“Why should the public subsidize these guys?”
I don’t know if you live in Georgia but I do. I live in a city in the county where the new studio is located. Our city and county are benefiting. States subsidize all kinds of businesses I think this one is actually paying off. 
When a filming crew leaves, it does not leave behind desolation like some other businesses do. Also, if the movie turns out to be a success, there is a lasting impact on tourism. Just ask the folks who come to Seattle to see the houseboat made famous by that Tom Hanks’ film. 
Gee, I always thought the tourists came to Seattle to see the Space Needle, which was featured in "It Happened at The World’s Fair,’ starring Elvis Presley; and ‘The Parallax View’ starring Warren Beatty. LOL.
My D brought a friend home for Easter who was thrilled to see the Tom Hanks houseboat AND the Northwestern in port!
By the way, the best movie ever made in Seattle was ‘House of Games’, starring Joe Mantegna.
@Pizzagirl - your Rocky example is not dated - I live in Philadelphia and every time I drive past the art museum, there is someone running up the steps AND a line of tourists waiting to have their photo taken by the Rocky statue. The city continues to reap tremendous benefits from that iconic film scene.
@Embracethemess Yeah, I’m sure the steps of the museum and the Rocky statue are a big attraction, but nowadays the scene in the film would have been shot on the steps of the art museum in Toronto. Or New Orleans. LOL.
I attended a workshop on the film industry in GA for local gov officials recently. It was interesting to hear them talk. There is a definite understanding that without the tax credits the industry wouldn’t be here. (And for what it is worth, this is a very Red state).
One of the officials from a town South of Atlanta, where the Walking Dead is primarily filmed, said that in a six month period in the winter that 100K was brought in just from tourists coming to see the sights.
However, there is apparently a struggle to get the skilled labor necessary to fill the positions these studios and productions are bringing with them. And so the state is investing in new votech programs.
The most lucrative movie filmed near here was probably “Sideways” (unless you grew Merlot). It brought in tons of tourists for years. I have no idea what tax incentives are given locally, if any.
They are working on digging up the set of “The Ten Commandments.” It was just left in the dunes to be covered by sand. Most of it is in pretty bad shape, however.