PRODUCTION
INCENTIVES:
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut General Assembly
established a 30% tax credit for qualified in-state expenses above $50,000 this
year. Incentive went into effect July 1 and applies to income years starting on
or after Jan. 1, 2006. Connecticut also offers sales, property and hotel tax
exemptions. Before the tax credit went into effect, the state averaged
approximately $10 million a year in production dollars, but that number should
rise significantly. New incentive and proximity to New York helped lure
"In Bloom," starring Uma Thurman, to Connecticut. Also, Connecticut
native Roger Ingraham's "Moonshine," which was shot entirely in in
the state and used local crews, debuted in the Midnight category at the 2006
Sundance Film Festival.
KEY CONTACTS:
FLORIDA
Florida offers two major
incentives. First is a 15% cash reimbursement of qualified expenditures for
productions with an $850,000 minimum spend. The maximum rebate is $2 million
per production. Florida recently doubled its available funds to $20 million.
Second is a 6% sales tax exemption on production purchases and rentals. Several
cities also offer customized incentive packages. Florida is home to a $3.9
billion entertainment industry. "Miami Vice," starring Jamie Foxx and
Colin Farrell, and "The Hawk Is Dying," starring Paul Giamatti and
Michelle Williams, recently shot in Florida. Other recent films shot in Florida
include "Boynton Beach Club," Canvas," "Full Grown
Men" and "My Sexiest Year."
KEY CONTACTS:
GEORGIA
New package offers 9%
transferable tax credit with $500,000 minimum spend. Additional 3% uplift for
shooting in underdeveloped counties and 3% wage uplift for state resident hires
(up to $500,000 each). Also, Georgia offers a sales and use tax exemption.
Total economic impact in 2005 from combined productions of feature,
independent, television, commercial and musicvideos was $145.6 million.
"We Are Marshall," starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox and
David Strathairn begins filming in Atlanta in late April. Tyler Perry is in
post-production with his third Georgia-based film, "Daddy's Little Girls.
"Drumline" and "ATL" were both shot in Atlanta. Two Georgia
filmmakers had their world preems at Sundance -- Hadjii's
"Somebodies" and James Ponsoldt's "Off the Black."
KEY CONTACTS:
ILLINOIS
Illinois Film Production Services
Tax Credit Act signed into law recently and went into effect May 1. Package
includes 20% off Illinois expenditures with labor costs capped at $100,000.
Also, the state pays 20% on Illinois salaries up to $100,000. In 2005, there
were eight feature films shot in the state, according to the state film Web
site, which brought in a total of $100 million in production dollars.
"Grace Is Gone," starring John Cusack, and "Quebec,"
directed by Steve Conrad, both filmed in the Chicago area.
KEY CONTACTS:
LOUISIANA
Louisiana's film incentives
include a 25% investor tax credit for all films that spend more than $300,000
in the state. The state also provides a 10% employment credit for hiring of
Louisiana residents (unless salary exceeds $1 million). Both tax credits are
fully transferable. There is also a 15% tax credit offered for the construction
of post-production facilities. In 2005, Louisiana brought in $550 million in
production, and so far in 2006, there has been $341 million in production.
There were 28 projects shot in Louisiana in 2005. Total Louisiana payroll was
more than $40 million for the year. "The Guardian," starring Kevin
Costner, and "Deja Vu," starring Denzel Washington, shot in the
Shreveport area. "Saint Louis Blues," starring Sean Patrick Thomas as
Louis Armstrong, is being shot in New Orleans.
KEY CONTACTS:
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico offers a 25% tax
rebate on all production expenditures that are subject to taxation by the
state. It is a refund, not a credit, on the full amount of the expenditure,
with no minimum spend and no cap. Film Investment Loan Program offers loans of
up to $15 million per project on budgets of at least $1 million. No state sales
tax, which can't be used in conjunction with 25% rebate. Fee-free use of state
buildings. A total of 27 feature films have been shot in New Mexico since July,
2005. The Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" recently shot in
New Mexico.
KEY CONTACTS:
NEW YORK
State program provides 10% tax
credit for qualified productions costs. New York City "Made in N.Y."
program provides an additional 5% credit to the state program for a combined
15% tax credit. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently extended the "Made in
N.Y." program to 2011. Funding was also increased from $25 million to $60
million for state and from $12.5 million to $30 million for NYC. "Made in
N.Y." marketing credit provides free promotion through outdoor media and
discount cards to more than 550 participating vendors. Independent productions
accounted for 90% of the 250 feature films lensed in Gotham last year. There
was a $1.5 billion economic benefit in 2005 from the "Made in N.Y."
incentive program. Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're
Dead," starring Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman, recently shot in
New York.
KEY CONTACTS:
NORTH
CAROLINA
North Carolina offers a 15% tax
credit package for productions spending at least $250,000 in the state. N.C.
also offers a 1% cap on sales and use taxes. Ranked third in production behind
California and New York, North Carolina hosted 31 features in 2005, and
spending on features, TV, commercials and other productions totaled $300
million. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" was shot in
North Carolina, while 2005 Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee
"Loggerheads" was filmed and set in the state.
KEY CONTACTS:
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania offers 20% film
production grant for in-state expenses with a yearly cap of $10 million. To
qualify, 60% of production must take place in Pennsylvania. Other incentives
include sales tax exemption and free use of state-owned property. The economic
impact to the state from filming in 2005 was $249 million.
"Invincible" shot in the state as well as 2006 CineVegas honoree
"The 4th Dimension."
KEY CONTACTS:
SOUTH
CAROLINA
New incentives package took
effect July 1. Productions of more than $1 million are eligible for additional
20% employee wage rebates (for salaries below $1 million) and 30% rebate on
South Carolina suppliers. Sales, use and hotel taxes waived with $250,000
minimum spend. No location fee for state properties. "Death
Sentence," starring Kevin Bacon, and "Patriotville," with Justin
Long, are both shooting in South Carolina.
KEY CONTACTS:
IN FOCUS:
"HOUND DOG" IN N.C.: The producers of an untitled Dakota Fanning pic
(aka "Hound Dog") were drawn to North Carolina because of its tax
incentives. Now, with the recent signing into law of a 15% tax credit, the
state is poised to bring in even more production dollars.
"The key is, as a producer working in the independent world, you have to
get added value on your film wherever you can, and you have to go places that
offer benefits. That's why 44 of the 50 states have a tax program," says
Michel Shane, who is financing the film through his Hand Picked shingle and
also teaches a course at UCLA on film finance using soft money.
The drama, about a girl in the rural South who escapes abuse through the music
of Elvis, was entirely shot in and around Wilmington over a two-month span in
June and July. "The crews and the work ethic were top drawer," says
Shane. "It's a great place to shoot."
UTAH'S STONE FIVE STUDIOS:
Utah is hoping a perfect storm is brewing. In addition to a year-old incentives
bill that includes a 10% rebate for dollars spent in the state, Stone Five
Studios in Provo is adding infrastructure to help lure filmmakers. The new
full-service facility has given Utah its first working soundstage since the
Osmond Studios shuttered in the late '80s.
Stone Five, which recently completed a 9,200-square-foot soundstage and is
constructing a state-of-the-art recording studio, has for the past six years
made family comedies aimed at Mormon auds. It has now put a $20 million fund
together to do non-Mormon fare. It recently booked a Jewish production from New
York: "Beau Jest," starring Seymour Cassel and Lainie Kazan.
"With the addition of this studio and the things the Utah film commission
is doing right now, we hope to stick Utah on the map as the top alternative to
shooting in L.A. and N.Y.," says Dave Hunter, prexy and founder of Stone
Five Studios. "It may be lofty, but why not?"