FilmUSA News Shoot In California Blog RSSNews 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
The Austin Chronicle’s Richard Whittaker just published an excellent article on the recent history of the film incentive program in the Lone Star State, which seems to disproportionately benefit Austin. Click HERE to read the article Also, be sure to check out the 2008 Economic Impact Report on the Film & Television Industry in...
According to The Los Angeles Times, Disney is about to buils a new “56-acre production facility in norther Los Angeles County”. The head of FilmLA, Paul Audley, told the paper that California’s new film incentive program “must have factored into the decision”. The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday that it would build a 56-acre...
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan posted an interesting piece today on how much it would cost Michigan if the state captured all film and television production from California. The Mackinac Center has been critical of Michigan’s film incentives from the begining (see their video posts under the “Video Library”). Last year,...
A new video has been added to the Video Library. It features an interview with Northeastern University Law Professor and tax incentive expert Peter Enrich about state film incentives. The interview also discusses the Constitutionality of the incentives, which is dubious according to Enrich. Just click on the Video Library tab or click HERE...
Now that I have my working paper posted over at the Social Sciences Research Network SSRN (see working paper link on the left), I want to share two online services that provided priceless research on specific film production numbers in key states. Baseline Studio Systems, a division of the New York Times Company, offers...
The Hollywood Reporter ran an article about the early status of the states new film incentives. The question is this: would the qualified productions have shot outside the state but for the incentive? Schwarzenegger said 50 projects have been approved for tax credits under the Film and Television Incentive, passed along with a host...
Variety.com – H'w'd and D.C.