The studio confirmed Saturday that its 62-year-old president and general manager, Steve Mensch, has died.
“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement. “Steve was a beloved member of our team for over eight years and was beloved in the Atlanta community. It’s hard to imagine not seeing him smile across the hall. He will be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to him. We all send our prayers to his family.”
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles via AP
The crash happened in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. Photos taken from the scene show the plane resting upside down on a road. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
According to FAA records, the single-engine RV-12IS van was registered to Mensch at his home address in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville.
Mensch helped with advocacy and retention. Georgia’s Film Tax Credit Over $1 billion a year. These generous subsidies have made Georgia one of the most active locations in the United States for film and television production.
Mensch got into the film business when he started working for Feature Systems, which supplies equipment for the film industry. He was hired by Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting to run its studio operations, later becoming director of strategic production partnerships. There he began lobbying the state government for more support for film and television production.
Rick Reitz, an actor who also helped create the tax credit, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mensch helped the state market it earlier. 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and helped start the Georgia Production Partnership, an entertainment industry lobbying group.
“He was trying to develop a vision for the marketplace before the Olympics and wanted a think tank of people in the community to make Georgia competitive,” Reitz said. “He was a key figure in our growth to become a strong film and TV market.”
After a year helping to plan and build a major studio in China and a short stint helping open Third Rail Studios in suburban Atlanta. Perry hired Mensch in 2016 to help build and run his eponymous studio. The studio is spread across 330 acres of a former Army base in south Atlanta that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch died the same day Perry released “The Six Triple Eight,” a war drama about an all-black, all-female World War II battalion. The film was shot in a studio in Atlanta.
Mensch is survived by his wife Daniela and three children.