Moving Beyond L.A. – The Fight for the New Hollywood

Southern California and the film industry have been synonymous since the beginnings of the studio system in the 1910s. But lately, studios seem to be popping up anywhere but Los Angeles. Atlanta, Georgia has been on the rise for a few years now as a hub for filmmaking, but studios have begun popping up in New Jersey and Texas as well this past year. What does this mean for the film and television industry? Are we finally shifting away from traditional Hollywood?

Why Did the Industry Move to California?

How did Hollywood become the central hub of the film industry? Many of the early pioneers of film technology, such as Thomas Edison, were actually located in New Jersey or New York. This led to the creation of the Motion Pictures Patent Company by Edison, which vertically integrated the industry and left other filmmakers with an inability to create in those states. California became the ideal state to move to in order to escape Edison’s restrictions. The large immigrant population meant cheaper wages, there was affordable land to build studios on, and the consistent warm weather meant better filming conditions overall. Since the 1910s, the American film industry has resided largely in California. The factors that moved the film industry to California are largely financial and legal, and these are what influence new filmmaking hubs today as well. 

Atlanta, Georgia

When you think “film,” Atlanta might not be the first city that comes to mind, but you likely recognize the names of these productions: The Hunger Games, Stranger Things, Baby Driver, and Avengers: Infinity War, all of which filmed in or around the city. The film industry in Georgia has been a critical aspect of their economy since a 2008 monetary incentive called the Entertainment Industry Investment Act. On productions worth $500,000 or more, Georgia offers a 20% tax incentive, and unlike other states, all genres and types of films can be considered by the film commissioners in the state. This has allowed Georgia to rise as the third most popular filming destination in the U.S., following California and New York. The state itself continues to invest in this industry, and since the Entertainment Industry Investment Act, Georgia’s entertainment industry makes $9.5 billion a year. 

Georgia also offers similar weather conditions to California. Consistently warm and predictable weather is something that can really appeal to filmmakers, as it did with California in the 1910s. Georgia also has a vast geographical landscape, with mountains, forests, cities, and beaches all present within the state. When filmmakers were shooting films that take place in the South, such as Driving Miss Daisy, Georgia was typically where they would film anyways. Atlanta’s unrecognizable city skyline also allows for different or made up cities to all be shot in Georgia, unlike somewhere like New York which has a really distinct skyline.  

Georgia is probably the oldest “new Hollywood,” beginning in 2008, and it is the home of many monumental places for filmmakers outside of California. Marvel’s Pinewood Studios Fayette County location, for example, houses 18 soundstages across 700 acres – this is the largest multi-purpose studio built outside of Hollywood. Studios continue to invest in Atlanta, and Georgia continues to invest in its film industry. Other states have begun following in Georgia’s footsteps and creating tax incentives for filmmakers, such as New Jersey. 

New Jersey

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy launched a Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program in late 2018, which initially featured an annual cap of $75 million, with credits being earned for up to 30-35% of eligible expenses. Since then, the tax credit expanded to $340 million annually through 2039, and productions that meet certain diversity criteria are offered an additional 2-4% incentive. Murphy emphasizes the importance of the economic impact that these film incentives create, especially for the filmmaking communities. 

New Jersey does not have a singular city that is attracting most of the state’s industry, unlike Atlanta, Georgia or Los Angeles, California. Films such as A Complete Unknown take advantage of the Jersey Shore, shooting in Cape May. Other films, like Relay, find New Jersey to be a cheaper, New York-adjacent option, with places such as Newark, Harrison, or Hoboken. This is especially a good option for when films have both urban and suburban landscapes featured, as both can be shot in New Jersey. Additionally, filming in New Jersey allows for establishing wide shots of the New York City skyline taken over the Hudson River. The demand for stage space in New York City has been an issue for filmmakers for decades, and production studios have been popping up in New Jersey to help resolve this. 

One of the largest differences between New Jersey and California’s geographical diversity is the distance between each location. From top to bottom, New Jersey is only a 3 hour drive, and so all these different locations are easily accessible for a single shoot, cutting down on transportation costs. Beaches, urban areas, rural areas, and snowy mountains are all within 90 minutes of each other. New Jersey is building studios in all of these areas, from Newark to the Shore, and the best is likely yet to come for the state’s film industry. 

Texas

Texas is at an even earlier stage in the process of building itself up as a film hub. Texas’ proposed budget for 2026-2027 includes a provision that features filmmaking incentives for the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. With nearly $500 million going into the incentive, the goal is for Texas to become “the movie capital of the world.” This would more than double the current production incentives, which are currently at 20% up to $200 million. The proposed funding is split into two parts, with $48 million being saved for small film and television commercial grants, and the remaining $450 million will go towards larger scale productions that will create more jobs, more spending, and organically promote the region. 

Texas is on the cusp of a Hollywood revival, with Paramount+ filming many of its productions in Fort Worth, and multimillion dollar studios popping up throughout the state. They have a history of a filmmaking community in Austin already, which is where Yellowstone has been shooting. Texas considers its filmmaking competitors to be other southern states, such as Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Georgia. As of right now, incentive for filmmakers to shoot in Texas is still a necessity. So, without these tax programs, Texas’ film industry would be much weaker. But, if these incentives continue or increase, Texas has the potential to become another central location for filmmakers. 

What makes a state ideal for filmmakers? Tax incentives, mostly – especially when large companies are deciding where they want to build multi-million dollar production facilities. It looks like the industry is finally moving beyond California and New York, and newer, cheaper location options are coming up. It looks like, for the first time since the 1910s, states are beginning to take advantage of the film industry and economic boom that it can bring to a state. Keeping an eye out for these programs, especially for smaller or independent ones such as Texas’ $48 million grants and housing incentive, can help filmmakers outside of L.A. or N.Y.C finance their films and lifestyles.

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