Moon River Studios Inc. has begun hiring people to make movies in Effingham County.
The company’s name change, from Medient, has become official and its new offices in Rincon have opened, CEO Jake Shapiro said Friday.
The company had 17 postings for jobs listed on the Effingham Chamber of Commerce job Website — www.effinghamjobs.com— with more listings expected in the next few days.
Shapiro said the company has begun hiring 70 workers. Most of the positions are part time, with the ability to turn into full-time work if the candidate is the right fit, he said.
The positions include people needed to help make movies, such as: on-set dresser, seamstress/tailor, make-up artist, hair stylist, prop master, set medic and craft services assistant.
The company also is looking for people to help build the movie studio, including electricians and construction buyers.
Applicants are invited to post resumes via the site.
“It is ... exciting to see Moon River posting positions for employment,” said John Henry, CEO of the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority (IDA). The IDA is re-negotiating an agreement with Moon River for the 1,600 acres it owns at Old River Road and Interstate 16.
“The new jobs will mark a new beginning for this project,” Henry said. “We look forward to seeing many of these new hires patronizing restaurants and businesses in the Rincon area this fall.”
Moon River told the IDA at its Sept. 25 meeting that it plans to create 527 jobs at its movie studios in Effingham County, with an average wage of $46,200.
That breaks down into 335 crew jobs at an average salary of $55,700 and 192 studio jobs at an average salary of $40,300.
Shapiro said those are only the jobs related to making movies. He said he
expects more jobs to be created in support areas such as hotel, restaurant and retail workers.
The latest development schedule calls for ground to be broken in January and the first phase of construction to be completed in December 2015, including an entry road, studio, offices, workshops and some recreation facilities.
The IDA and the company essentially started over on the project this summer after a hostile takeover in which Shapiro replaced founder Manu Kumaran.
Moon River’s new offices are on the second floor of Goshen Commercial Park on Ga. 21 in the same building as Baibry’s Café. Previously, the company had an office on Chatham Parkway.
Litigation over the change in leadership of the company continues in Nevada, where the company is incorporated. A shareholder lawsuit started in Effingham County has been moved to district court.
The Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily suspended trading of Medient's stock earlier this year because of questions surrounding the accuracy of the company’s public disclosures.
Moon River's stock is traded on Pink Sheets as MDNT. The company’s new website is medientfilmstudios.com.