenges, right? When we started getting very busy after passing the film tax credit in 2008, one of the challenges was having enough crew. Gov. [Nathan] Deal started something called the Georgia Film Academy, as you mentioned. It's a partnership between the University System of Georgia and the technical college system, which is very rare. It's under the Board of Regents, and it's at 31 campuses throughout the state. But the great thing about  the Georgia Film Academy is that it is really hands-on. They use crew people that have been around for a long time that really know how to work on film and television and they do it in places where it's going to be exactly like when you walk on set. So if you're at Assembly and you're working at that new facility that they just created, you're gonna walk across the street once you're finished with that curriculum. And you'll — all the equipment will be the same, you know, the stage will look the same. It's not like it's going from a classroom into being thrown into the film world.

Orlando Montoya: So overall what would you say to the talented film and television industry professionals in Georgia who are worried right now?

Lee Thomas: Yeah, I absolutely get it. And this, you know, all industries, you know, have their ups and downs. And I feel like film is especially volatile and has been, you know, throughout the 50 years that our office has been in place. But Georgia has a lot going for it. We really do. I mean, we saw, especially coming out of the pandemic, when people were doing back-to-back movies here, we saw a lot of people relocate because they like the quality of life here. And our crews, we have some of the best crews in the world. And I think, you know, when you see like James Gunn that did Superman here, the reason why he chose Georgia was because he likes the crews so much. And so there's the cheapest and then there's the best value — ours is probably a better value.

Orlando Montoya: Lee Thomas is director of the Georgia Film Office. Thanks for talking with GPB.

Lee Thomas: Thank you so much, Orlando. Appreciate it.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: The CEO of a Florida-based company promising to bring an electric vehicle factory to Middle Georgia says the project is still on, despite over a year's worth of delays. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more.

Grant Blankenship: In 2024, Imola Automotive announced their plan to build a factory in the city of Fort Valley to produce electric versions of the tiny cars you might see in a city in Europe. But since then, there's been no movement on the project promising 8,000 new jobs, despite unflagging support by Fort Valley's mayor. Now, CEO Rodney Henry says Imola has passed the first milestone: approval by local planning and zoning to begin factory site design.

Rodney Henry: We have a lot of approval, our next step is to get our joint and stamp approval. Once we get stamp approval, we're about nine to 12 months away from groundbreaking.

Grant Blankenship: Meanwhile, Imola's attorney Jay Taylor says the company is still trying to find investors and financing to get the Fort Valley factory on the ground. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Fort Valley.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: A magnet manufacturing company will build a plant in Columbus, creating 520 new jobs in Muskogee County. The Korea-based company JS Link will invest $223 million to construct a rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing plant. Operations are expected to begin in late 2027. JS Link is a biotech company. Permanent magnets are components in industries such as automobiles, elevators, robotics and electronics.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: A federal judge in Georgia has struck down Food and Drug Administration rules that require cigarette makers to place graphic warnings on cigarette packaging. The order signed Friday sides with tobacco giant Philip Morris, the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, and other plaintiffs in a closely watched case. Brunswick-based U.S. District Judge Lisa Wood did not rule against the warning labels themselves, but struck them down based on procedural issues. It's the latest blow to the FDA's efforts to implement new tobacco warning labels under the 2009 Tobacco Control Act. The agency could appeal the decision to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: A nonprofit in Atlanta launched a petition on Tuesday to name a downtown park after the first Black legislators to represent Clarke County in Atlanta. From WUGA in Athens, Emma Auer reports.

Emma Auer: Historic Athens organized a learning event Tuesday about the area's first Black legislators, Alf Richardson and Madison Davis, who served during the Reconstruction era. Currently, no public spaces in Athens are named after the two men, which the nonprofit says is an important gap. Matthew Pulver, a local researcher and writer, spoke at the event. He says that Richardson and Davis faced violence at the hands of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan in order to fulfill their elected roles.

Matthew Pulver: December of 1870, Alf Richardson is attacked by some number of Klansmen, but it does not stop him from going back to Atlanta.

Emma Auer: After the presentations, attendees were encouraged to sign a petition to name the park next to a newly renovated government building after Richardson and Madison. For GPB News, I'm Emma Auer in Athens.

Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: Weather forecasting company AccuWeather says they're confident that this hurricane season could bring dangerous weather to Georgia. GPB's Chase McGee has more on today's hurricane update.

Chase McGee: AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert Alex De Silva is comparing weather conditions in 2025 to those of years past, including 2017 and 2023, when Harvey, Irma, Maria and Idalia impacted the U.S. He says warm weather conditions in the Gulf are especially alarming, noting the same conditions led the explosive growth of Hurricane Helene last season.

Alex De Silva: This is what we saw in 2024, by the way. We saw kind of a lull in the middle of the season and then things really went to town that second half of the season.

Chase McGee: At this point in the season, AccuWeather says they stand by their projection of 13-15 named storms this season, with an emphasis that storms could be very active later in September. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.

Orlando Montoya: And stay tuned to GPB News all next week on radio and at GPB.org/news for everything you need to know about preparedness in Georgia.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: The employees who operate and maintain the Plane Trains at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have voted to unionize. The 90 employees of Alstom, the French company that operates the trains, voted to organize with the Transportation Communications Union and International Association of Machinists. The union will now begin preparing for collective bargaining to secure their first agreement. The trains move around 250,000 passengers daily between the terminals.

​​​​​​​Story 8:

Orlando Montoya: In Georgia sports: Atlanta Braves closer Rasiel Iglesias has been named the National League Reliever of the Month for August. The MLB Network made the announcement today, giving him his fourth career Reliever of the Month award and his third with the Braves after winning in 2023 and 2024. He also won the award while playing for the Los Angeles Angels. He now matches Craig Kimbrel for the most in franchise history.

Orlando Montoya: And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. For more Georgia news, visit GPB.org/news. That webpage is constantly updated with all the latest from our GPB reporters. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on this podcast, take a moment to do that now. That helps you to keep us current in your feed. And if you have feedback for us, we love to hear it. Email GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. I'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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