The Georgia Department of Education is creating new fine arts pathways for high school students and advocating for an expansion of fine arts staffing at the elementary level along with the inclusion of AP, IB, and Cambridge fine arts courses for HOPE Rigor credit.

Here’s the skinny on a very unconventional weekend that included a right-wing documentary from a former tentpole Hollywood filmmaker (Amazon MGM Studios’ Brett Ratner-directed Melania in third with $7M) and an indie film from a YouTuber (Markiplier’s Iron Lung with $17.8M in No. 2), which will hopefully herald in a revolutionary era for social media influencers on the big screen.

About 400 theaters have closed, which has sent the opening for Amazon MGM Studios‘ Chris Pratt movie to $11.2M, in addition to impacting other titles. Rivals might cry that for a $60M production, this isn’t the ideal start, but then again, they’re not Amazon which as a $2.55 trillion company has no stakes.

Oscar®-nominated actor Danielle Brooks and actor Lewis Pullman announced the 98th Oscars® nominations today (Thursday, January 22, 2026), live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills via a global livestream on Oscars.org, Oscar.com and the Academy’s digital platforms, ABC’s Good Morning America and ABC News Live, Disney+, Hulu, broadcast media and an international satellite feed.

The Kansas City, Missouri-native landed a position at Columbus State University as an assistant professor for film and production courses, as well as social media. Since moving to Columbus, Bova has found that there’s a lot of potential in the city for local filmmakers, especially due to the support of the Columbus Film Office. 

The Columbus Film Office is proud to announce the continuation and expansion of its Local Filmmaker Grant Program (LFMGP) for 2026. The program, designed to nurture local talent and support independent filmmakers in the Chattahoochee Valley, has demonstrated significant success in its inaugural year, fostering creative projects that showcase the region's storytelling talent and production capabilities.

The Columbus Film Office is broadening its scope beyond traditional film production to embrace the full spectrum of creative industries, from gaming and music to podcasts and digital content creation.

Southern Scares is the second feature film put on by director and screenwriter Paul Rowe’s Last Caress Productions, in partnership with producer Andy Carpenter and Trey Walker’s Mud Films. The project debuted on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Springer Opera House in downtown Columbus, which also happens to be one of the locations featured in the project. 

 Backstage compiled a list of projects casting right now in Columbus, Georgia, nearby cities, and nationwide, and which roles they're looking to fill.