ATLANTA (AP) — President of an Atlanta-based company tyler perry studio A man was killed Friday night when the small plane he was piloting crashed on the Florida Gulf Coast.
The studio confirmed on Saturday that president and general manager Steve Mensch, 62, had passed away.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement. “Steve was a valued member of our team for over eight years and was well-loved in the Atlanta community. It's hard to imagine not seeing him smiling throughout the halls. He will be greatly missed. We all send our prayers to his family and our hearts go out to them.”
The accident occurred in Homosassa, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Tampa. Photos from the scene show the plane resting upside down on the road. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
FAA records show the single-engine Vans RV-12IS was registered to Mensch's home address in Fayetteville, a suburb of Atlanta.
Mensch was instrumental in defending and preserving Georgia's film tax credit. Over $1 billion annually. Thanks to these generous subsidies, Georgia has become one of the most active locations for film and television production in the United States.
Mr. Mensch entered the film industry when he began working for Feature Systems, which provided equipment to the film industry. He was hired by Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting to run the studio and later became director of strategic production partnerships. So he began lobbying the state government for more aid for film and television production.
said actor Rick Reitz, who also helped create the tax credit. atlanta journal constitution Mensch helped market the state before the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and helped start the Georgia Production Partnership, an entertainment industry lobbying group, he said.
“He was trying to develop a vision for the market before the Olympics and wanted to create a think tank for local residents to make Georgia more competitive,” Reitz said. “He was a key figure in our growth into a strong film and television market.”
After a year of helping plan and build a huge studio in China, he briefly helped open Third Rail Studios outside of Atlanta. Perry hired Mensch in 2016 to help establish and run his eponymous studio. The studio is located on 330 acres (135 hectares) of a former Army base south of Atlanta that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch died on the same day Perry released Six Triple Eight, a war drama about a mostly black, all-female battalion during World War II. The film was shot at a studio in Atlanta.
Mensch is survived by his wife Danila and three children.
