62 WINTER 2019 MOVIEMAKER.COM
BIG CITIES
1
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
Big things have been afoot for the
home of Los Pollos Hermanos since
Gus Fring went to that big chicken restau-
rant in the sky. Albuquerque has gone from
an attractive boutique city on the produc-
tion map to a marquee player, attracting
over 50 major productions in the last three
years. It’s also recently played host to the
highly-anticipated Nicole Kidman drama
The Goldfinch (which was expected to hire
173 New Mexico crewmembers), as well as
the next project from Drive auteur
Nicolas Winding Refn, the Amazon series
Too Old to Die Young, similarly expected to
employ 100 local crewmembers.
Nothing, though, could be bigger than
the October news that industry-changer
Netflix has chosen ABQ as the spot for a
production facility (after reportedly being
enticed by over $14 million in development
funding) that could drop a billion into the
local economy over a decade. Netflix origi-
nal Godless and pick-up Longmire already
call New Mexico home, and the Netflix
news was big enough to overshadow a
mixed bag of data released a month earlier.
The numbers showed a modest, cyclical
slowdown in spending (a fall from
$506 million in fiscal year 2017 to
$234 million in 2018’s budget year), which
New Mexico film officials attributed to
growing pains and claimed was offset by
a healthy number of indie productions,
including 38 in the million-dollar range.
The Sabrina Carpenter-starring road mov-
ie The Short History of the Long Road, began
production in April. Director Ani Simon-
Kennedy (Days of Gray) offered praise for
the state’s unique natural architecture and
the work ethic of ABQ crews. “The crew we
had was unparalleled,” Simon-Kennedy says.
“The level of heart they poured into our
low-budget feature went above and beyond.
Everyone was resourceful and reliable;
New Mexico was the perfect setting for
our road trip movie since you can get such
varied landscapes. We shot in the spring
when the weather was cooperative, but it
can get unpredictable—from gorgeous blue
skies to crazy thunderstorms and back in an
hour.” The Short History’s DP Cailin Yatsko
concurs, stating that “as soon as you leave,
you find yourself missing that beautiful
New Mexico sky.” She also acknowledges
the tremendous influx of talent, money, and
industry pouring into ABQ: “Our biggest
challenge was really the fact that ABQ crews
are so busy—we were lucky our schedule
worked out so that we got such an incred-
ible team.”
For those who continue to primarily as-
sociate ABQ with its breakout Breaking Bad
franchise, good news: The Emmy-nominated
Better Call Saul, set in the flip-phone era, was
renewed over the summer for a fifth season,
while ABQ merchants continue to meet
demand for all things Walt, Jesse, and Saul.
Local fixture Rebel Donut still offers the
Blue Sky donut with a (perfectly legal)
sprinkling of blue rock candy, while RV tours
of prominent locations of Breaking Bad and
Better Call Saul continue to ferry superfans
to over two dozen ABQ locations that are
now part of TV history.2
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
“Georgia gets better for moviemakers
every day,” says Ryan Millsap, Chairman
& CEO of Blackhall Studios, a $70 million
production facility that opened in early 2017
in Atlanta-bordering DeKalb County. It sits
on around 100 acres and boasts nine sound
stages, including one 40,000-square-foot stage
rivaled only by Pinewood Atlanta Studios.
“There’s nowhere in the world that has poured
in more capital in the last four years to create
world-class moviemaking facilities than the
Peach State,” Millsap says. “And there’s no-
where with tax credits more solid and easy to
access.” Millsap also calls Atlanta a cosmopoli-
tan city that is “becoming more international
every day” as it welcomes people from around
the world who want to taste “big city life” in
the South and sample a fantastic food, art, PHOTOGRAPH BY LAUREN SEGAL