"It takes the state to a whole new level, " said Matt Forshee, president of the FayetteCounty Development Authority, who has been closely involved in the project.
Plans call for the studio to be developed on 288 acres south of Atlanta in FayetteCounty and initially include at least five soundstages as well as production offices.
"It's been a very, very serious and critical situation, " said John David, a West Virginia University Institute of Technology professor and volunteer with the South Appalachian Labor School who has been working in FayetteCounty.