From RealFilmCareer.Com

Pennsylvania attracts star power thanks to the state’s film tax credit

Pennsylvania towns might be landing on more star maps these days.

The state’s film tax credit, which was adopted in 2007, has attracted some big business, including 20th Century Fox, to the area.

“Unstoppable” – the Denzel Washington drama which barreled through the box office last month – was filmed throughout Central Pennsylvania.

Jane Saul of the Pennsylvania Film Office works with studios that are interested in using The Keystone State as a backdrop. She helps them save money through the tax credit, which gives feature films, television films and television shows intended for national audiences a 25-cent credit for every dollar of qualified expenditure.

“If a movie has a $100 million budget, they are going to get back $25 million,” Saul said.

To be eligible, production companies have to use 60 percent or more of their budgets in Pennsylvania.

Before cameras start rolling, Saul said the film office helps the studio scout locations.

For “Unstoppable,” she researched the state’s railroad history as well as towns that would be able to accommodate the film’s cast and crew. Since the movie was an “extremely large project,” Saul said it was filmed in a large area.

Unfortunately for local film buffs, none of the movie was shot in York County. But the economic effects can be felt through many communities.

Saul said most people have the perception that the tax credit only helps movie studios.

“The reality is that for the commonwealth it’s putting people to work,” she said.

From hotels to restaurants to dry cleaners, local businesses see a boom when film crews are in town.

According to the state Department of Community and Economic Development, the program paid for itself in the first year by generating $524.6 million in total statewide economic impact, including 4,000 new jobs with total wages of $146.4 million.

The tax credit isn’t about Hollywood glamour, Saul said, but having Washington on a local set is a nice side effect.

Pennsylvania had one of the first tax credits, but Saul said more states have started offering similar programs.

“We still have one of the best incentives,” she said.

And, since most people support job creation, Saul said, the tax incentive is supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

The state’s 2010-11 budget included $60 million for the film tax credit. If there is no vote to change the incentive in the 2011-12 budget, it will get $75 million, Saul said.

The film tax credit helped draw other recent releases – the Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal romantic comedy “Love and Other Drugs” and the Russell Crowe action flick “The Next Three Days” – to The Keystone State.

Saul said the movie “Safe” is being shot in the Philadelphia area, and Fox has its sights on Pittsburgh for the new television series “Locke & Key”.

I have to admit that I haven’t seen “Unstoppable” yet. (“Some Like It Hot” is a train film that’s much more my speed.)

But I wouldn’t mind bumping into stars like Washington, Crowe and Jake Gyllenhaal on the streets of York someday soon. POPeye is a bi-weekly column focusing on the ever-changing landscape of popular culture. To reach writer Erin McCracken, call 771-2051 or send an e-mail to emccracken@ydr.com.
Local filmmaker uses crowdfunding to finance new project:

Jeff Crawford of Transdimensional Films is working on his first full-length feature “Making It Through.”

The movie is about an alcoholic actor, who must decide if he wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter. It features many local actors, including some faces from York Little Theatre, and is being shot in York County.

About $5,000 is privately financed for the movie, but Crawford wrote in an e-mail message that he’s trying to raise more money for the film. He decided to use the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo. People and organizations post information about their creative projects or causes on the site in order to raise awareness and funds.

Crawford’s goal is to raise $9,000 in about 100 days.

For details, visit www.indiegogo.com/MakingItThrough.
A runaway train in York County?

“Unstoppable,” which hit theaters Nov. 12, is based on actual events. A train engineer (Denzel Washington) and conductor (Chris Pine) have to stop a runaway train before it barrels into a populated area.

York Daily Record/Sunday News editor Jim McClure brought up a mysterious case of a runaway train in York County on his blog www.yorkblog.com/yorktownsquare. The story isn’t nearly as dramatic, but it’s still intriguing.

One night in August 1996, a train car weighing 135 tons thundered 9.5 miles from New Freedom to Seven Valleys on the old Northern Central Railroad. Heritage Rail Trail County Park was closed that night and the 1954 Western Maryland Fast Freight Line No. 1689 drifted harmlessly to a stop. No arrests were ever made.

Here is an excerpt form the 1996 York Daily Record story:

Bill Elmer’s telephone rang at just after 9 (p.m. Aug. 15, 1996).

Seven Valleys fire company authorities told him a runaway train car was heading down the tracks. They asked him to go outside to the Northern Central Railway behind his store and make sure nobody was in the way.

Children often play near the rails. In fact, the grocer said he found several little ones playing nearby that night.

“I made sure all the kids were moved away from the tracks,” he said.

Then, the tracks rumbled. Elmer said he thought he heard the roar of a diesel, but Northern Central officials later told him the engine hadn’t been running. It was dark. No lights beamed from the approaching locomotive.

“It was like a ghost train coming along,” Elmer said. “I didn’t see anyone on the train.”