Volume 22, Number 1 
 
Winter 2006 
 
New GA Tax Incentive Focus of 2005 Georgia Night in LA 
 
Photo: (L-R) Lee Thomas, Greg Torre, Robert Tate Miller, Beth Polson and Leah Goodman 
 
Berliner Photography, LLC 
 
On Wednesday, December 7, Georgia entertainment alumni gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate the sixth annual Georgia Night in LA. Hosted by the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office, the event attracted over 200 attendees and is a celebration of producers, directors and crew who have worked on Georgia productions along with Georgia filmmakers and musicians who currently call Los Angeles home. 
Georgia Night in LA... continued on page 3 
 
Tyler Perry Shoots Series in Atlanta 
 
Tyler Perry and Reuben Cannon have teamed up again to create and shoot their third project in Atlanta. After filming two movies in the last two years in Georgia, the successful comedy Diary of a Mad Black Woman and the soon-to-be released Madea's Family Reunion, Perry and Cannon have returned to executive produce a new series called House of Payne. Not only 
 
Photo: (L-R) Denise Burse, Allen Payne, Cassi Davis, Tyler Perry, China Anne McClain, Larramie "Doc" Shaw and LaVan Davis 
Tyler Perry... continued on page 6 
 
Photo Credit: Guy D Alema 
 
Georgians Nab GRAMMY Nominations 
Photo: Multiple Grammy Nominee Trisha Yearwood 
On December 8, the announcement of the 48th Annual GRAMMY nominations included a number of Georgia artists in multiple categories. Garnering four nominations each are producers/songwriters Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, engineer Phil Tan and Riverdale singer/songwriter Ciara. The local country trio Sugarland and Ciara vie for the honor of "Best New Artist," while Georgia acts Casting Crowns and Third Day face off in the "Best Pop/ Contemporary Gospel Album" category. Trisha Yearwood's Jasper County album earned her two GRAMMY nominations, local hip-hop star T.I., engineer John Grammy Noms... continued on page 5 
 
1 The Georgia Film, Video & Music newsletter is a bi-monthly publication of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Articles 
can be mailed to Brenda Brayton, Georgia Film, Video & Music, Post Office Box 1776, Atlanta, GA 30301, faxed to 404.962.4053 or sent electronically to bbrayton@georgia.org. Visit our website at www.georgia.org or call 877.746.6842. 
 
 Photos: (L-R) Savannah's Forsyth Park and Savannah Riverfront 
 
Georgia Filmmakers Featured at Sundance 
 
FEATURED LOCATION: The City of Savannah 
The Savannah area boasts a wealth of locations including the nation's largest historical district, an evergreen forest, coastal and rural settings. With an architectural timeline that dates back to 1733, Savannah has retained its original layout with 22 public squares and quaint brick streets. Award winning films including Forrest Gump, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Something to Talk About, The Gift, The General's Daughter, along with a host of other films, television movies and specials have chosen Savannah as their backdrop. For more information visit www.savannahfilm.org or call 912.651.3696. 
 
This January two Georgia filmmakers will have their works screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance audiences will view Hadjii's film Somebodies and James Ponsoldt's feature film Off the Black. 
The Athens lensed Somebodies was written and directed by Hadjii. The film will be featured in Sundance's Independent Feature Film Competition in the drama category. Somebodies tells the story of a black college student who stumbles along the path to responsible adulthood surrounded by eccentric relatives, prankster classmates and more-or-less rehabilitated ex-cons. The cast includes Hadjii, Kaira Whitehead, Pat Brown, 
 
Tyler Craig, Carlos Davis, Nard Houston, Nick Lewis and Iron E Singleton. 
Off the Black has been selected to screen in Sundance's Spectrum Program along with 23 other out-of-competition dramatic and documentary works by new independent filmmakers from the US and abroad. Written and directed by Ponsoldt, Off the Black focuses on an unusual friendship developed between an aging high-school baseball umpire and a teenage pitcher after the young player vandalizes the older man's house. 
Both filmmakers are alumni of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office's "Perfect Pitch" contest. Ponsoldt was the winner of the "2003 Perfect Pitch" with his script "Beyond Ila." Last year Hadjii was a semi finalist with his pitch of "My Father's Business." 
 
Guillotine Expands 
While continuing to provide creative editorial services to an expanding roster of clients, Guillotine Post is undergoing expansion at their Midtown facility. Adding another Avid Adrenaline bay brings Guillotine's total to six Avid edit suites. Additionally, a new Avid Unity media server with 6 terrabytes of storage allows for development of new business while increasing flexibility and efficiency for ongoing projects. 
Recent entries to the Guillotine vault include projects for Turner Classic Movies (TMC) and Turner South. Senior editor Koepenick worked with TCM 
 
producers Anne Wilson and Gary Owens to create movie intros for their Guest Programmer series. These shows feature TCM host Robert Osborne interviewing celebrities who have selected their favorite movies to run on the channel. Participating in these discussions with Osborne regarding the impact of these movies on their personal and professional lives are Liz Smith, Isaac Mizrahi, Alfred Uhry and Mario Cantone. Guillotine veteran staff editor Christo Harris continues to edit image spots for Turner South with producer Bill Taft. They collaborated on My South spots, a campaign utilizing colorful characters and locations in cities throughout the south. 
 
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 Photo credit: Craig Dabrowski 
 
Photo: (L-R) Chad Eikhoff and Gregg Bishop 
 
Slamdance Premiere for The Other Side 
The world premiere of Atlanta-based filmmakers Gregg Bishop and Chad Eikhoff first feature film, The Other Side, will be at the twelfth annual Slamdance Film Festival. Slamdance has been named one of the top ten film festivals in the world and is held concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah January 19-27. The Other Side is one of 11 feature films accepted by the festival from a pool of more than 3,000 submissions. 
 
Bishop currently lives in Los Angeles, but when it came time to make his directorial debut, he opted to shoot in his hometown of Atlanta. "How many times have we all been to the movies and seen the same LA locations over and over again? By shooting in GA, I was able to feature fantastic and unique locations that really served the story and that had never before been captured on film." 
In The Other Side, writer/director Bishop and producer Eikhoff deliver a fast-paced supernatural thriller with a murdered protagonist who escapes from Hell to reunite with the girl he loves... Reapers (unstoppable bounty hunters) from the Netherworld seek to reclaim his soul before he has a chance to solve his own murder and escape The Other Side. 
For information on The Other Side see www.EnterTheOtherSide.com. 
 
Georgia Night in LA... from page 1 
"Georgia Night offers this office the opportunity to keep Georgia on the minds of potential clients and those Georgians living in Los Angeles who still consider Georgia home," said Georgia Film, Video & Music Office director Greg Torre. "The event was especially successful this year. It was an excellent platform for us to promote our new and aggressive tax credit incentive legislation. I believe Los Angelesbased producers are looking for opportunities to keep their projects in the U.S. and we have given them a very good one through the Georgia Entertainment Investment Act." 
The Reznick Group, Stateside Capital and Lab 601 were sponsors of this year's Georgia Night in LA. Shay Griffin, a member of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Advisory Commission was in attendance along with Greg Torre, Alison Fibben and Lee Thomas of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office. This year's event was held at the Lowe Gallery in Santa Monica, (owned by Bill Lowe, who also owns the Lowe Gallery in Atlanta.) 
Each year in conjunction with the Atlanta Film Festival, the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office 
 
Photo: (L-R) ) Keith Allison, Tina Stern and Skyler Day 
sponsors "Perfect Pitch" with the winning screenplay writer receiving an opportunity to pitch their script to LA-based decisionmakers and attend Georgia Night. The "2005 Perfect Pitch" winner was Jen by Stephen Hart, Michael Friedman and Martin Kelley. In an effort to identify and showcase the state's writing talent, the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office and IMAGE Film & Video Center, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting media arts, created the "Perfect Pitch" contest to give local screenwriters the opportunity to present their project ideas to industry representatives. 
The Georgia Film, Video & Music Office is a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development that markets Georgia incentives, locations, crew, on-camera talent and support services to the entertainment industry. For additional information please call 404.962.4052 or visit www.georgia.org. 
 
Berliner Photography, LLC 
 
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 Photo: (L-R) Shandra McDonald, Carl Lewis & Edford Banuel Jr. 
 
The Last Adam Wraps 
After a December shoot in metro-Atlanta locations Descending Dove Production's film The Last Adam has wrapped production. Nine-time Olympic Gold medal winner Carl Lewis stars in the film from director Edford Banuel Jr. (Unjust Cause), which is coproduced and co-written by Dr. Errol Bailey (Land of the Free) and Shandra McDonald (A Message From Pops). As the 2005 Atlanta Film Festival's Southeastern Media Winner and a 2004 finalist for the Hollywood Black Film Festival, the film won more than 
 
$100,000 in in-kind services. The Last Adam is the story of 
six racially diverse, childhood friends, who are forced to revisit their beleaguered pasts when they return to their hometown in the deep south to plan the funeral of their beloved little league coach and mentor. Playing the lead of the troubled preacher Bobby Jackson is Leonard Roberts (Drumline). Tony Award nominated actress Anita Gillette (Shall We Dance) plays the role of Betty Adams. The cast includes Jose Yenque (Traffic) and winner of the reality TV show The Next Action Star, Corinne de Groot. 
For more information please visit www.thelastadammovie.com. 
 
Say Hello to Goodbye 
POPfilms is pleased to announce that t Atlanta lensed feature film Last Good writer/helmer Jacob Gentry has been pic for North American Home Video distribut Last Goodbye was co-produced with LAB The film has been released by Polychrom Pictures, which is distributed in the U.S. a Canada by Warner Home Video. Additio Shoreline Entertainment has come on bo represent the film for worldwide sales exc North America. Last Goodbye hit retail sh in October jam packed with extra feature including a video by the band, Altruistic, featured in the film and commentary with director and producer. 
Last Goodbye premiered at the 2004 T Film Festival and went on to play the 200 IFP/Central Standard Festival and the 20 Atlanta Film Festival, where it was honore the inaugural Fred Dresch Memorial Awa local Georgia filmmakers. Last Goodbye the debut feature from POPfilms, a collec Georgia filmmakers whose goal is to enco filmmaking in and around Atlanta. 
 
Gospel Music Channel Celebrates 
 
Gospel Music Channel (GMC), America's first 24-hour, all music television network devoted to the best of Gospel and Christian music recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. The Atlanta headquartered network has nearly 3.5 million subscribers to date in 61 Markets and 350 cities. 
This year GMC featured 100 hours of original programming including Gospel Angels, a hurricane relief concert; Gospel Dream 2005, an American Idol-style national talent search and Faith and Fame, an artist biography series. Viewers saw world television premieres of Third Day's Live Wire concert, Grammy award-winning Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama Live at the Apollo and Ray Charles Celebrates a Gospel Christmas concert and the NFL Super Bowl of Gospel. The channel has secured exclusive rights to 36 years of Dove Awards, the Gospel Music Association's premier award show for all styles of Gospel and Christian music. 
 
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Photo: (L-R) Co-founders Brad Siegel and Charley Humbard 
 
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Photo: Sugarland 
 
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Grammy Noms... from page 1 
John Horesco IV and songwriter/ R&B singer Johnta Austin all received two nominations as well. The list of Georgia music industry heavyweights receiving GRAMMY nominations this year also included Andre 3000, Dallas Austin, Susan Archie, India.Arie, Ray Charles, Brian Michael Cox, Bryan Frye, John Frye, Gladys Knight, Earl Klugh, LROC, Ludacris, Usher, Van Hunt and the Ying Yang Twins. The 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held February 8, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS. For a complete list of GRAMMY nominees please visit www.grammy.org. 
The Rough Cut in Hi Def 
The world premiere of Biscardi Creative Media's short film, The Rough Cut took place in Atlanta on December 7. The Rough Cut was screened in high definition courtesy of Panasonic. The event also featured a high definition product showcase of the equipment used in the making of the film courtesy of event sponsors, WH Platts Inc., Panasonic, Canon, AJA Video Systems and Medea Corporation. 
The Rough Cut is the story of Jennifer Collins, a happily married mother of two. But lately, those "what if?" questions have begun to gnaw at her. Cynthia Evans stars as Jennifer Collins. 
 
Photo Credit: Mil Cannon 
 
Photo: (L-R) Governor Sonny Perdue commends 2004 GRAMMY winning Third Day lead singer Mac Powell. The band is nominated again this year. 
Photo: Phil Tan 
The short film also features Jeffrey Reed with BCM founder, Walter Biscardi, Jr. making his directorial debut. 
"I had been looking for an independent film project for several years and when the story concept was presented, I jumped on the team right away," Biscardi said. The film also served as a high definition test bed for Biscardi who executive produced with Cheryl Collins. Clay Walker served as DP and Jayne Olderman created The Rough Cut's original score. The full story description is available at www. theroughcutmovie.com. 
 
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 Association Announcements: 
 Atlanta Urban MediaMakers Association, Inc. (AUMAi) reflects the new generation of mediamaking. AUMAi's mission is to empower people through cultural diversity in animation, film and video. For more information on AUMAi's monthly meetings, visit www.urbanmediamakers.com or call 770.345.8048. 
 The Georgia Production Partnership (GPP) is a statewide organization of filmmakers and film industry executives committed to keeping Georgia a film-friendly and competitive force in the film and video community. Meetings are generally held the first Tuesday of each month at noon. For membership information email info@georgiaproduction.org. Visit their website at www.georgiaproduction.org. 
 IMAGE Film & Video Center offers filmmaking workshops and screenings. For more information, contact IMAGE at 404.352.4225 or check the website at www.imagefv.org. 
 National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Recording Academy): Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. is dedicated to providing educational opportunities and improving the cultural environment and quality of life for music and its makers. For more information, please visit www.grammy. com/atlanta.aspx. 
 NATAS/Atlanta, the local chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. For information please call 770.414.8777. 
 Women in Film/Atlanta (WIF/A), a non-profit organization founded in 1974, is dedicated to the education, promotion, support and unification of women working in or studying film, video and related creative and business fields. For information check the website at www.wifa.org. 
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Film Festival Follows a Different Script 
 
On January 23rd, 2006, the Atlanta Chapter of the American Jewish Committee will open the 6th Annual Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) with screenings at the Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station Stadium 16 and the Lefont Sandy Springs. The festival has expanded to a full week, January 23-29 and features narrative, documentary, studio, independent, foreign, feature and short length programs. 
Some 300 films released in the past year competed for a spot in this year's line-up. 12 countries are represented, with a 36-film line-up that includes comedies, controversial portraits of 
 
contemporary Jewish life and historical chronicles about Jewish communities in extraordinary places. In addition to the many 
filmmakers, actors, academics and other experts from around the nation joining us for post-film discussions, local community leaders will feature prominently in the programs, highlighting the "Atlanta" in the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. For complete festival and ticket information visit www. atlantajewishfilm.org or contact Cynthia McGuiness at cynthia@atlantajewishfilm. org 770.855.3677. 
 
Tyler Perry... from page 1 
the series set in Atlanta, it is actually being shot in front of a live audience at StageWorks. 
House of Payne is a half-hour episodic series revolving around the family of an Atlanta fire chief. The chief's adult son has just moved back in with his parents, bringing with him his two young children. "As is true with all of Tyler 
 
Perry's works, this series transcends genres, it is a blend combining comedy, romance and spirituality," executive producer Reuben Cannon offered. 
The series was created and directed by Tyler Perry, with Roger Bobb serving as producer. Prepping began in November with the series shooting during the month of December. 
 
 Photo: (L-R) Ken Feinberg, Nancy B. Howard and Greg Torre 
 
Getting the Big Picture 
The Georgia Big Picture Conference (GABPC) is a new film & visual media conference targeting future filmmakers, producers, screenwriters, editors, animators, actors, sound techs, gaming techs, 
 
television broadcasters and digital media artists in Georgia and the southeast. The inaugural conference was held in late September at the Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center in Atlanta. The GABPC featured two days of workshops, technical demos and panel discussions on topics pertinent to film and video students and industry newcomers in Georgia. The conference is produced by The Big Picture Film & Video Foundation which was founded in 2003 by Nancy B. Howard. 
For information regarding the conference please visit www.gabpc.com and for information regarding the foundation visit www.bigpicturefoundation.org. 
 
Savannah Festival Flourishes 
Photo: Per Negro 
The 2006 Savannah Music Festival (SMF) will feature Emmylou Harris, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with Andr Watts, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, the National Ensemble of the Republic of Guinea, Per Negro, Del McCoury, Emerson String Quartet, Bill Charlap, The Rebirth Brass Band and many others. This year marks the 17th year for the festival which runs from 
 
March 17 until April 2, 2006. The 17-day musical marathon will include symphonic music, blues, jazz, gospel, chamber music, bluegrass, rock, international music and dance styles and its renowned American Traditions Competition. 
"We designed this year's festival to be our biggest and best, but also our most affordable festival ever," said Rob Gibson, executive and artistic director of the festival. "Our mission remains to produce a world-class celebration of the musical arts by creating timeless and adventurous one-time only productions that make this festival one of the nation's most unique musical destinations." 
During the past three years the Savannah Music Festival has increased its attendance and ticket sales by nearly 300% and continues to extend its programmatic offerings to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. For detailed festival information, please visit www. savannahmusicfestival.org or call 912.234.3378. 
 
Mixed Bag Docs GGS 
In late August, the Georgia Gerontology Society (GGS) partnered with Mixed Bag Media to produce a short documentary celebrating the organization's fifty years of service to Georgia's seniors. Production of the piece took producer/director/DP, Jon Milavec from Athens, Georgia, the home of the first statewide meeting on aging in 1955, to downtown Atlanta to conduct interviews with current and former GGS employees and members. The finished production debuted at the annual GGS conference and training session, which took place this year in Savannah, Georgia. 
"The crowd loved it; we had to play it twice," said GGS executive director Maureen Kelly. 
 
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 Turner Launches Gametap 
 
Photo: (L-R) Cynthia Nixon and Kenneth Branagh 
Warm Springs Still Golden 
The Georgia lensed HBO film Warm Springs has received three Golden Globe nominations. Warm Springs garnered nominations for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (Cynthia Nixon) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (Kenneth Branagh). 
Earlier this year Warm Springs received 16 EMMY nominations, actually winning five statuettes. The Golden Globe Awards will be presented January 16, 2006 in Los Angeles. 
 
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. recently launched GameTap, its first-of-its-kind broadband entertainment network. GameTap is an "all-you-canplay" gaming service accessible from up to two household computers. The network launched with some 300 games from 24 publishers, together with hours of original programming. Subscribers simply download the Turnerdeveloped software from the GameTap website. 
GameTap features titles from the early arcades, PCs, and popular video game consoles, including the Sega Genesis and Dreamcast, Atari 2600 and Intellivision. Original programming will include magazine, reality, and lifestyle shows, interviews with the who's who of gaming, celebrity features and "game trailers" for the GameTap service. 
For additional information visit www.gametap.com. 
 
In Atlanta, Cedric the Entertainer and Jamie Foxx taped Laffapalooza! America's Urban International Comedy Arts Festival for a later broadcast on Comedy Central. 
 
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