T
HE FILM BUSINESS as
we know it is never going
back to Los Angeles,”
director Joe Carnahan
reportedly said during a
recent press conference. “It’s a jump ball in
terms of what the next big city that could
build the industry is going to be.” That sense,
of the entire motion picture business thrown
into the air and all of us waiting for it to
come back down, is where we are at the close
of 2018. The only thing we know for sure is
that when the industry lands and is “rebuilt”
it won’t look the same as before. Creative de-
struction will breed new power centers, with
new players who’ve been underrepresented
in the past, and new ways of imagining, mak-
ing, and distributing a century-old product.
The sugar rush phase of this new reality is
nearly a decade behind us already; in 2009
there were 44 states offering some form of
incentive, but retrenchment has pared that
down to 31 as of 2018. A new industry titan
has emerged—Atlanta, Georgia—and some
rival cities are being held in check by the
disinterest of their state governments (look-
ing at you, Lone Star State), while others
make the right moves to become a regional
powerhouse, such as our pick for #1 this year,
Albuquerque, New Mexico. And how did
we make it this far into the intro without
mentioning Netflix? The true impact of this
industry-shaking colossus won’t really be felt
until rivals such as Disney copy its streaming
first, theatrical maybe business model.
So, what does this Game of Movie Thrones
episode have to do with you? It makes a
personal decision all the more personal.
What’s your tolerance for an itinerant lifestyle,
perhaps picking up and moving a few times
before age 30? How does the state you’re
thinking of moving to treat the industry
you’ll depend on? Quality of life is a bear to
measure, data or no. That said, here’s some
of what went into our rankings: a city’s
film activity in 2018 (number of produc-
tions, economic activity generated, shoot
durations), infrastructure (health of film
commissions and non-profits, number
of film schools and VFX houses), and
local luminaries. Then there’s popu-
lation and geographical size, state
and local incentive programs, and
ease of movement and traffic. Lastly,
we’ve erred on the side of letting quotes from
the representatives of our selected cities and
towns breathe a bit. These folks have lived
and worked in the places you’re considering,
so hopefully their stories will impact yours.MOVIEMAKER.COM WINTER 2019 61BY RYAN STEWART
ILLUSTRATIONS BY LAURA BREILINGMOVIEMAKER
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