1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: Atlanta is Black Hollywood. Who could have predicted that my 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: city would be so blessed to be the place that 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: so many people held close to the chest, a place 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: where different folks from every town across our nation would 5 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: leave their home and start a southern migration. I was 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: astounded when I found Atlanta, of all places, was to 7 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: be the mecca of black cinemas, awakening an incredible sight 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: to see with my own two eyes. It was LIC's 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: camera action towards unlimited skies and then to see the 10 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 1: hoods we knew bigger than life on the screen, made 11 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: as proud as a peach to be Atli and beings 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: Big Rube and Atlanta is filmed on locations. 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 2: If you've been to a movie theater anytime in the 14 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 2: past decade and you're one of those people who stays 15 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 2: until the very end of the credits, you've probably seen 16 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 2: a giant Georgia peach. 17 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 3: It's only on screen for a few short. 18 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 2: Seconds, but what it means is that productions that shoot 19 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 2: in Georgia get a pretty sweet tax incentive for doing so. 20 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 2: It's the reason why the state is one of the 21 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 2: top production hubs in the country, generating billions of dollars 22 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 2: a year. Black Panther, Stranger Things, Bad Boys, Ride or Die. 23 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 3: They all filmed here. Georgia hasn't always. 24 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 2: Been known for its film industry, though in the early 25 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 2: two thousands, the state, well specifically Atlanta, was more known 26 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 2: for its music scene, it's historically black colleges, and it's 27 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 2: black politicians. Back then, no one could have imagined Georgia 28 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: as legitimate competition to New York or LA's film industries. 29 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 2: That movies, big movies, A lot of movies would be 30 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 2: filmed in Georgia. Few people even had the vision to 31 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 2: dream up something like that. This is the story of 32 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: four dreamers, how they came together with a lot of 33 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 2: hustle in one peach to make that dream come true. 34 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: I'm Juel Wicker, and this is episode four of Atlanta is. 35 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 3: Well. 36 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 2: Packer and Rob Harty are two giants in Atlanta with 37 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 2: really impressive resumes. Separately and together they've been making films 38 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 2: that audiences, particularly black folk, have loved for decades. Their 39 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,399 Speaker 2: production company, Rainforest Films, has put out movies like Some dr. 40 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 4: Door, The Stomp in the Yard, Where are You From? 41 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 3: And Ride Along? 42 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:28,519 Speaker 5: I'm Gonna take you on a Ride Along. 43 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 2: On top of that, Will's had a successful career as 44 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 2: a producer. He let the first all black production team 45 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 2: for the Oscars in twenty twenty two, and just last year, 46 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 2: he produced the hit series Fight Night for Peacock. 47 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 5: No They Burned a Ladder to the ground. 48 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 2: Meanwhile, Rob has become a prolific TV director, working on 49 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 2: episodes of some of today's biggest shows, including Hulu's Reasonable Doubt, 50 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 2: Vampire Diaries, and Being Mary Jane. All of these projects 51 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 2: were filmed in metro Atlanta. Will and Rob moved to 52 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 2: Atlanta in the mid nineties when few filmmakers were doing 53 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 2: the same. They wanted to prove that two black men 54 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 2: could carve out a lane for themselves. Their story starts 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 2: in Tallahassee, Florida. 56 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,119 Speaker 5: I met Will the very first day I got to campus. 57 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 2: That's Rob Party. He and Will both earned engineering degrees 58 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 2: from Florida A and M University, one of the top 59 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 2: ranked historically black colleges and universities in the country. Attending 60 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 2: family is a big deal, but Will and Rob didn't 61 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 2: exactly see it that way. 62 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 3: As incoming freshmen. 63 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 6: Neither one of us wanted to be engineers, and we 64 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 6: were both two kids that did not want to be 65 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 6: at that school, and we bonded off that. 66 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,119 Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety four, while Rob was still in school, 67 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: he directed a movie about a historically black college, Chocolate City. 68 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 2: Will produced it, their friends were cast in the movie, 69 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 2: and then eagerly attended the premiere for it. Chocolate City 70 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 2: wasn't a blockbuster success, but it was a hit amongst 71 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 2: the students at FAMU. It showed Rob and Will were 72 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 2: serious about their craft and cemented them as creative partners. 73 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 2: Then the title song got picked up by Motown, so 74 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 2: Robin Will were given a budget to make a music 75 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 2: video for it. 76 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 6: We called them the big camera. They got the big 77 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 6: cameras out here. Now they're filming some music video. 78 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 2: The whole thing it made Will wonder what else they 79 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 2: could accomplish together. 80 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 6: And he was like, Yo, this is like a real business. 81 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 6: He always had that entrepreneur spirit. I was a storyteller cat. 82 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 6: So nineteen ninety six, Rob and I are graduating. 83 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 3: From fam You here's the entrepreneur himself. 84 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 6: And we've got this dream of being filmmakers. We had 85 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 6: my one little tiny movie. We were like, you know, 86 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 6: let's keep this thing going. 87 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 3: Naturally, they consider it Los Angeles. 88 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 5: The problem was that we didn't know anybody in Hollywood. 89 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 6: Was too expensive, it was too far. Everybody was doing 90 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 6: what we wanted to do. New York, same thing, and 91 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 6: we were some broke kids. 92 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 2: They needed a place that felt a bit more accessible, 93 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 2: buzzing entertainment and business hub where they actually had a 94 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 2: shot at making a name for themselves as young black filmmakers. 95 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 3: They settled on Atlanta. 96 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 6: It was the time of organized noise and outcasts Jermaine 97 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 6: Duprie and So So Deaf, Rowdy records with Dallas Austin 98 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 6: and Monica and all those folks, and it was a 99 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 6: take a gas away from Tallahassee. So it felt like 100 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:24,679 Speaker 6: something that we could touch. 101 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 2: In the nineties, artists flocked to Atlanta to make music 102 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 2: because the city had some of the biggest producers of 103 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 2: the time. Stars like Pink and Madonna spent time inside 104 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 2: Atlanta's studios. Bobby Brown lived here and even had his 105 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 2: own studio in town. It didn't matter if labels were 106 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 2: clustered in Los Angeles and New York. Atlanta had the 107 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 2: hip makers, but for film everything, the sound stages, cast 108 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 2: production crews, and the execs, they were all in La 109 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 2: and New York. 110 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 3: Nothing was in Atlanta. 111 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 5: Like, it was not popping at all. 112 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 3: There was no reason to come here. 113 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 6: It would only make sense if it was like a 114 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,479 Speaker 6: specific backdropper location that you needed that was here, that 115 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 6: was in Atlanta, that was in Georgia. 116 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 2: Will and Rob had relocated to an entertainment city that 117 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 2: was known for everything except the one industry they actually 118 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 2: wanted to break into. But they thought about the music 119 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 2: video they'd done for Motown, all those big cameras, maybe 120 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 2: they could do more of that. 121 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 6: We like finagled our way into a meeting with Jermaine Duprix, 122 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 6: you know, and we finagled our way into a meeting 123 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 6: with Dallas Austin. 124 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 5: Like we were hustlers, so we had to get to 125 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 5: these people. 126 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 6: These were like big music industry legends that we did 127 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 6: not know, and we would just tell people, Yo, we're filmmakers. 128 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 5: We want to shoot music videos. 129 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 6: When we moved to Atlanta, there was a song called 130 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,280 Speaker 6: Ma Boo that was hot. It was on the Soso 131 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 6: Deaf Bass compilation album and. 132 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 5: Lilid John was the an R. 133 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 3: Robin. 134 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 2: Will were new to town, but they'd already connected with 135 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 2: Little John through a family mutual. My Boo had become 136 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 2: a debut hit for the ghost Town DJs and another 137 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 2: success story for Jamain Dupriez so So Deaf Records. Rob 138 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 2: figured the music video could put him in Will on 139 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 2: the map too. 140 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 6: So I was like, John's trying to direct the video. 141 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 6: You know, you see my work. He was like yea, yeah, 142 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 6: yah cool. Will come how let me Rob? So at 143 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 6: the time, he was having some issues with his car, 144 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 6: so I would go to his house and pick him 145 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 6: up and drive them to work for me. 146 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 5: It was my way of kind of trying to politic 147 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 5: to get the video. 148 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 2: Rob says he and Little John were hanging out at 149 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 2: Soso Deaf Records one day when he came across a 150 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 2: box of submissions for the music video. 151 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 3: He took a look. 152 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 6: Because he was like, man, that's the ben of stuff 153 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 6: that that's trashed that I ain't never gonna look at. 154 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 6: And I'm just going through the tape and I find 155 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 6: my submission. I'm like, yo, John. He was like, yo, 156 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 6: my bad, Rob, Hardy my bad. He call me to 157 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 6: my whole government name. And then like the next day, 158 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 6: after I dropped them off, I found out that they 159 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 6: were about to shoot the ma Boo video with somebody else. 160 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 5: I was like John, He was like, Yo, my bad, 161 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 5: n butts you my man? No, you my man. 162 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 6: We did not shoot one music video. We got shut 163 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 6: out in Atlanta. 164 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 2: The music video scene was already online. Rob and Will 165 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 2: would have to find another way to break through. Were 166 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 2: you discouraged by the fact that you guys weren't getting 167 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 2: any of those pitches, weren't landing. 168 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 6: Or we were super discouraged at the fact that nobody 169 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 6: would hire us. 170 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 5: It was tough. 171 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 6: I mean we had foregone like solid corporate jobs. It 172 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 6: wasn't like we didn't have college degrees. We had engineering degrees. 173 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 6: All our friends were out working in like buying maximas. 174 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 5: You know. 175 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 6: I just remember that I was like the car to 176 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 6: have at that time, and my parents, you know, got 177 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 6: me a Honda Civic for like graduation, and I was 178 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 6: just so thankful that I had anything to drive. 179 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 2: Honda's neat gas and bills have due dates. Will and 180 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 2: Rob needed to get jobs. 181 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:50,199 Speaker 5: These are the Ramen Noodle days. 182 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 2: The good thing is they were hustlers, so they weren't 183 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 2: short on ideas for making a few quick books. They 184 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 2: had a short lived cleaning service where they cleaned strip clubs. 185 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 2: Rob sold vacuum cleaners, and Will had temp jobs answering 186 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 2: phones and doing data entry. Eventually he started delivering newspapers 187 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 2: for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. 188 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 6: I learned that you could also make commission by selling 189 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 6: newspaper for the AJAC, literally knocking on doors, going door 190 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,079 Speaker 6: to door. So I was a door to door salesman 191 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 6: after I graduated from college. 192 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 2: They were always thinking about ways to make money, but 193 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 2: their film dreams remained top of mind too. 194 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 6: Listen, you know, and I don't recommend this, folks, I 195 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 6: don't recommend this. But what we would try to do 196 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 6: is like we knew where Jermaine du Pre lived, so 197 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 6: we put together a package. 198 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 5: We went to his house. We put in this mailbox. 199 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,959 Speaker 6: We debated me and Will in the car, shoot we 200 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 6: go knock on the door or maybe that'll be weird. 201 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 6: We ran up on Dominique Wilkins in the club, like, yo, 202 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 6: I got a proposal for this movie. In the car, Dominique, 203 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 6: all I need is two million dollars. For two million dollars, 204 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 6: we can shoot them. And he was looking at me 205 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 6: like yo, I'm so uncomfortable and I'm in the club 206 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 6: and this dude's clearly broke. I'm saying, is trying to 207 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 6: hustle me out of two million dollars as if I 208 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 6: got that in my pocket. 209 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 2: This must have been such a confusing time for Will 210 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 2: and rob They're in Atlanta, a city where anything feels possible, 211 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 2: and most days they're in arms length away from people 212 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,079 Speaker 2: who've made it, but they're still selling newspapers in vacuums. 213 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 2: They needed to prove to themselves that they didn't make 214 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 2: a mistake by going all in on film and Atlanta. 215 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 2: Atlanta's film scene wasn't robust, but Robin Will weren't exactly 216 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 2: alone either. In the nineties, there were a few location 217 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 2: based productions filming here, and there were even a few 218 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 2: established actors who were beginning to see Atlanta as a 219 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 2: home base. 220 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 7: I made this bold move, leaving Los Angeles and coming 221 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 7: to Atlanta. 222 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 2: Jason Weaver was not a newbie by the time he 223 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 2: relocated to Atlanta in the nineties. He was the singing 224 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 2: voice of Simba in The Lion King and played Marcus 225 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 2: Henderson in the wb sitcom Smart Guy. 226 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 7: You Know, I bet Dad is really gonna miss you 227 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:01,440 Speaker 7: when you're dead and gone. 228 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 2: By the time A Smart Guy was canceled in nineteen 229 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 2: ninety nine. Jason was a young adult. He'd been working 230 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 2: for most of his life. He saw Atlanta as a 231 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,439 Speaker 2: place where he could chill and have some fun. There 232 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,319 Speaker 2: was a popping music scene and a lot of strip clubs. 233 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,959 Speaker 2: You also had the Atlanta University Center, the biggest cluster 234 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 2: of historically black colleges and universities in the country, Spelman Morehouse, 235 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 2: Clark Atlanta, and Morris Brown. 236 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 3: This was the place to be if you were young 237 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 3: and black. 238 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 2: Locals and transplants like Jason all brought their unique elements 239 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 2: of black culture from around the country. People were hustlers here, 240 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 2: businesses were thriving. Sure, Atlanta didn't have much of a 241 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 2: film scene, but Jason saw so much potential. 242 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 7: The one thing that I kept seeing was more actors, 243 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 7: like black actors just coming down here, living like just 244 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 7: living like, just enjoying what Atlanta represents, which is black excellence, 245 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 7: and you know, as a fluent here and there's black 246 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:02,079 Speaker 7: business down here. 247 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 3: His agents, though they didn't get it. 248 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 7: They really couldn't see the silver lining of it all 249 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,839 Speaker 7: as far as what Atlanta was bringing to the table creatively, 250 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 7: because they were in their own little circle out there 251 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 7: in LA And at that time, that's all that mattered, 252 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 7: was like what was happening in Los Angeles. 253 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 2: But Jason was convinced he knew he was experiencing something 254 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 2: that Hollywood couldn't offer. 255 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 7: Oh, Atlanta was something really really different because you could 256 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 7: just feel this energy in the air that something was 257 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 7: just about to happen. So, you know, I think any 258 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 7: time when you're on the cusp of something, when you 259 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,679 Speaker 7: feel like you know it's about to really really explode, 260 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 7: that energy is so intense. And being a part of that, like, nah, 261 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 7: it was it was awesome. 262 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 2: Well, Packer hadn't gotten his big break yet, but he 263 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 2: could see the potential of the city too. 264 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 6: Atlanta felt like a place where black people were winning 265 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 6: and thriving. The mayor was black, the chief of police 266 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 6: was black, The president of the city council was black, 267 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 6: the fire chief was black. Like, you could go in 268 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 6: neighborhoods and they were all black neighborhoods, and they had 269 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 6: these big houses, you know, and it was impressive. And 270 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 6: me coming from St. Petersburg, Florida, you know, I had 271 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 6: never seen neighborhood like that. I had never certainly never 272 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 6: seen Black Wealth, and it felt like, even if the 273 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 6: film thing didn't work, we were in the place to 274 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 6: be in terms of like having a soft landing. 275 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 2: They really wanted the film thing to work out, though 276 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 2: Chocolate City, their student film, was a great launch pad, 277 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 2: but they needed to make something post college and in Atlanta. 278 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,880 Speaker 2: They needed to make a name for themselves and established 279 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,239 Speaker 2: that even as newbies in a city with few film resources, 280 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 2: they could find their audience. They made a feature less 281 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 2: film starring Kenya Moore and Gary Jordan. 282 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 3: Well, now I know the married life has you getting 283 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 3: it all the time. 284 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: What I really. 285 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 5: Wanted is a Naja twa. 286 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,080 Speaker 2: Released in two thousand, the movie told the story of 287 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 2: a couple who decides to have a threesome, only to 288 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 2: encounter some unexpected consequences. People already understood the appeal of 289 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 2: erotic thrillers like Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, but Will 290 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 2: wanted to show that the genre could be just as 291 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 2: compelling with black characters. 292 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 3: If it were me, I would do whatever it took 293 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 3: to make my man happy. I know, Tammy, but I 294 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 3: mean that's out there. 295 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 2: Robin Will wanted to raise seven hundred and fifty thousand 296 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 2: dollars to make the movie. Ultimately, they were able to 297 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 2: get just a tenth of that, and most of that 298 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 2: money went to TWA's actors and equipment. They had to 299 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 2: get resourceful for everything else. 300 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 6: We shot twy in our own house, which you know, 301 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 6: that is the number one rule of film production that 302 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 6: you should never do. 303 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,720 Speaker 5: You should never break that rule. Don't shoot in your 304 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 5: own house. Remember looking at the. 305 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 6: Screen and one of the actors had my shirt on 306 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 6: and I was like, yo, that's my shirt, and the 307 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 6: wardrobe pressure was like, yeah, well, I guess would in 308 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:53,040 Speaker 6: your closet. 309 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 5: Because you know, and we don't really had no budget 310 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 5: on this movie. 311 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 2: The filmmakers weren't working with the union. So the small 312 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 2: dedicated production crew once filmed for twenty four hours straight. 313 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 2: We'll says crew members with sleeping shifts so they could 314 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 2: keep working. That's how much people believed in the work 315 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 2: these two were doing. They completed the film in two thousand, 316 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 2: but the work was far from over. Now they had 317 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 2: to get people into theaters to see it. 318 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 6: We literally went city to city in a car promoting 319 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 6: the movie and booking theaters, marketing the movie, and it 320 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 6: came out and you know it had the highest per 321 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 6: screen average of any movie that came out that weekend, 322 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 6: and it was. 323 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 5: In the trades. 324 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 2: They finally got Hollywood's attention. It was time to go 325 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 2: to work and double down on Atlanta. 326 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 3: When Will and. 327 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 2: Rob moved to Atlanta, they brought with them a spirit 328 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 2: of grit and ambition. They saw the potential in the 329 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 2: city and hustled to make something out of nothing. But 330 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 2: there were already a few key people in Georgia who 331 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 2: shared the same vision, who worked behind the scenes methodically 332 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 2: trying to put the state on the map. Two folks 333 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 2: in particular, from two separate worlds, who would eventually converge 334 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 2: to entice Hollywood to Atlanta and turn the city into 335 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 2: a film mecca. The first member of our duo comes 336 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 2: from the world of film. 337 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 8: Oh all right, well, Shae Bentley Griffin. 338 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 2: Shaye is a casting director who was born in California. 339 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 2: She now lives on her family's farm in Polk County, Georgia. 340 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 8: My brother has some of the most beautiful blueberries you 341 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 8: have ever seen. 342 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 5: She says. 343 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 2: She always saw her life here in Georgia, even if 344 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 2: her industry wasn't concentrated here. If a TV show or 345 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 2: movie was filmed in Georgia in the eighties or nineties. 346 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 2: It was almost always just because it was set here. 347 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 2: But shee felt like she could change that. Shane knew 348 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 2: early on that there was talent here, but proving it 349 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 2: to the industry was a challenge. 350 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 8: Because it was hard for them to imagine that there 351 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 8: could possibly be any actors in Georgia. So I spent 352 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 8: the first part of my time convincing Los Angeles they 353 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 8: were wrong about that. 354 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,639 Speaker 2: She spent years traveling back and forth between her family 355 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 2: farm in rural Georgia and Atlanta, trying everything to sell 356 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 2: producers on the idea that filming in Georgia was a 357 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,919 Speaker 2: good business move, and then she finally cracked the code 358 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 2: ahead of the production of Tim Conaway's nineteen seventy eight 359 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,960 Speaker 2: slapstick film They went that away in that. 360 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 8: A way, there was a key sentence, and that was, 361 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 8: you know when I said to them, I can save 362 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 8: you money. 363 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 3: She was talking to one of the movie's producers. 364 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 8: And they looked at me like, uh huh, okay, how 365 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 8: And so I said to them, Well, if you've got 366 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 8: a script and it's got to say, let's just say 367 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 8: twenty rolls in it, and I could help you by 368 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 8: giving you the opportunity to work with really good actors, 369 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 8: maybe in the number of even if it was just ten. 370 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,680 Speaker 8: And you did not have to fly them here first classes. 371 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 8: You have put them up. You didn't have to feed them, 372 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:03,360 Speaker 8: you didn't have to do anything. 373 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,159 Speaker 2: These actors wouldn't need a per dim to cover meals 374 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 2: and other expenses related to traveling for work, because well, 375 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 2: they lived here. 376 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 3: It was a win win. 377 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,639 Speaker 2: Local talent would get a shot on the big screen 378 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 2: and the production would save money the pitchwork. 379 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 3: The producer was convinced. 380 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 8: My business really became a business at that point. And 381 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 8: I mean, I don't remember when I didn't work. 382 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 2: Name any of the major Georgia productions during this time. 383 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:34,919 Speaker 2: Fried Green Tomatoes in the Heat of the Night, Remember 384 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:38,680 Speaker 2: the Titans, the Fighting Temptations. Shae cast it for all 385 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 2: of them. The actors she worked with have gone on 386 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 2: to do incredible work. Before Walton Goggins started in season 387 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 2: three of The White Lotus Or Gary Anthony Williams played 388 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 2: Uncle Ruckus in the Boondocks. They were both cast by 389 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 2: Shay in local productions. While Shay was casting for TV, 390 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 2: the music producer Dallas was making hits. He's the second 391 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,199 Speaker 2: member of our duo and would eventually partner up with 392 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 2: Shay to bring Hollywood to Atlanta. 393 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:10,479 Speaker 3: But Dallas didn't start off as a film guy. One 394 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 3: of the biggest names in music, Dallas Austin. 395 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,120 Speaker 5: Dallas is like a tour divorce. 396 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 2: Not only did he help launch the careers if Atlanta 397 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 2: based artists like TLC and Monica, he was also working 398 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 2: with pop stars like Michael Jackson. Dallas's Brody Records, alongside 399 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 2: La Face and So So Deaf, helped to cubment Atlanta 400 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 2: as a musical epicenter in the nineties. 401 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 9: Those still days of freak naked, days of Atlanta being 402 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 9: like Atlanta Atlanta. 403 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:36,399 Speaker 5: So we were. 404 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 9: Capturing all that stuff on the records. 405 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 3: That's Dallas gonna be high talking about those days. 406 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 9: But we would take that stuff from me and Jermaine 407 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 9: and know Im and just be like, man, we got 408 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 9: to add that to our stuff down here, and we 409 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,440 Speaker 9: started making our own Atlanta because nobody was really messing 410 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 9: with us. Like a New York they had hip hop, 411 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 9: La had no something going on, but like Atlanta for 412 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 9: us is all in this country. That's bass music. 413 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:57,400 Speaker 10: You know what I'm saying. 414 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 2: Dallas wasn't was just dominating in music. Though well Will 415 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 2: and Rob dreamed of using the music industry as a 416 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 2: launch pad into film, Dallas actually succeeded. By the early 417 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 2: two thousands, Dallas had already shown that he had the 418 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,639 Speaker 2: chops to make it as a film producer with the 419 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 2: release of Drumline, a movie inspired by his high school 420 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 2: band Aids. Drumline helped Nick Cannon transition into a film 421 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 2: star and proved that there was an audience for black 422 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 2: Southern stories. Dallas was determined to prove his Drumline success 423 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 2: wasn't just a fluke. By the time Jason Weaver was 424 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 2: cast in Drumline, Dallas was already thinking ahead to the 425 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:39,919 Speaker 2: next time they might be able to work together. 426 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,400 Speaker 7: He said, Man, I got another one. I got another 427 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,360 Speaker 7: one coming right around the corner. Man, Like, I'm so 428 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,720 Speaker 7: serious about this. Man Like Atlanta is like they don't understand. Man, 429 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:50,920 Speaker 7: Atlanta really really really got something to say. 430 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 2: Jason is recounting a conversation where Dallas was talking about 431 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 2: the coming of age movie atl released in two thousand 432 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:58,120 Speaker 2: and six. 433 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 4: Sorry Huh, no ticket, no skates. 434 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 2: As a teenager, Dallas used to hang out with t 435 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 2: Bos from TLC at the Southwest Atlanta skating rink Jellybean. 436 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 2: By the early two thousands, the pair had collaborated on 437 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,120 Speaker 2: hit songs like pre and Ain't Too Proud to beg 438 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 2: They decided to expand their partnership into film by producing 439 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 2: a movie inspired by their time at the skating ring. 440 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 11: Y'all sluckers, but I'll figure out what y'all gonna do. 441 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 2: The story was compelling enough that Will Smith came on 442 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:33,440 Speaker 2: as a producer, and somehow Ti, the biggest rapper coming 443 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,119 Speaker 2: out of Atlanta, was convinced to play the lead in 444 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 2: the teenage skate. 445 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:45,159 Speaker 6: Drama Georgia and Down South drew up quick, especially George 446 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 6: and the atl. 447 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 2: I was obsessed with atl as a teenager, and so 448 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 2: was every other kid at my high school. I mean, 449 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 2: we grew up skating at Cascade. My mom earned skate 450 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 2: trophies at Jellybean just a few short years before Dallas 451 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 2: and t Bos were skating there. To this day, if 452 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 2: I tell someone outside of Georgia that I grew up 453 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 2: on Cascade Road, they all have the same question. Cascade, 454 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 2: like the skating rink from atl. 455 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 11: It is every walk of life. 456 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 10: It's the fashion, it's the cars, it's the high Low, 457 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 10: it's hood. It's ratchet, but it's also bouge. Is everything there. 458 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,040 Speaker 3: That's Tina Gordon, Atl's screenwriter. 459 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 2: Tina moved to Atlanta in the late nineties after graduating 460 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 2: from the University of Virginia. Her first gig was as 461 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 2: a screenwriter for Drumline. At first, she was so skeptical 462 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,880 Speaker 2: about things working out. She actually juggled being a journalist 463 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 2: with going to say. By the time drum Line wrapped, 464 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,720 Speaker 2: there was no question she'd found her long term home 465 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 2: and career. 466 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 10: I also had never seen black, upward class neighborhoods like 467 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 10: they are in Atlanta. You know, it's just like Manchin 468 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 10: after matchups, imagine, and it's all black people. 469 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,719 Speaker 11: I was always just sort of struck by that, And 470 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 11: that's kind of the beginnings of atl was. I was like, 471 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,679 Speaker 11: let's think of the roller skating rink as a place 472 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 11: where all of the different backgrounds can come together and 473 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 11: brush up against each other. 474 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,919 Speaker 2: The thing that makes atl so fun to watch is 475 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 2: that it really does reflect the types of people you 476 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 2: might run into around town. Tina wasn't from Atlanta, but 477 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 2: that wasn't a disadvantage. It actually allowed her to see 478 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 2: things more clearly and to write authentic characters reflecting all 479 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 2: walks of black Atlanta life. One of those characters is 480 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 2: Teddy played by Jason Weaver. 481 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 4: Had to get my breakfast, aft got to eat, but 482 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 4: get out your mill. I know guys like that down 483 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:45,360 Speaker 4: in Atlanta. 484 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 7: I used to hang on Old National a lot, and 485 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 7: I used to be in Fayetteville, down in the South. 486 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 2: Rashad, the star of the movie, was played by Ti. 487 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,120 Speaker 2: He was the glue to his friend group and skate crew. 488 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 2: Rashad juggled the demands of providing for him himself and 489 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 2: his younger brother while also pursuing a love interest who 490 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 2: came from a different social class. In real life, tia 491 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 2: I was providing for his family through rap, actually through trap. 492 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 3: Some people credit his. 493 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 2: Two thousand and three album Trap Music with giving the 494 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 2: genre its name. 495 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 10: Was I. 496 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 2: His music turned his real life experiences as a charismatic 497 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 2: dope boy into bona fide hits like Rubber Band Man, 498 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 2: Bring Him Out and what you Know Lol Ride. It 499 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 2: was a big risk to cast the rapper as the 500 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 2: lead in a movie. T I had never acted in 501 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,720 Speaker 2: anything before. He was also one of the city's biggest stars. 502 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 2: So he was booked and busy and barely had time 503 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 2: to be on a film set. 504 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 3: T I was really late. 505 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 10: He was on music time like all the time, and 506 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 10: Hollywood already. 507 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 5: Was just like, we've hired a rapper. Anything can happen. 508 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 2: Somehow, Tina the screenwriter got caught in the middle of 509 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 2: a conflict between film exects and the rapper himself. 510 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 12: I don't know how I got charged with telling Tea, I, Hey, 511 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 12: these folks really are upset about you being late all 512 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 12: the time, and I think, like there is something bad 513 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,160 Speaker 12: it's about to happen, right. 514 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 2: Can you imagine being a writer for your second movie 515 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 2: and somehow you have to sell the star they can't 516 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:31,840 Speaker 2: be late to set anymore. 517 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,160 Speaker 3: But I remember he goes, oh okay, and he did 518 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,240 Speaker 3: it like he was on time over that. He literally 519 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:39,199 Speaker 3: just was like, oh is that how like like is 520 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 3: that how it works? 521 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 12: He's like, oh okay. 522 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 2: As an actor on set, Jason saw this shift happen 523 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 2: in real time. See, I was such a big star 524 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 2: at that like he was big in his rapping career. Yes, 525 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 2: at that point, where is it like to be going 526 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:55,840 Speaker 2: through that process with him. 527 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:57,359 Speaker 4: You know, I'll be honest. 528 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 7: It was interesting for me to watch him accept his 529 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 7: responsibility as being a number one. It was interesting to 530 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 7: watch him grow in that time. I saw a change 531 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 7: from a rapper coming into the environment and maybe not 532 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 7: really caring that much to be a part of the environment, 533 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,800 Speaker 7: or understanding the impact that this kind of film could 534 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 7: have and his role in it. 535 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 4: Something clicked one day. 536 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 7: I think it was when we were doing one of 537 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 7: the skating scenes and we were on a timeline crunch 538 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 7: and we were all kind of tired and fatigued, and 539 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 7: we kind of just fooling around and not really focused, 540 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,879 Speaker 7: and Tip just stepped in was like, hey, y'all, we 541 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,160 Speaker 7: gotta get this done. Man, Like everybody focused. We got 542 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 7: all these people here, they spending all this money. We 543 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 7: got crew members here, Like, come on, y'all. 544 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 2: Atl wasn't a huge box office success, but it became 545 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 2: a lasting cult classic in the same way that Drumline had. 546 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 3: For Black millennials, especially those of us from the South. 547 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:57,640 Speaker 3: It was one of the. 548 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,880 Speaker 2: First times we saw our experiences represented accurately and thoroughly 549 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 2: in a movie. 550 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,400 Speaker 7: People are still asking for a sequel even now, when 551 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:09,359 Speaker 7: I have fans of those films approach me. You know, 552 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 7: it's a little bit deeper than saying, hey, that was 553 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 7: a good film. It's like, it's a celebration of our people, 554 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,639 Speaker 7: celebration of our culture than how beautiful we are in 555 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 7: any kind of way. Of that helped inspire kids to 556 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,199 Speaker 7: like either go to HBCU or you know, make music 557 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 7: or skate or whatever the case may be, or just appreciated, 558 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 7: love themselves for who they are. To be a part 559 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 7: of that kind of storytelling is just it's a blessing. 560 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,159 Speaker 2: That was Austin wasn't just dreaming up his own movies 561 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 2: during this time, he was also meeting with lawmakers and 562 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 2: key players in Atlanta's film industry. Around two thousand and four, 563 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 2: he joined a Film and Entertainment committee set up by 564 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 2: Governor Sonny Purdue. There were tasked with figuring out how 565 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 2: to make Georgia a more enticing place for film productions. 566 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:55,880 Speaker 2: Other states like North Carolina and Louisiana already had tax 567 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,400 Speaker 2: incentives that had lord film productions away from Los Angeles 568 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 2: and New York. Maybe Georgia could create a program to 569 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:07,440 Speaker 2: rival them. Dallas was a creator with a lot of ideas, 570 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,919 Speaker 2: and he was also really busy. He needed help, so 571 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,719 Speaker 2: he nominated Shay, the casting director, as chair of the committee. 572 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 2: She already knew that the way to get Hollywood's attention 573 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 2: was to help their bottom line. 574 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 8: We knew what we were doing. We had people here 575 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,560 Speaker 8: who had worked on enough films that they were valuable 576 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 8: to any production coming here. 577 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 2: The Commission supported a tax incentive that would offer between 578 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,400 Speaker 2: nine to seventeen percent in tax credits for any production 579 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:37,200 Speaker 2: that film here. Those credits could then be sold off 580 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 2: to a Georgia based company who could actually use them. 581 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 2: Filmmakers like Willpacker and Tyler Perry got on board pretty quickly. 582 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 2: They caught lawmakers urging them to show their support for 583 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 2: the bill. It worked, Georgia's first film tax incentive went 584 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 2: into effect in two thousand and five. Willpacker and Rob 585 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 2: Hardy had been on the scene before a tax intentive 586 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 2: was even an idea. 587 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 3: Now they were the first in line of benefit. 588 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 2: Their two thousand and five film, The Gospel, received the 589 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:14,400 Speaker 2: tax credit retroactively. The Gospel was also the pair's first 590 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 2: film to be distributed by Sony. Two years later, in 591 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 2: two thousand and seven, Sony would collaborate again with Will 592 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 2: and Rob's production company, Rainforest Films to make Sumthy Art. 593 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 3: The movie, which filmed. 594 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 2: At HBCUs here in Atlanta, told the story of black 595 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,800 Speaker 2: fraternities in their legacy of stepping. Will and Rob are 596 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 2: both members of Alpha Phi Alpha, so they knew the 597 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 2: power of black Greek life intimately. But to get the 598 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,720 Speaker 2: white executives of Sony on board, they pitched the movie 599 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 2: as You Got Served two point zero. The film was 600 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 2: a success, opening at number one during its first weekend. 601 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 2: It was further proof that if given a chance, Atlanta 602 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 2: could dominate in film. 603 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 3: Here's Rob. 604 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 6: We got a chance to not have side jobs or 605 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,320 Speaker 6: we could be filmmakers the whole time, which was cool. 606 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 6: And we had like this relationship with Sony where we 607 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 6: could get other movies made, and in Atlanta had become 608 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 6: the place where independent filmmakers were coming to make their 609 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:14,400 Speaker 6: dreams a reality. 610 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 5: So it felt like we were head of the curve. 611 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 2: Still, the tax incentive that passed in two thousand and 612 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 2: five wasn't enough to beat out the incentives offered by 613 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 2: other states. Georgia needed to up the ante. In two 614 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 2: thousand and eight, Georgia passed the version of the tax 615 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 2: incentive that we know today. This version offers productions tax 616 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:35,479 Speaker 2: credits of up to thirty percent. 617 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 3: The only catch they have to include. 618 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 2: Georgia's tourism loco a peach at the end of their credits. 619 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 2: If you don't understand how tax credits work, that's fair. 620 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 2: Taxes are unnecessarily complicated and confusing. Here's an example straight 621 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,240 Speaker 2: from Georgia's film office. Say you spend twenty million dollars 622 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 2: on your production here and you receive the total thirty 623 00:30:58,920 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 2: percent credit. 624 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 3: That means you could get a six million dollar tax. 625 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 2: Credit that you could use to offset what you owe 626 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 2: in taxes or sell it to a Georgia based company 627 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 2: at say ten percent discount. 628 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 3: So the Georgia company would pay the. 629 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 2: Production company five million, four hundred thousand dollars, but they'd 630 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 2: still get the full six million dollar credit. 631 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 3: It's a win win. 632 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,239 Speaker 2: The production company gets back some of the money it's 633 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 2: spent to film here, and the company they sell the 634 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 2: credit to gets a discount on taxes. But yes, like 635 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 2: I said, taxes are confusing. Hollywood understood the implications of this, 636 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,800 Speaker 2: though the results were immediate. 637 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 6: It was like a light switched on and all of 638 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 6: a sudden, you had many more productions looking to shoot 639 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 6: at Atlanta, from Hollywood, from New York, from overseas. 640 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 4: My agent started calling me and they were like, Hey, 641 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,720 Speaker 4: I'm flying down. I'm gonna go see a client, another 642 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 4: client that's here. They're shooting. 643 00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 5: Da da da. 644 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 7: Hey, this place isn't so bad that after all you 645 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:03,960 Speaker 7: were telling me, you know, how where should I go to? 646 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 4: Okay, Mary Max? Or well where's that one? Okay, busy bee? 647 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 3: What's that now? 648 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 7: Whether they say okay, cool, cool, and I'll be like, Okay, 649 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 7: it's changing because you know, back when I first moved here, 650 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 7: it's like, what are you doing down there? And oh, 651 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 7: you're just hanging out and you're just having fun. You're 652 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 7: not taking it seriously. There's no film community down there. 653 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,640 Speaker 7: There are no actors, there are no what, writers, what, 654 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 7: and no everything's here. And then when they started seeing 655 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:32,480 Speaker 7: it for themselves, you know, you saw the page turns. 656 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:36,000 Speaker 6: And then of course you would see all the location 657 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 6: signs and they stand out because they're yellow. 658 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 5: When we were first starting. 659 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,400 Speaker 6: We didn't even need location signs, like it was just 660 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:44,960 Speaker 6: you know, go down and make a right to stop sign, 661 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 6: go to the first house. 662 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 5: On the left. 663 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 2: Most of the new productions using these yellow signs weren't 664 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 2: actually set in Georgia. The state became a stand in 665 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:58,959 Speaker 2: for anywhere, USA. But soon something interesting started happening. Shows 666 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,960 Speaker 2: like Donald Glover's At Length actually tapped into the city's 667 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 2: culture and it's interesting characters. 668 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:07,440 Speaker 5: Fight this out no good man. 669 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,080 Speaker 2: When Will Packer produced the Peacock series Fight Night, he 670 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 2: wanted to attract as many viewers as possible. He also 671 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,960 Speaker 2: wanted to make it clear to anyone watching, no matter 672 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,400 Speaker 2: where they might be, that the show was a love 673 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 2: letter to Atlanta. Fight Night is a fictionalized take on 674 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,920 Speaker 2: a real life lucrative heightst involving black mobsters that took 675 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 2: place around Muhammad Ali's return to boxing in nineteen seventy You. 676 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:34,880 Speaker 5: Gentleman, why you're hearing Atlanta? 677 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:35,240 Speaker 10: Man? 678 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 1: Who are you? 679 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:38,560 Speaker 3: You are pity hosts? 680 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:39,560 Speaker 1: Yes, sir. 681 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,480 Speaker 3: For locals who recognize the locations and storylines, the show 682 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,000 Speaker 3: might as well be called if you know. 683 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:51,840 Speaker 5: You know that's actually pascals. We shot that at busy Bees. 684 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 6: This is the auc This is Southwest Atlanta where we 685 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 6: shot this scene. Some of it will only be caught 686 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,000 Speaker 6: by true Atlanta's Some will only be caught by four 687 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 6: that know the real atl But we had to have 688 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 6: that in there because this is a real atl. 689 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 3: Story the way he sees it. 690 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,719 Speaker 2: He has an obligation to highlight a place that has 691 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,720 Speaker 2: given so much to him as a creator. 692 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,879 Speaker 6: I came to filmmaking prominence in Atlanta. Tina Gordon's first 693 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,560 Speaker 6: movie was in Atlanta. Rob Hardy's first movie was in Atlanta. 694 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 6: Tyler Perry came to prominence in Atlanta. All of us 695 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 6: who were birthed by that culture. In that scene, we 696 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:28,760 Speaker 6: all tried to pay it back by showing Atlanta authentically. 697 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,800 Speaker 6: After being in Atlanta for thirty years, I still feel 698 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,840 Speaker 6: like there's a rich amount of stories to tell that 699 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:38,040 Speaker 6: have yet to be taught. 700 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 2: The film industry has changed several times since We'll first 701 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:43,759 Speaker 2: moved here in the late nineties. There have been some 702 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:47,440 Speaker 2: massive highs, but also a few lows. In two thousand 703 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 2: and eight, will watch this opportunity appear seemingly overnight. After 704 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:55,320 Speaker 2: Georgia passed its tax incentive. In the twenty tens, Atlanta 705 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 2: benefited from the streaming boom. An influx of new streaming 706 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:02,080 Speaker 2: companies mint studios to greenlight enough shows to film them. 707 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:05,840 Speaker 2: But these days the Georgia film world is fighting a 708 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,920 Speaker 2: battle on two fronts. At home, there are politicians who 709 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 2: remain skeptical about the tax incentive. 710 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: Georgia's popular film tax credit got some scrutiny out the 711 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: Capitol today, with one lawmaker saying that it's time to 712 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,320 Speaker 1: rein it on end. A recent audit of the credit 713 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,640 Speaker 1: shows taxpayers lose far more than the state makes in 714 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:25,640 Speaker 1: the film industry jobs a love. 715 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 5: Of the life's dog. 716 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,759 Speaker 2: Throughout the country, the entire film industry is contracting in 717 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,359 Speaker 2: the wake of COVID strikes and the end of that 718 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:33,240 Speaker 2: streaming boom. 719 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:35,560 Speaker 3: The volume of. 720 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:39,960 Speaker 2: Productions taking place, not just in Georgia but everywhere, remains 721 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:43,680 Speaker 2: much lower than before the pandemic. In this new climate, 722 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 2: both in Atlanta and beyond, black creators say there seems 723 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 2: to be less interest in taking a chance on their stories. 724 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:53,399 Speaker 5: You know, it's hard to make any movie, I don't 725 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:54,240 Speaker 5: care what it's about. 726 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,280 Speaker 6: You can, you know, try to make a movie about 727 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,759 Speaker 6: you know, five straight white guys. It's hard, right, So yes, 728 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 6: if you're trying to make a movie that's for a 729 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 6: niche audience, it's even harder. And it is you got 730 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:08,920 Speaker 6: to figure out a way to do it, though. And 731 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 6: the thing I love about Atlanta is that it's a 732 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:15,319 Speaker 6: city of hustlers. Man, It's a city of entrepreneurs, right. 733 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,960 Speaker 6: The joke is that everybody in Atlanta's got a side hustle, 734 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 6: and I think that's true. I don't know that I 735 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 6: would have been able to have been as successful as 736 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 6: I am in this industry if I was trying to 737 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 6: do it in any other city. 738 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 5: Because I had the support of Atlanta. 739 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:39,920 Speaker 1: Atlanta done came up a lot, especially since the film 740 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: industry made the city at second home. If you're from 741 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 1: my generation, then we share some priceless moments. We're blessed 742 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,759 Speaker 1: to be able to call out home. If you're too 743 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: young to know firsthand what it was back in the day, 744 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,480 Speaker 1: just believe me, you should be proud to be from 745 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,479 Speaker 1: the AA. Do everything you can to rep the city 746 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,440 Speaker 1: with pride. The day when y'all gonna be og will 747 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:02,840 Speaker 1: be here in no time. It's been a hell of 748 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,520 Speaker 1: a ride that I wouldn't change if I could, so 749 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,680 Speaker 1: I'm proud to be part of the legendary Black HollyHood. 750 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,799 Speaker 2: Atlanta may now be a film city, but it's been 751 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 2: a church city for even longer. In the next episode, 752 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:27,320 Speaker 2: we explore the city's complicated relationship with religion and influence. 753 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,400 Speaker 3: In Atlanta is where pastors are. 754 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,320 Speaker 5: The original influencers were getting it out the mud. 755 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,520 Speaker 6: It was a dry white season, the church had dwindled 756 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 6: almost to nothing, and God said, this is your assignment. 757 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:54,239 Speaker 1: Atlanta is the will Packer Media production in partnership with 758 00:37:54,280 --> 00:38:00,720 Speaker 1: iHeart Podcast, Idea, Generation and Complex. This episode was written, reported, 759 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 1: and produced by Juel Wicker, with additional production from Maurice 760 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:08,480 Speaker 1: Garland and Christina Lee. Our supervising producer and editor is 761 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:13,800 Speaker 1: Shiva Bayak. Our managing producers are Rose Frulini Bacon O'mari Graham, 762 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:19,440 Speaker 1: and Shamara Rochester. Editorial support from Sean Setero and Jack Irwin. 763 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 5: Original theme music by Aman Sahota. 764 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,960 Speaker 1: Sound designed by Shiva Bayat and Our Mind Sahota, mixed 765 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,480 Speaker 1: and mastered by our Man Sahota. Fact checking done by 766 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:35,640 Speaker 1: Sean Setero, Clarence Counsel, Donnison, Caliph Perez, Lisa Calif and 767 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:39,959 Speaker 1: Jacqueline Schwedt. Executive producers for will Packer Media are Will 768 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,560 Speaker 1: Packer and Alex Bowden. Co producer for will pack Of 769 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:48,000 Speaker 1: Media is Nimi Mohun. Executive producers for Idea Generation and 770 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:52,279 Speaker 1: Complex are Jack Irwin and Noah Callahan. Bever Head of 771 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,840 Speaker 1: talent Relations for Complex is Anthony Alred, Talent associate for 772 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:00,480 Speaker 1: Complex is Ryan Houston. Senior attorney for comp Lex is 773 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:06,040 Speaker 1: Jordan Washington. Special thanks to Tyler Klang, Terry Harrison, Chris Senator, 774 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:10,880 Speaker 1: Noams Griffin, and Candice Howard. A big ROO piece