The Geographic History of the Movie Industry

Reporter Phil Edwards consulted a map to explain how geography and tax credits shaped film production, specifically how it moved from its Edison origins near the gorgeous cliffs of Fort Lee, New Jersey, to the manufactured town of Hollywood Land in California, where it has remained for 50 plus years.

This video maps out the surprising geographic history of the film industry—from Fort Lee, New Jersey to Hollywood, California, and finally to Georgia. Using historical maps, movie studio archives, and tax incentive data, I explore how movie production migrated across the United States.

Edwards also “mapslains” that film production in modern times can take place anywhere in the world, it just depends on how good the film tax credits are.

I also unpack the rise of motion picture tax credits and runaway production. With real-world examples from Netflix in Albuquerque and Marvel films shot at Georgia’s Trilith Studios, we show how tax policy, climate, land, and labor laws all pulled productions away from traditional hubs. I break down how Georgia’s 30% transferable tax credit works, and how it made Atlanta a global hotspot for movies and TV shows—even when they’re pretending to be somewhere else.