After years of growth, Georgia’s film industry hits a painful reset

ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Ratledge was earning up to $9,500 a week working on movie sets around Atlanta. He now receives food stamps.

The 48-year-old digital imaging technician moved from Indiana to Georgia for a studio in 2017, lured by generous tax credits. Transformed Atlanta into the “Hollywood of the South” It formed the backdrop for hundreds of productions such as “The Hunger Games” and “Stranger Things” and more than a dozen blockbuster Marvel movies.

Ratledge said the job was demanding and working 70 hours a week was normal, but the $72-per-hour wage was transformative. Netflix movie “Red Notice” as well as TBS’s “Miracle Workers” and Starz’s “P-Valley.”

Those times are long gone: Ratledge has only worked on set for four days since May 2024.

Instead, he works part-time at the front desk of a local tennis center, playing racquets while trying to somehow support his family of five on $15 an hour without health insurance. His wife, a cancer survivor, began cleaning houses a few days a week and they downsized their rental. But their $2,000-a-month income barely covers their rent; this deficiency leaves Ratledge in debt and deeply depressed.

“All I want for Christmas is to get back to my film career,” Ratledge wrote on Instagram in December.

Spending on film and TV production in Georgia has declined after peaking at $4.4 billion in 2022, reaching just $2.3 billion last fiscal year. Total productions dropped from 412 in 2022 to 245 last year. The decline then accelerated 2023 writers and actors on strike It halted production for months, dealing a blow to an industry still struggling to recover from Covid-19 shutdowns.

“We’ve seen many productions begin to look overseas, knowing they won’t experience another business interruption,” said Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Film Office. “We knew this would be like a reset for the industry… but it was definitely a bigger, harder, longer decline than we expected.”

Marvel left Georgia’s Market – last film shot there “Thunderbolts” of 2025 – and shifted their massive production to the UK, where labor and production costs are cheaper. Broadcasters like Netflix are also producing fewer programs overall, while increasingly shooting abroad. Other states, including California and Texas, have increased incentives to compete with Georgia’s tax credits, which can cover 30% of production costs.

Atlanta costume supervisor Monique Younger said local industry Facebook groups are filled with complaints about the lack of work, with some people complaining that established veterans are taking on the few jobs available. Younger says his business is less than half of what it used to be, leaving him “feeling a bit useless.”

Jen Farris, an Atlanta native and longtime location scout, said she turned down offers because she had too much work. Now, he’s juggling two- or three-month gaps between projects, forcing him to “watch his pennies.”

“Just pray you’ve nestled far enough away to swim a bit,” he said.

Despite the bleak outlook, Shadowbox Studios, one of metro Atlanta’s largest soundstage operators, is betting on the region’s future and calling on local filmmakers and industry leaders to rethink what’s possible.

Shadowbox introduces their massive space to everyone from independent filmmakers to content creators and esports organizers. But he also wants to ensure the city’s crew base remains intact.

Shadowbox COO Mike Mosallam noted that Atlanta has served as the nation’s “antidote” to years of Hollywood blockbusters going abroad, noting the city’s experienced crews, relatively low production costs, ample soundstage space and diverse landscapes. Keeping that pipeline of talent strong is key to preventing more productions from leaving, he said.

In November, Shadowbox hosted about 25 Black college students for Backlot Academy, a program launched in 2022 to diversify career ranks where personal connections often determine who gets hired.

Senior crew members taught participants how to decipher call forms, use radio language and survive on their feet for 12 hours a day. Participants can sign up for a free multi-week digital course on the ins and outs of production and receive mentorship as they try to book their first gig.

Intern Julian Williams grew up in Atlanta and watched The city has become a playground for Hollywood. In fact, one of the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movies was shot on his street. Williams, now a 24-year-old digital media student at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, is determined to break into the industry as a production assistant with the hopes of one day becoming an assistant director.

He’s ready to pursue his film dreams, but for now he’s relying on Atlanta and its collaborative film community.

“People are really helpful and willing to share what they know,” Williams said.

Among those assisting Williams and other interns was Backlot alumnus Joseph Jones, who credits Shadowbox with helping him launch a rewarding career as a production assistant. “It changed my life,” said Jones, 53, who worked in hotels for years but always knew he wanted to work in movies.

But Shadowbox officials don’t downplay the truth: The industry is down, especially in Atlanta. On the training day, only one of Shadowbox’s nine soundstages was booked for production, sales manager Jeremiah Cullen said.

Shadowbox has had to adapt by making deals to meet filmmakers’ budgets, often calling former clients to see how they can meet their needs, Cullen said.

“Hey, we missed you so much,” he tells them. “Do you have anything to cook?”

Ratledge also grew up loving movies; especially when, at age 9, he saw the rural Indiana town of Milan immortalized in the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.” He’s continued to reach out to her network, but he’s ready to move on.

Ratledge said he wasn’t looking for a miracle, just a stable TV job that would give him breathing room to stabilize his finances and figure out his next move. He said a five- or six-month streak would allow him to renew his health insurance, file for bankruptcy and “hit the reset button.”

“I don’t think I’m any different than the people who worked in Detroit in the ’70s when the auto industry collapsed and everything went overseas,” he said.

Even this is worrying President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue. Last year he called for tariffs aimed at keeping film production in the US; This plan was one that experts described as vague and unworkable.

Thomas of the Georgia Film Office said business is up significantly from last fiscal year. He attributes the rebound in part to Georgia’s new state law that allows tax incentives to apply to more types of production, including short-form vertical videos and free ad-supported streaming channels like Tubi.

Some Atlanta veterans, including location scout Farris, still see a path forward. He said there were so many talented and creative people in Atlanta and they were just wiped out.

“People moved their families here. They’re raising children here. It wasn’t just about the movie,” he said. “It changed our landscape; it brought in bright new minds. Artists. Creatives. And I truly believe Georgia will find a way to foster a whole new wave of artistic possibility.”

This story has been corrected to show that Ratledge’s family consists of five members, not four.