The Effingham County Industrial Development Authority unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding this morning with Medient Studios Inc., for a $90 million movie studio that will create more than 1,200 jobs.
Click here to see a slideshow of the studio's past films.
Manu Kumaran, chairman and CEO of Medient, said he wants to revamp the film industry, creating full-time, permanent jobs harkening back to the days when film studios dominated the industry.
The campus, on the IDA's I-16 property, will be environmentally friendly, with no carbon-producing vehicles and with health care, day care and schooling for workers and their families.
Medient is a publicly listed company OTCQB:MDNT, www.medient.com. It is a global film production and distribution company with a strong presence in India and North America.
Kumaran said Effingham beat New York and Pennsylvania for the project, and in Georgia, beat Savannah and Atlanta.
He said good weather was a main draw, as was the lifestyle that the Savannah area affords. He said the business has to be in an attractive, safe place where employees will want to live.
This will be the company's first film studios.
The company's movies include "Yellow,""Garp" and the horror/sci-fi film "Storage 24."
Return to effinghamnow.com for more details later today.