Zahn McClarnon in Dark Winds
So it was that after a certain long weekend noted not only for its reflections on gratitude but also a lot of revisionist history and rampant consumerism, we found ourselves chatting with Amber Dodson, director of the New Mexico Film Office — a position she assumed some three years ago (after overseeing Albuquerque’s citywide film office)…
“We know we’re on a great growth trajectory with New Mexico. We know we’re poised for growth — but this is kind of nuts.”…
Of course, production hasn’t been the only thing that’s gone nuts since Covid hit. Fissures that were already apparent in American (and global) culture erupted with a vengeance after the 2016 election, and with the ongoing politicization of the pandemic itself.
And not just the pandemic, of course. Books, amusement parks, teachers, women’s healthcare, the right to vote — all are currently under attack by forces that seem to view a razed, societal monoculture as their ultimate expression of the American experiment.
Those fissures have also resulted in productions moving from Georgia to New Mexico, Dodson recounts. When Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s restrictive voting measures into law after 2020’s false election claims, “we saw movies instantly relocate.”…
RTFA, please. Some will see this as a “worse for some, better for us” situation. Not really. Preparing for a productive future enables a wide range of opportunities. They can and will stem from any number of contextual flows. Positive, negative…simply folks seeking a better way to express and grow better lives for themselves and their families…
Eideard 
“Film and television productions spent $4.4 billion in the Peach State in fiscal 2022, which ended June 30, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday. That’s up from the previous record of $4 billion set in fiscal 2021.
Georgia hosted 412 productions in the last fiscal year, including 32 feature films, 36 independent films, 269 television and episodic productions, 42 commercials, and 33 music videos, according to the Georgia Film Office, which promotes and markets the industry in the state.” https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/08/01/georgia-film-industry-sets-another-economic-impact-record
As for ‘folks seeking a better way to express and grow better lives for themselves and their families’: “…I think Georgia, after this midterm, after what happened in 2020, may be remembered as the state that finally broke Donald Trump,” senior CNN political commentator Scott Jennings, a Republican, said after CNN projected that Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock would win a full six-year term.
Jennings is no Trump fan, but he is an astute follower of GOP politics.
“Losing Georgia in the presidential election, losing the Senate race, this is not a state Republicans ought to be losing,” he said. (CNN)
Follow the money: “Training center? Land swap? Film studio? An explainer” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution Aug 12, 2022) https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/dekalb/training-center-land-swap-film-studio-an-explainer/6O5WOI7RP5C7RMGH6ZCM4WMZKE/
‘Assassinated in cold blood’: activist killed protesting Georgia’s ‘Cop City’ : Killing of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, who opposed training facility, is ‘unprecedented’ in history of environmental activism, experts say https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/21/protester-killed-georgia-cop-city-police-shooting