SAG/AFTRA Leader Melissa Goodman Retires
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SAG/AFTRA Leader Melissa Goodman Retires

Goodman enjoyed an impactful career spanning four decades.

Melissa Goodman enjoyed an impactful career spanning four decades.
Melissa Goodman enjoyed an impactful career spanning four decades.

Melissa Goodman who has been the Executive Director of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in Atlanta for 40 years is retiring.

In addition to leading the performers’ union, she was a member of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Film Digital Entertainment and Music for 14 years and was active in Women and Television in Film and the Georgia Production Partnership, which supports the entertainment industry in the state and in an official commendation letter, Governor Brian Kemp described Goodman as a fierce advocate for production safety and economic equity for performers at all levels.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in his letter to Goodman cited her as one of the community leaders who brought the Georgia Entertainment Industry Production Incentive Act to life. The act has been critical in the growth of the film and television industry in the state.

During Goodman’s tenure as the union representative here, the film industry has had meteoric growth. Partly as the direct result of the Georgia tax incentives that were first introduced in 2002, Georgia is ranked first in film production revenues according to the most recent ranking by Business Facilities Magazine. Film and television production spent $2.6 billion in 2024 and over the last three years have brought $11 billion in production work to the city.

During the last year, 25 feature films by major studio were shot in Atlanta, 30 independent films were completed, and 166 television productions were created in local facilities. Georgia currently has four million square feet of sound stages. Among the latest projects is the redevelopment of the 135-acre site in Doraville that once housed the General Motors Assembly Plant.

Although Georgia is a right-to-work state that lessens the power of talent unions like SAG/AFTRA, many Hollywood studios observe union production rules in productions when they do productions elsewhere.

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