Shoot In California Blog RSSSay what you will about the efficacy of state film incentives, and I have not been kind. It does appear they are having an effect on international locations that have prided themselves on capturing major film productions from the US. The situation in Australia, it seems, is not well. But are we to feel...
According to an economic impact report requested by the state legislature, Oklahoma’s film incentive is providing a good return for the state. The incentives in Oklahoma are quite generous, but the state caps the program at $5 million each year. Since 2005, officials estimate film productions in Oklahoma have provided a combined economic impact...
Earlier this week, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, a native of Flint, Michigan, expressed his support for the state film incentive and bringing high-wage jobs to the state and fostering local talent while preventing it from moving to New York and LA. Moore has been critical of state film incentives in the past, pointing to...
An Iowa State Court ruled in favor of several production companies suing the state over Iowa’s decision to suspend the incentive program for complete lack of oversight resulting in millions of dollars of tax payer money wasted for out of state expenditures for items, such as luxury cars, that were not used in any...
I obtained a copy of the independent auditor’s report to the Iowa Department of Economic Development concerning the complete lack of management and oversight at the Iowa Film Office. It’s a doozy. For a time, Iowa had the largest tax incentive in the nation, besting even Michigan. When combined, Iowa’s incentives could put 50%...
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, a joint meeting of the House Tax Policy Committee and the Committee on New Economy and Quality of Life will hear testimony on the success of Michigan’s film incentive program. Created in 2008, the program offers some of the most competitive tax credits in the country to filmmakers in an...
The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd Longwell published the best mainstream news coverage of the state film incentives I have seen. From the topics hit to the states discussed, Longwell’s article nails it. So much of the article is worth commenting on that I elected to sprinkle my thoughts through out… It’s an inspiring scene, one...
The first map below is from the Entertainment Partners Incentive Group and is current as of November 2009. As you can see, only seven states do not offer film & television production incentives. Compare this to the second map below, which is from 2002 just before New Mexico passed their incentive program. Production incentives...
California film and television production workers devastated by the effect of runaway production to Canada, other foreign nations and roughly 43 U.S. states that began offering film & TV production incentives in recent years may find that they may be the ones lured to runaway. In Louisiana, a pioneer in the U.S. for duplicating...
Setting the Record Straight on the Happy Cows Commercial Production Situation (Also available at: http://www.californiadairypressroom.com/node/285) In light of an inflammatory article featured in the November 13th edition of the Los Angeles Times, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) offers the following facts about the production of its highly successful Happy Cows television commercials: Fact...
This is the best quote I have seen from a producer in recent weeks…”We would never misrepresent California cows by shooting them elsewhere.” Perhaps California’s new incentive should have covered commercials? Hats off to Richard Verrier of the Los Angeles Times for reporting this story, which represents much of what is wrong with production...
North Carolina, which not so long ago was one of the top production locations in North America, is trying to get back in the game. The state is about to increase it’s production incentive from 15% to 25%. Given the talent base in the state, it will be interesting to see if the larger...
News from Dallas today….the city was able to bag a show thanks, in part, to the Texas film incentives. This is one of the first productions lured to Texas shooting outside of the Austin region, which seems to be getting most of the new filming. Fox’s new series Jack and Dan will shoot 13...
My new law review article is virtually complete. The only remaining section I need to complete is the conclusion, where I call for a national film incentive to replace the competing state incentives. Sticking with Alice in Wonderland theme from the title of my first article, I have titled the new one: “Down the...
Southern California Public Radio aired an excellent “roundtable discussion” about runaway production and state film incentives on July 31, 2009. This is a can’t miss discussion featuring Amy Lemisch, director, California Film Commission and Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Legislative Office of Louisiana, among others. Click HERE to listen to the broadcast.
The University of California San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education released a study linking state film incentives to a potential increase in teen smoking. I thought the idea of the study was far fetched at first, but the data is quite convincing. Agree or disagree, the study proposes several policy options...
Raleigh Studios announced they are building an advanced studio complex in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary offers a 25% tax credit for production activities, which is one of the best incentives in Europe. That, combined with very low-cost labor have been cited as primary reasons for the build, along with Budapest’s ability to stand in for...
In this video from early 2008, Director M. Night Shyamalan says the only reason he is able to film in Pennsylvania is because of the state’s film incentives…which is odd, because many of his earlier films are shot in the state when it did not offer the incentives…
I went to DePaul University in Chicago, so the state and the city have a soft spot in my heart. The much anticipated remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” was just filmed in Barrington, Illinois. One producer said the main reason…wait for it…was the state’s 30% tax credit. To read about the production, click...
Adding insult to injury, filmmakers in Iowa are now suing the state over the state’s botched film incentive program. To read an account printed in the San Franciso Chronicle. click HERE
Variety.com – H'w'd and D.C.