Introduce Yourself : Industry in Georgia? by Jon Sanhueza

Happy Holidays, Jon! Best wishes with the move if you decide to take the plunge :)

Hey Jon! I've been in Atlanta since 2000, and co-own one of the original audition taping services here (Get Taped). Some of the pros are obvious like cost of living is better here. Traffic is marginally better, though since 90% of TV/Film auditions are self-tapes (pre-pandemic), driving won't be a big deal for acting.

As of this week, we have 36 projects in production right now (which does include reality and animation). That's normal for us, by the way. So we certainly will be the "busiest" center for production in the very near future. How that continues after things "open back up" remains to be seen.

Southern hospitality is not a myth. Every actor that moves here tells us how surprised they are with the community.

On the con side, it's SO MUCH HARDER to get a good agent here now than it was 5 years ago. Even before the pandemic, we were taping new transplants from LA/NYC/CHI every week. There's been a huge influx over the last 5 years of actors from everywhere, so it's made it that much harder to get noticed by a reputable agent.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the Atlanta market. We'd love to have you!

Thanks Matthew! I've been doing some research and so far all I've heard on the negative side are the hot summers and bugs... Other than that it seems like a great place to live. I had lived in NC for a few years a long time ago so I do enjoy the southern hospitality!

Excellent post Matthew Cornwell - THIS is what IYW is all about. Not only making our own posts, but meeting and helping out others.

I can add that I know many 32'ers both on the creative side and execs who work with us who have made the move to Atlanta and I haven't heard one complaint thus far. Quite the opposite, actually. Most are thriving and the rest are simply putting in the work to embed themselves in the creative community

Jon Sanhueza oh yeah, forgot about weather/environment. Definitely hot summers here, and bugs suck. Also, after 12 years of living here, I started developing seasonal allergies for the first time in my life. The pollen is atrocious. But Claritin-D is amazing!

Whatever you gain in rent cost I guess you make up for in Claritin D. ;)

Atlanta is a great hub for production, but development seems to still be anchored in LA (although so much can be done virtually, so that may be a thing of the past and SOON). Also, the cost of living is so reasonable, it's hard to resist.

Yeah, one of the biggest reasons for the move is I'd like to own a house some day. I really don't think that's happening in CA.

I love every square inch of Georgia. My ancestors were original settlers. I was born in Rome, Georgia. I lived in Atlanta and was a member of Women in Film Atlanta...if you go there connect with that group. Tax credits are great there. It is a beautiful state. Savannah is an absolute dream. Check out Madison, Georgia - 58 miles east of Atlanta on Georgia Highway 20 and also a little place called Social Circle. I would live outside Atlanta in one of those places and drive in for production. The traffic in Atlanta is really terrible, but Savannah is easy. Housing is very affordable all over Georgia. Southerners have beautiful homes and they are about 1/7 of the cost of homes in Burbank. Churches are fabulous there and the natives are sweet. I will probably miss Georgia every day of my life. I ended up growing up in Little Rock - a great place for a writer. I now live in Burbank and brought my Southern stories with me. I like it here. People are nice here, too. If you go there contact me and I will tell you more about it.

Stage 32 Blog contains lots of resources on that marketplace.