Sunday, November 14, 2010

Film Gala

It’s a Wrap!

Last night we celebrated the completion of filming Eye of the Hurricane in Camden County. We can all look forward to a world premiere here in St. Marys in the early part of 2011. I want to thank everyone in the community who contributed toward making this film a success. You will be very proud when you see it on the screen.

Barbara

 

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Eye of the Hurricane Wraps

Today’s a mixture of sadness and joy as the Eye of the Hurricane movie crew starts to pull out of St. Marys. Sad because we’ve made great friends and these past few weeks will find a place to live in our hearts forever. But joy because we know that Susan, Jesse, Giovanni, Sean, Lawson and the entire gang will spend the next few months moving Eye of the Hurricane forward into post production with great anticipation of the release date. We’re so looking forward to debuting this captivating film to the world. Y’all come back real soon!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Movie begins in St. Marys

 

 

BRAVEART FILMS BEGINS PRODUCTION ON “EYE OF THE HURRICANE” IN ST. MARYS

 

ST. MARYS, GA—Susan Johnson’s BRAVEART FILMS has begun production on their sixth independent film, “Eye

 

of the Hurricane,” in St. Marys, Georgia.

 

              “Eye of the Hurricane”   is a compelling family adventure about a small Everglades community trying to put their lives back together in the wake of a devastating hurricane.  The story unwinds through the eyes of a determined child, a troubled adolescent, a wounded parent and a loyal friend.  Campbell Scott, Melanie Lynskey, Jose Zuniga, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Nicola Peltz  star in the script by Jesse Wolfe.  The film is executive-produced by Giovanni Lovatelli, Sean Myers and Giuseppe Pedersoli and will shoot entirely in the State of Georgia, thanks to the Georgia State Tax Incentive and the community of St. Marys, according to Producer Johnson.

              “With the exceptional assistance provided by the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance, we will be able to produce a film that dramatically showcases the natural beauty with which St. Marys and Coastal Georgia are so blessed,” Johnson said. “Our experience thus far in St. Marys has been extraordinary, and the generous hospitality of local residents is making our production here a most pleasant experience.”

              Johnson has produced five feature films through her production company BRAVEART FILMS, all of which have had worldwide distribution from companies such as Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Focus Features.  Those films include “Beneath The Blue” starring Paul Wesley (“Vampire Diaries”) and David Keith (“An Officer & A Gentleman”); “Eye of the Dolphin” starring Jane Lynch (“Glee”); “Wieners” starring Zachary Levi (“Chuck”), Kenan Thompson & Darrell Hammond (“Saturday Night Live” ), Mindy Sterling (“Austin Powers”), and MTV’s Andy Milonakis & Jenny McCarthy;  “Nearing Grace” starring Jordana Brewster (“Fast & the Furious,”) and David Morse (“The Hurt Locker”); and “Mean Creek” starring Rory Culkin and Trevor Morgan.  “Mean Creek” premiered in competition at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals and earned Johnson both an Independent Spirit Award and the Humanitas Prize.

              Future BRAVEART productions include “Four Year Plan,” which will be Johnson’s directorial debut and “Other Life” from award-winning Hungarian director Roland Vranik.

              The Coastal Georgia Film Alliance brought “Eye of the Hurricane” to St. Marys after being contacted by BraveArt Films through the Georgia Film Office. The Film Alliance was formed by a handful of private citizens whose common goal is to stimulate economic growth for St. Marys and the surrounding area. Thus far, all expenses related to promoting and securing film production in Camden County have been underwritten by Film Alliance founders Doug Vaught and Barbara Ryan, the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance Board, and private individuals and companies that have stepped forward as founding sponsors. “Eye of the Hurricane” is one of four film projects that have been facilitated by the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance since its inception. Other productions include the movie “Resurrection Ferns,” and TV pilots “Semper Paratus” and “Mr. Bags.”

              For more information about Eye of the Hurricane and other film production updates, visit www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org.

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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Coastal Georgia Film Update

AMELIA ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL CALLS FOR GEORGIA ENTRIES

 

ST. MARYS, GA—The Coastal Georgia Film Alliance encourages all Georgia filmmakers or filmmakers making films in Georgia to enter the 3rd Annual Amelia Island Film Festival (AIFF) that takes place February 24-27, 2011. This year’s theme, “Meet Me in Paradise,” is a tribute to the festival’s island location, but festival founder Tony McAdoo says Amelia Island’s location right on the border of Georgia and Florida makes it natural to have a special competition dedicated exclusively to Georgia films.

 

Partnering with the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance in St. Marys, Georgia, the AIFF hopes to draw entries from across Georgia with the winning Georgia entry to be premiered in St. Marys.

 

“We premiered a Georgia film last year in St. Marys,” McAdoo said. “And it was the perfect appetizer to set up the four-day event across the river here on Amelia Island.”

 

McAdoo looks at the Southern Georgia/Northern Florida coastline as an exciting “cinemagical” region in which only a “river runs through it.”

 

“This area is leading the way in cooperative efforts between the two states,” McAdoo said. “Georgia’s enticing tax incentives combined with Florida’s diversity of geography provides a win/win situation for filmmakers looking to maximize their budgets.”

 

Both Coastal Georgia and Amelia Island have seen their good share of film activity recently with several full-length productions being shot in the area as well as two TV pilots.

 

Coastal Georgia Film Alliance Chair Doug Vaught says that the area’s wealth of natural beauty and myriad film friendly locations are getting the attention of filmmakers from as far away as Hollywood.

 

Eye of the Hurricane, starring Campbell Scott, is about to start production in St. Marys,” Vaught said. “And ironically, L.A.’s BraveArt Films has chosen St. Marys as a stand-in for a small town in Florida for this film.”

 

On Amelia Island, The Diary of Preston Plummer, starring Rumer Willis, has just completed three weeks of filming.

 

For information on how to enter the Amelia Island Film Festival, visit www.ameliaislandfilmfestival.org. Entrants are asked to signify if they are entering as a Georgia film. For more information about the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance and filming in Georgia, visit www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org.

 

 

 

Friday, August 20, 2010

FILM GALA

FILM ALLIANCE GALA TO BENEFIT ST. MARYS FILM MUSEUM
“HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS”
TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 13, 2010
ST. MARYS, GA—The Coastal Georgia Film Alliance invites Coastal Georgia and Northeast Florida residents to polish up their bling and dust off their tuxedoes to attend the November 13 “Hollywood Nights” Gala to be held in downtown St. Marys. Attendees will be met on the red carpet by Joan Rivers (character), snapped by the paparazzi, and whisked inside for a night of high glamour. According to Coastal Georgia Film Alliance Chair Doug Vaught, the evening promises to be one of St. Marys’ most exciting.
“From the moment the valet parker takes your car and you step onto the red carpet, you will find yourself immersed in a world of celebrity,” Vaught said. “Everybody likes to be treated like a star, and at Hollywood Nights, everybody will be a star.”
The Coastal Georgia Film Alliance designed “Hollywood Nights” as a fundraiser to help support the purchase of museum-quality items for the St. Marys Film Museum. In addition to a star-quality dinner, attendees will have the opportunity to bid on unique auction items including walk-on roles in movie and television projects.
Donna Boyett, Chair of the Gala, said her committee is assembling a lineup of auction packages that even stars would like to bid on.
“Chic getaways, sports packages, and arts and romance packages have already been assembled,” Boyett said. “One item that we think will bring a top price is dinner for eight at the Historic Clark House with a local dignitary serving as butler.”
Boyett went on to say that though the event is months away, the Film Alliance has already sold 50% of the available 200 tickets.
“They make a great early Christmas present,” Boyett said. “But mostly people are making reservations in anticipation of something quite out of the ordinary for our area. They won’t be disappointed.”
The event is by invitation only with tickets priced at $45 each. To receive an invitation, email barbara@coastalgeorgiafilm.org.

TV pilot set for filming in St. Marys

TV pilot set for filming in St. Marys

St. Marys gets nod for its pool of talent, scenery.


Friday, May 14, 2010

BRAVEART FILMS TAPS ST. MARYS FOR UPCOMING MOVIE PRODUCTION

ST. MARYS, GA—After weeks of research and discovery of potential film locations for Braveart’s filming of “Eye of the Hurricane,” Hollywood Producer Susan Johnson has announced the project will be filmed in St. Marys, Georgia.
“We are thrilled to be shooting ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ in St. Marys, due in no small part of the folks at the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance. Initially we were looking for a location that could match the Florida Everglades, but once we saw St. Marys, the possibilities were endless,” Johnson stated. “We saw every location we needed in the span of four hours and became so enamored of the look of St. Marys that the script has been rewritten to utilize the entire town. And we could not have received a warmer welcome. By the time we finish production, I'm sure one of us will have moved in permanently!”
Coastal Georgia Film Alliance Chair Doug Vaught said that “Eye of the Hurricane” will be a real economic coup for the area and an opportunity for local people and businesses to benefit from the production.
“Beside the hundreds of room nights in our hotels and bed and breakfasts that the production will provide, the cast and crew will be eating in our restaurants, shopping in our shops, and patronizing numerous businesses for various services needed,” Vaught said. “There will even be opportunities for locals to work as extras on the set.”
Janet Brinko, Director of the St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau, sees the economic effect impacting long after the production is finished.
“People love to visit places where movies were filmed,” Brinko said. “After the filming of ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ in Savannah, their area tourism soared. Having ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ filmed here will be like having a two-hour picture postcard for St. Marys distributed all over the world.”
To see the kind of picture postcard Brinko envisioned, one can visit www.havensfoot.com and view the location visuals posted by the production company showing the beauty of St. Marys and the surrounding area. “Eye of the Hurricane” writer and director Jesse Wolfe said it was more than the beauty of the area that helped make his and Johnson’s decision.


"I originally wanted to shoot the film in Florida, as it is a story based in Florida,” Wolfe said. “But from the moment we drove into St. Marys, I knew I would change my mind. Potential locations leapt out at me each time we turned a corner, and the hospitality, enthusiasm and charm of the townsfolk, sealed the deal. I will be making my ‘Florida film’ in St. Marys, Georgia."
Barbara Ryan, Coastal Georgia Film Alliance Co-Chair and a founder of the film group said that working with Johnson and Wolfe on the location scout was a pleasure, and the ensuing footwork by Vaught and Brinko really paid off.
“All major locations were secured and housing was established within a week after the initial location scout,” Ryan said. “This is the kind of energy and cooperation that will attract future film production in the area.” Ryan also credits the State of Georgia’s visionary thinking on economic development and the aggressive film industry incentives offered here for bringing the production to Coastal Georgia.
“The Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act provides an income tax credit of up to 30% for filmmakers,” Ryan continued. “Entertainment productions in Georgia have increased 400 percent since the state introduced the tax credit package in 2008. More than 100 feature films, television series, specials and pilots have been produced in Georgia since then, helping catapult the state into the top five in the nation for film and TV production in 2009, and landing it in the top spot in the Southeast.”
This year alone (as of April 22) movies filmed in Georgia have grossed over $415 million at the box office, further cementing the state's position as a leading location for filming.
Actor Campbell Scott will play the leading role in “Eye of the Hurricane.” Son of Hollywood icon George C. Scott, more than 20 movies comprise his film dossier including the poignant “Dying Young” that co-starred Julia Roberts. Jose Zuniga also plays a leading role in “Eye of the Hurricane.” His credits include the film “Twilight” and others, as well as starring roles in television series “Law and Order,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and “Ghost Whisperer.”
A plot synopsis of “Eye of the Hurricane” describes it as: “A compelling family drama about a small Florida community struggling to put their lives back together in the wake of a devastating hurricane. In the spirit of ‘Stand by Me’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ is told through the eyes of a determined child, a troubled adolescent, a wounded parent, and a loyal friend.”
With filming set to begin in August, Writer/Director Wolfe sees “Eye of the Hurricane” as a prequel to much more filming in the Southeast.
“The potential is enormous,” Wolfe said. “The resources in this area are vast. There are thousands of stories waiting to be told on screen and hundreds of filmmakers chomping at the bit to apply their craft here. I believe ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ can be a pioneering movie in this endeavor.”
For more information about “Eye of the Hurricane,” visit www.havensfoot.com. For more information about the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance, visit www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Filmmakers Give High Remarks

FILMMAKERS GIVE COASTAL GEORGIA HIGH MARKS
FOR FUTURE FILM PRODUCTION
ST. MARYS, GA—During a bi-state visit by filmmakers from as far away as California, Coastal Georgia Film Society board members showcased the area’s many noteworthy location possibilities f
or TV and movies, and filmmakers were impressed.











L-R: Florida State Film Commissioner Lucia Fishburne, St. Marys Mayor Bill Deloughy, County Commissioner David Rainer, Film Society Co-Founder Barbara Ryan, and Academy Award nominee Andy Abrahams Wilson during the recent filmmakers tour hosted by the Coastal Georgia Film Society.

Florida State Film Commissioner Lucia Fishburne joined the morning St. Marys tour of visiting film executives who were attending
 the Amelia Island 
Film Festival. Fishburne expressed appreciation for the local group’s efforts to promote South Georgia and North Florida as a dual destination for filmmakers seeking diversity of landscape as well as attractive economic incentives.
“Our industry is all about relationships,” Fishburne said. “I’d really like to see a long-term relationship between the two cities,” (speaking of St. Marys and Fernandina Beach). Fishburne went on to say that she was not aware of any other two states that are cooperating in this way.
The Coastal Georgia Film Society, along with area dignitaries, welcomed two sailings of the Cumberland Island Ferry on Friday. Guests were given a tour of the area’s film worthy locations and served up a generous helping of southern hospitality at several businesses throughout St. Marys’ Historic District.  They were then shown the new Film Society office and mini film museum and viewed the recently unveiled Coastal Georgia Film Society website—www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org, which will serve as a resource for filmmakers.
Several filmmakers, including an Emmy Award winner and an Academy Award nominee, expressed interest in the possibility of upcoming productions being filmed in and around St. Marys. Film Society Co-founder Barbara Ryan said the day could not have been more perfect.
“We accomplished our mission and that was to expose filmmakers to the values of filming in our area,” Ryan said. “Not only because of our diverse locations, but also because of the generous economic incentives that Georgia offers.”
Georgia has been referenced by national industry publications as one of the nation’s most attractive states when it comes to film incentives.
“Coastal Georgia has not, in the past, been a mecca for filmmaking,” Ryan said. “But that’s because we’ve never told anybody about what we have to offer.” 
Ryan and fellow Film Society board members are on a fast track to make up for lost time and capitalize on film industry opportunities that have added up to more than $900 million annually in years past.
“Just a sliver of that investment could make a difference in our economy,” Ryan said. “And the residual benefit of increased tourism that follows a popular film is priceless.”
For more information about the Coastal Georgia Film Society, visit www.coastalgeorgiafilm.org, or call 912-729-1103.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Film Museum Seeks Memorabilia

FILM MEMORABILIA SOUGHT BY FILM SOCIETY 
FOR DOWNTOWN FILM MUSEUM

ST. MARYS, GA—Organizers of the St. Marys Film Society are working on developing a mini Film Museum in Downtown St. Marys and are reaching out to residents for ideas and contents for display.

To be housed at 300 Osborne Street in the Film Society office space provided by Joseph and Terra Lucent, the Film Museum will be an added attraction to St. Marys’ already impressive list of museums including the Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum, Orange Hall House Museum, the St. Marys Submarine Museum, and the display galleries at the Cumberland Island Visitors Center.

Vintage Hollywood items are already starting to line the walls of the Film Society office, but Donna Boyett, Film Society board member and benefactor of several displays, said there is much left to be done.

“We’re looking for anything of interest connected to the film industry, and that includes Hollywood, of course, but also items relating to television and video production,” Boyett said. “When the museum is complete, we’re confident it will not only be an asset for our city, but will also be an engaging experience that will help boost our share of tourism.”

Boyett said the donated and loaned props, old film reels, film tools (like old projectors), posters, scripts, and other types of memorabilia will comprise the museum’s exhibits. Film Society board members are working along with Express Scripts to build display areas as well.

Anyone who has an item they would like to donate or lend to the St. Marys Film Museum should call 912-729-1103.

Pick the Oscars

LOCAL “PICK THE OSCARS” CONTEST CALLS FOR ENTRIES

Winner could make film debut!

ST. MARYS, GA—Maybe no red carpet or annoying paparazzi, but this year Camden County residents have the opportunity to experience their own little bit of Hollywood in the “Pick the Oscars” Contest sponsored by Tribune-Georgian and Coastal Georgia Film Society.

Tribune-Georgian readers and other entrants will be asked to select their prediction of winners in eight major categories. The entrant with the most correct winners will receive a prize package that includes a walk-on part in the TV pilot CGAUX: Life Savers, a romantic stay in the Gable & Lombard Suite at The Goodbread House, dinner for 2 at Captain Seagle’s, gift certificate for Borrell Creek Landing, free movie passes, a professional photo session, Wild Horses-Wild Women gift certificate, dance lessons at Lisa Allen Danceworks, and photo features in local publications. In case of a tie, a coin toss will decide the winner.

To enter, simply clip and fill out one of the entry forms that will appear in upcoming Tribune-Georgian editions, or pick up an entry form at the Tribune-Georgian office. All entries must be postmarked by March 6th. The Academy Award winners will be announced at the annual ceremony March 7. 

Casting Call

FILM SOCIETY CASTING CALL DRAWS ASPIRING STARS

 

ST. MARYS, GA—More than 100 acting hopefuls showed up Saturday at J’s Restaurant & British Pub to audition for upcoming film productions in Coastal Georgia. Tom Hayden, producer of the TV pilot CGAUX: Life Savers, was pleased with the turnout and the collection of talent.

 

“The casting call went well,” Hayden said. “The next step will be a ‘call back’ for those who we think can contribute to the TV pilot.”

 

Hayden and co-writer of the CGAUX: Life Savers TV pilot Mark Hildebrand (both of M-5 Films) joined local panelists Lisa Allen and Doug Vaught to screen auditions from applicants who ranged in age from 21 to the 80s. All applicants will be placed in the Coastal Georgia Film Society databank to reference for future film productions.

 

Talents included those with no acting experience, community theater actors, and professional actors as well. More often than not, when asked why an applicant showed up at the audition, the reply was, “We just want to be part of the excitement.”

 

Coming from Folkston, Woodbine, Fernandina Beach and beyond, many waited for hours to have their shot at cinematic fame. Coastal Georgia Film Society board members and volunteers were impressed by the patience of the group.

 

“We consider our first casting call a huge success,” said Doug Vaught, Chairman of Coastal Georgia Film Society. “There were many actors from the Amelia Community Theater and also several former CAP (Camden Area Players) at the casting call. Even those who are not called back for the TV pilot will be considered for future projects.”

 

The next project for Coastal Georgia Film Society is the hosting of film professionals whose films are featured in this week’s Amelia Island Film Festival. Filmmakers and film industry leaders including Florida’s state film commissioner will take the Cumberland Sound Ferry to St. Marys this Friday, be escorted on a locations tour, treated to mini-receptions at various downtown businesses, and then an afternoon wrap-up reception at the Riverview Hotel.

 

Those interested in learning more about Coastal Georgia Film Society can visit their website www.CoastalGeorgiaFilm.org which will go live Friday, February 26, 2010.

FILM SCREENING

FILM SOCIETY TO HOST FILM SCREENING

FEBRUARY 19 IN ST. MARYS

“MAN FROM PLAINS”

FREE TO PUBLIC

 

ST. MARYS, GA—“An extraordinary film about an extraordinary man…” That’s what Larry King said about Man From Plains, the film that Coastal Georgia Film Society will be screening as an event appetizer for the Amelia Island Film Festival which takes place the week after the St. Marys screening.

Biografilm winner of the Venice Film Festival and an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival, Man from Plains has been hailed as an “illuminating, candid, and intimate portrait” of our nation’s 39th president who hails from Plains, Georgia.

Event organizer Barbara Ryan said it is fitting that the first event of the newly named Coastal Georgia Film Society honors someone who has made us all proud to call Georgia home.

Man from Plains was given the highest rating—four stars—that is awarded by such esteemed newspapers as the San Francisco Chronicle,” Ryan said. “Through the generosity of our big brother organization, the Amelia Island Film Festival, we are able to make this showing free to the public.” The film will be shown again the following week during the Amelia Island Film Festival.

Tony McAdoo, president of Amelia Island Film Festival hopes to create enough interest that Camden County residents will come by car or take the Cumberland Sound Ferry to enjoy the many films that the Festival on the south side of the river will be offering February 26-28.

“Amelia Island and Coastal Georgia are bridged by a common love of movies and we feel that co-promoting our events is a win-win scenario for everyone,” McAdoo said.

The 7:00 p.m. February 19th screening in St. Marys at the Ward L. Hernandez Economic Building, 400 Osborne Street, is free to the public and will be preceded by an open reception at the St. Marys Visitors Center, 406 Osborne Street. As there are a limited number of seats available for the screening, the Coastal Georgia Film Society is asking those who wish to attend the screening and the reception to call 912-882-4000 for reservations.

FILM SOCIETY REVISES NAME

FILM SOCIETY REVISES NAME TO INCORPORATE BROADER AREA


ST. MARYS, GA—In an effort to more closely reflect their inclusive mission of “promoting film production throughout Coastal Georgia,” the St. Marys Film Society has changed its name to Coastal Georgia Film Society. According to Film Society Chair Doug Vaught, the board voted unanimously to make the name change during their recent board meeting.

“The new name, ‘Coastal Georgia Film Society,’ more accurately portrays our intentions to promote the entire region to filmmakers,” Vaught said. “And that means including some of our area’s greatest cinematic assets like the Okefenokee Swamp.”

Vaught went on to say, “Linking the film society to Georgia’s state efforts in luring filmmaking is being fast-tracked. The time to make decisions affecting long-term strategies is now.”

David Keating, Executive Director of the Camden County Joint Development Authority, supports the efforts of the film society in promoting the region as a great place for television and film production. “The State reports the economic impact of television and film production in Georgia was more than $900 Million last year. If we are successful in attracting just a small market share of that production activity, then it would yield big dividends for the community,” Keating said. “We are working with our state and local partners, including the film society, to promote the unique natural resources and economic assets of the area. Camden County is a great place for business, including television and film production.”

According to industry statistics, for every $1 spent in the promotion of filmmaking on a local basis, $7 is returned to the local economy.

The Coastal Georgia Film Society is located at 300 Osborne Street in St. Marys where Society organizers are setting up a mini film museum to be developed into an additional attraction for the area.

For more information, call 912-729-1103.

FILM SOCIETY HOSTS LUNCHEON

ST. MARYS FILM SOCIETY HOSTS LUNCHEON

FOR AMELIA ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL

 

ST. MARYS, GA—Members of the Amelia Island Film Festival (AIFF) were greeted by St. Marys Film Society board members as they debarked the Cumberland Sound Ferry last Monday (September 14). The Amelia Island group had sailed to St. Marys to discuss the upcoming cooperative arrangements between the AIFF and the St. Marys Film Society.

After an historic tour of St. Marys, the group gathered at Captain Seagle’s in the Riverview Hotel for a lunch hosted by proprietors Gaila and Jerry Brandon. Plans discussed revolved around the February screening of an AIFF movie in St. Marys scheduled for February 19 (the week before the Film Festival). AIFF organizers will then bring film industry executives/professionals to St. Marys on February 26 for a tour of potential film location sites and a reception. The public will be invited to the February 19 screening. AIFF president Tony McAdoo also suggested a prize to be awarded to the best festival entry that comes from Georgia.

“We already have in place an award for Florida’s best entry,” McAdoo said. “In honor of our new collaboration with St. Marys, we thought Georgia should be recognized as well.”

One representative of the Amelia Island contingent lamented that Florida had done away with a lot of incentives for film makers at the same time that Georgia had increased their incentives.

Director of St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau Janet Brinko said, “With a 700% return to local economies on the state’s investment in filmmaking promotion, it makes us proud that Georgia leadership recognizes the value of this industry and continues to put out the welcome mat for them.” Brinko went on to state that having a film production can raise visitorship in an area by as much as 75% with residual effects on tourism lasting long after the film is wrapped. Savannah, for example, continues to reap the benefits of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, even though the movie was filmed there more than twelve years ago.

The next project for St. Marys Film Society will be to screen entries to the Amelia Island Film Festival to determine the film that would most appeal to St. Marys film patrons.

Both organizations agreed that the synergy between the two cities on both sides of the St. Marys River will play an important role in bringing film makers to the area.

“The diverse locations that we can offer as a team are impressive,” stated Doug Vaught, Acting Chair of St. Marys Film Society. “Moving forward with our join initiatives will be a win-win situation for both states.”

To get involved in St. Marys Film Society or for more information, call 912-729-1103.

Film Society Launch

ST. MARYS AD HOC GROUP TEAMS UP WITH AMELIA ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL TO LAUNCH ST. MARYS FILM SOCIETY
ST. MARYS, GA—In the wake of Amelia Island’s recent success as a film magnet, executives from the Amelia Island Film Festival met with St. Marys residents recently to discuss a “sistership” in the advancement of film production and promotion for both areas. According to Tony McAdoo, president of the Amelia Island Film Festival, the collaboration is a natural.
“With the Cumberland Sound Ferry bridging the two towns, it makes a lot of sense to piggyback on each other’s resources,” McAdoo said. “Here we have two states separated by a mere river and each having its unique characteristics. We’re proud to offer our visitors and residents another dimension of entertainment and historic exploration by supporting the development of a St. Marys film organization.”
St. Marys Film Society organizers’ ultimate mission is to position St. Marys as a valuable location option for filmmakers. Toward that goal, they plan to begin by getting acquainted with film industry movers and shakers—producers, directors, writers, and actors, and building a portfolio of resources for the industry. One of the St. Marys Film Society organizers, Doug Vaught, said that Savannah has nothing on St. Marys when it comes to being an attractive location to make a movie.
“We trump them on cemeteries. Our diversity of geography and our water realm including Cumberland Island presents filmmakers with an excellent backdrop for drama, comedy, and adventure films.” Vaught went on to cite the recent filming of Resurrection Fern in St. Marys and on Cumberland Island as a good beginning toward getting the word out. He also went on to say that our proximity to the Jacksonville International Airport and technical talents available in neighboring Jacksonville will add to St. Marys’ appeal as a film location. Donna Boyett, proprietor of The French Quarter in Downtown St. Marys agreed.
“St. Marys and our surrounding area has much to offer, and as a business owner I’m eager to reach out to the film community and show them how easy we are to work with,” said Boyett, another Film Society organizer. “The economic advantages of having film crews in our town spending money are evident, but the residual benefit of boosted tourism like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil brought to Savannah has even greater positive ramifications.”
Thus far, two events are in the planning stages as part of the St. Marys Film Society launch. On February 18, one week before the 2010 Amelia Island Film Festival begins, the Film Society plans to host a screening of one of Amelia Island’s entries at a downtown St. Marys location. Then during the actual Amelia Island Film Festival (February 25-March 1, 2010), the St. Marys Film Society will host a “meet and greet” in St. Marys. Guests of the “meet and greet”—film execs and artists—will come from Amelia Island by ferry and visit with several businesses in order to familiarize themselves with what St. Marys has to offer.
“We have to walk before we run,” said Vaught. “This year we see ourselves as an ‘appetizer’ for the Amelia Island Film Festival. Future years will hold bigger things and bigger returns for our city.”
Looking to the future, Vaught and other Film Society organizers endeavor to form a film commission and take advantage of an official affiliation with Georgia Economic Development and all that they offer local organizations.
“More than 600 films and television projects have been shot in Georgia,” said Janet Brinko, Director of the St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s good for tourism, and that means it’s good for our economy. There’s no reason why St. Marys can’t capitalize on our natural beauty and our business-friendly environment.”
According to industry statistics, for every $1 spent in the promotion of filmmaking on a local basis, $7 is returned to the local economy. Georgia Senator Jeff Chapman said that “In a time when cities around the nation are searching for ways to rejuvenate their economy, community leaders who are thinking outside of the box can add great value to a city’s long term plans. The organizers of the St. Marys Film Society are to be commended for their vision and their willingness to do the heavy lifting to make things happen.”
Anyone in the community who would like to get involved in the St. Marys Film Society is urged to call 912-882-4000.