ATLANTA — The infamous Pinewood facility in the UK, home to the James Bond movie franchise and more, will soon have a US counterpart, which will be near Atlanta.
In addition to its UK facility, Pinewood Shepperton PLC has studios in Canada, Malaysia, Germany, and the Dominican Republic.
The large movie production facility, managed by a group of private investors, will be called Pinewood Atlanta and will be situated on nearly 300 acres in Fayette County. It will include at least five soundstages as well as production offices. While visual effects professionals on the West Coast, particularly Los Angeles, are struggling to keep their doors open, the Atlanta area on the East Coast is growing in terms of the film industry. This facility would offer brand-new, state-of-the-art studio space, attracting even more business to the area. In fact, Pinewood Studios has an office in Los Angeles, but chose to build the production studio on the opposite side of the country.
As pointed out in an AP story, this is the fifth major studio development or expansion announced in Georgia in recent months. According to the story, last week, Atlanta-based developer Jacoby Development revealed plans for an estimated $1 billion multi-use project north of Atlanta that will include 12 soundstages as well as production offices and an arts and media school.
A lot of controversy has surrounded the visual effects industry in California, where studios there have to compete with studios abroad or elsewhere in the US that offer tax incentives to attract business. Georgia is one of them.