Smith and Stilwell Inc

Smith and Stilwell has been handling production payroll for film and television companies across the United States since 1985. Based in Midtown Atlanta, this certified women-owned business was founded by cinematographer Bill Stilwell and Annette Smith, built out of a firsthand frustration: productions needed a payroll service that actually understood how the entertainment industry works, not just how payroll software works. S&S provides concierge payroll outsourcing for productions of every size, covering crew and talent payroll for both union and non-union workers. Their back-office services extend across the full range of compliance and reporting requirements that come with multi-state entertainment productions. For production companies that would rather focus on the creative work than manage the administrative side, S&S takes it off the table. Entertainment payroll carries its own complexity: guild agreements, scale rates, jurisdiction-specific tax obligations, and reporting requirements that shift from project to project. Smith and Stilwell has been navigating all of it for four decades. Their clients include independent production companies, studios, directors, and producers working across the United States and on international projects. The company operates out of Midtown Atlanta, where its offices share a building with Stilwell Casting and Studio at Stilwell. For production teams working in the Southeast, that concentration of resources is genuinely useful. Today the team is led by Annie Burch and Erin Buda, who have run day-to-day operations since 2008. As a small, family-run business, S&S offers direct access to experienced staff. Clients from Monument Films, collaboration Films, Anderson Hopkins, and George Fulton Productions have described the team as dependable, responsive, and the kind of partner that earns long-term trust. If your production needs a reliable back-office payroll outsourcing partner with deep entertainment industry experience, Smith and Stilwell is worth a conversation. Reach out through their website to discuss your project and get a quote.