From The New York Post

The camera loves us!
New film & TV production$ a boon for NY

By LEONARD GREENE

New York is ready for its closeup.

The state's expanded film-tax credit lured a record eight new television series to New York's sound stages this year, an entertainment bonanza that will create more than 4,700 industry-related jobs, officials said yesterday.

Anjelica Huston, Christina Ricci, and Debra Messing are just a few of the stars featured on the new shows enticed by the state's 30 percent tax credit, which gives New York a leg up in the competitive battle among states to lure film and TV productions.

The $420 million tax credit, enacted last summer, shores up New York's role as a major player in the film and TV industry, officials said.
Christina Ricci
ap
Christina Ricci

Since January, 70 new movie and TV projects have come to the state, where they will pump more than $1 billion into the economy this year from spending on productions and salaries.

"We are bringing in more productions, creating more jobs, and showcasing our state as a premier destination for filming," said Pat Swinney Kaufman, executive director of the Governor's Office for Motion-Picture and Television Development.

Among the new shows hitting the streets of New York are "Person of Interest," a crime thriller starring Jim Caviezel and Taraji P. Henson, "Unforgettable," about a former police detective with an uncanny memory, and "A Gifted Man," a medical drama featuring a talented surgeon whose ex-wife speaks to him from the dead.

Messing and Huston will star in "Smash," an NBC show similar to "Glee," with a cross-section of characters who come together to stage a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe. Ricci will star in ABC's "Pan Am," a 1960s-era drama about pilots and flight attendants of the former airline.

Most of the city's film and TV projects are produced at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and two major facilities in Queens, Silvercup Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios.

But the good film fortune extends beyond the five boroughs. Schenectady will welcome Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling as they film the movie "The Place Beyond the Pines."

Western New York, meanwhile will host seven films, while a growing number of independent producers choose the backdrops of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the Finger Lakes.

"When deciding where to bring their projects, producers have to look for the biggest return for their money," said Dana Kuznetzkoff, vice chair of the Producers Guild of America East. "New York is now a first choice when deciding where to film."