Atlanta's film and TV actors and crew are now at a crossroads

A lighting technician is mowing lawns. A camera assistant is teaching guitar again. An actor has thought about shifting careers.

For more than a decade, work had been nonstop in Atlanta’s booming film industry thanks to Georgia’s extremely generous tax break. Dubbed the “Hollywood of the South,” metro Atlanta became a ubiquitous backdrop for huge projects, including Marvel films and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”

As soundstages sprouted up, the insatiable need for crews turned the city into a prime destination for both behind-the-scenes workers seeking to break into the entertainment industry and “journeymen” actors wanting a reprieve from the hustle of Los Angeles or New York. But work dried up last winter and has been at a near-standstill ever since the industry’s writers went on strike in May and actors joined them in July.