VISIONARY
Lights, Camera, Georgia How local entrepreneurial and business icon Michael Coles helped turn the Peach State into Hollywood South By Mi cha e l J . Pa l l e r i no
speak with legislators, producers, and community members. We had to show them how much they could benefit economically from the film industry; not only during filming, but from a continuous tourism impact as well.” Part of their presentation included a video montage intro- duction featuring images of such iconic locations as the Sahara Desert, the Grand Canyon, and New York City. At the end of the video, their message is stated for all to see: “All of the scenes were filmed in Georgia”. “This helped constituents envision their own communities as a site for a film,” Coles says. “Once they were convinced, they pressured their legislators.” Included in Cole’s advocacy group were Joel Katz, entertainment practice chair, Greenberg Traurig;
Photo by Aiva Genys
I created a group of 40 board members who were experts in their fields, inf luential in Atlanta, and passionately dedicated to growing the film industry here.
Michael Coles
W hen then Governor Roy Barnes appointed Michael Coles to lead the Georgia Film Commission in 1999, the once thriving industry was in decline. Started in the early ’70s by then Governor Jimmy Carter, the state had become an entertainment breeding ground for icon films like Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, Glory, Fried Green Tomatoes, Footloose , and many others. Coles, the serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and co-founder of Great American Cookie, was tasked to right the ship. “So why do producers come to Georgia to film?” he asked himself. What seemed like a relatively easy answer was fraught with chaos. For starters, the Film Commission did not have a board of directors or advisory board, which meant it had no plan. In addition, the Commission was unable to pass a tax incentive bill. Not only was there nobody to get it done, nobody thought they could. And while Georgia had several Oscar winning films under its belt, the state’s film industry was only generating $150-$200 million per year in economic impact. “Why not?” That was the other question Coles asked himself. Why couldn’t Georgia be at the top of every producer’s wish list? After an exhaustive research
initiative, Coles executed a strategy that involved building a diverse and talented board, educating state officials on potential opportunities, and creating incentives to attract new business. “Through my personal network, I created a group of 40 board members who were experts in their fields, influential in Atlanta, and passionately dedicated to growing the film industry here,” says Coles, whose name proudly adorns the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. Focused on educating, promoting, and enacting film incentives, Coles’s team set out to get House Bill 610 passed during the 2001 Georgia Legislative Session. The landmark bill ended up granting tax incentives to production companies filming in Georgia. Like most things Coles touches, he set the film industry’s future into hyper drive. Today, there are as many as 40 active film and TV projects in production throughout the state on any given day. In 2018, the market segment posted an economic impact of $9.5 billion. “I always say passing the film incentive legislation was my biggest business success that nobody knows about,” says Coles, who stepped away from the Commission in 2003. “Ahead of the legislation’s passing, we set out on an intensive, yearlong ground campaign to
Pat Mitchell, president, CNN Productions; Ronnie Gunnerson, senior VP, corporate affairs, Turner Broadcasting; and Joey Reiman, founder, BrightHouse, and many more. “Every person was crucial in the passing of this legislation,” Coles says. These days, Coles spends his time mentoring entrepreneurs and lecturing around the country (he does as many as 75 a year). An author, his latest book — Time to Get Tough: How Cookies, Coffee, and a Crash Led to Success in Business and Life — details how he started a $100-million company with only $8,000 (Great American Cookie), overcame a near-fatal motorcycle accident, ran for U.S. Congress, and set three transcontinental cycling world records. “I learned about risk early,” Coles says. “You’re going to have setbacks at some point. In the final analysis, failure is not about falling down, but staying down. The ability to get back up again and again will set you apart from those who doubt your abilities or say your ideas are unsound. My feeling has always been that these are the same people who don’t understand risk, courage, and the power of doing more than is expected of you.”
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