Thursday, July 15, 2010
A&E Georgia's film commissioner resigns
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 7:19 PM
The Georgia official who helped the Peach State become a major player in the cutthroat movie and TV business resigned last week with an abruptness that's aroused suspicion within the local industry.
Bill Thompson, who as deputy commissioner of the state Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Division helped make Georgia one of the country's top five locations for film, TV and video game productions, stepped down July 9 to "pursue other opportunities," a commission spokeswoman says. He'd been in the job since 2006.
According to the commission's website, Greg Torre — a previous film commissioner before the department was restructured — has been named interim director of the commission, which is a division of the state's Department of Economic Development.
Thompson's exit, which sources familiar with the industry say was unexpected, has raised questions in the city's filmmaking community — especially since he helped the state leverage a healthy tax incentive package to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to Georgia. (Industry officials say Georgia, which enjoys state support, a talented workforce and growing infrastructure and facilities, is poised to become a filmmaking hub.)
In a June interview with I Am Entertainment Magazine, Thompson offered no hints that he planned on leaving the office. (He did say the state could reexamine its "Right to Work" legislation, which the interviewer said possibly caused Georgia to miss out on larger productions. Georgia's about as anti-union as it gets, so who knows if that's a touchy subject.)
Prior to joining the commission four years ago, the Georgia State University graduate was an independent producer who worked with such clients as Coca-Cola and General Electric. Awards to his credit, according to his commission bio, include an MTV Music Video Award, a Southeastern Emmy Award nomination, Gold and Silver Telly Awards, and an Award of Merit from the International Television Association.
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