[Encosia]

> There's no "Second Hollywood" in the United States.

Look into what's been going on in Georgia for the past few years. Not a replacement for Hollywood yet, but it's a good example of how quickly alternatives can take off due almost entirely to geographic differences in the cost of doing business.

[jacobolus]

Where by “geographic differences in the cost of doing business” you mean “desperate politicians in a race to the bottom competing over who can waive the most taxes”. http://www.georgia.org/industries/entertainment/production-i...

[echelon]

My rent for a two bedroom apartment in Inman Park is $700.

The costs of doing business in Atlanta are significantly less than other regions.

[SomeCallMeTim]

Georgia has had a presence at the Game Developers' Conference every year for as long back as I can remember. They've been wooing game developers with basically free money and other bonuses.

And while they likely have convinced a few companies (they like to showcase a half dozen or so), it's not like it even was a measurable blip on the growth of game companies in Silicon Valley.

[Encosia]

That's interesting, but we (as far as I know) weren't talking about game development, but about TV/movie production.

Most people don't realize it, but many recent high-budget movies were filmed in Georgia, e.g. Fast Five, Vacation, Ant-Man, all three Hunger Games movies, one of the recent X-Men movies, Flight, etc. After 2008, there was an abundance of empty warehouse space here available at deep discounts, not far from the highest volume airport in the world.

As the economy rebounded, momentum in that industry seems to have remained even though there aren't many empty/cheap warehouses here anymore. A few developers are even working on purpose-built movie studios around town now.

It has been interesting to watch, and certainly could parallel what could happen in the bay area if an exodus to somewhere like Austin began in earnest.

[arcanus]

> It has been interesting to watch, and certainly could > parallel what could happen in the bay area if an exodus to > somewhere like Austin began in earnest.

Tech Austinite here -- given the rate prices of food, housing, etc. are spiking here, I'm presently more inclined to see ATX as catching up to SF prices and acting as an SXSF than remaining a low-cost alternative.

Don't generally disagree with your thesis, but at least for tech I don't think the game is zero sum, and the market is expanding fast enough to support multiple tech hubs.

[Encosia]

Definitely. Austin was just the first example that came to mind, but I think you're right that spreading out to several regional hubs is also likely (and preferable, IMO).

[rhino369]

The "second hollywood" is Vancouver. I know it's not in the USA, but it's where a lot of TV is shot.

[gkanapathy]

There's where it's shot, and there's where it is run from.