LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2022
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45
LMGI:
THE NEXT
GENERATION
BY PAUL MESSANA
They're young, smart and enthusiastic about
what they do. In this occasional column,
KALM Paul Messana, a genXer himself, talks
with the upcoming generation of location
professionals on the rise.
PROFILE ON: JIMMIE BULLIS
HOME BASE: Decatur, Georgia
POSITION: Key Assistant Location Manager
PAUL MESSANA: So let's start from the beginning.
Tell me about where you are from and what got you
interested in the industry.
JIMMIE BULLIS: I was born in the small town of
Sanford, North Carolina. It is right in the middle of
the state. My father owns a bar and billiard hall which
is essentially where I was raised. He was always
watching gangster movies which initially piqued my
interest in the medium. After graduating high school,
the next logical step, according to my family, was to
go to college. At the time, I wasn't ready to do that,
so I didn't necessarily apply myself my rst go at
it. After dropping out, I came home to work in the
bar and found out very quickly that wasn't what I
wanted to do with my life. One afternoon, I stumbled
across an article about an NFL player who left the
league to pursue lm studies. I'd never even heard
of lm studies—so the research into it began. The
University of North Carolina at Wilmington offered a
program for it, I applied and was accepted.
PM: How long have you been working in locations
and what do you primarily work on?
JB: When I decided to pursue a career in movies,
I talked about it with anyone who would listen.
Inevitably, no matter who you speak with, they know
somebody who knows somebody who is involved
in the lm industry. I met a Polish gentleman in my
father's bar who claimed to know a producer. I gave
him my information and that ended up panning out!
A few months later, I was interning on a movie in New
York. That was in 2012 on That Awkward Moment. A
Photos by Jimmie Bullis/LMGI, except where noted
