DEVENS
The Boston Globe
Studio proposal delights officials
Local developer plans film complex
By Scott Van Voorhis
Globe Correspondent / July 31, 2011
A proposal for a Hollywood-style movie studio at the Devens complex is wowing state and local officials eager to bring new jobs to the former military base in the wake of the Evergreen Solar fiasco.
The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, which owns the old base, is in talks to sell a prime tract of land - and provide millions of tax incentives - to a local developer with plans for setting up a studio.
And the $104 million proposal, with the potential to turn Devens into the headquarters of the Massachusetts film industry, has won an early endorsement from officials in the communities that share the former Army property.
Ayer Selectman James Fay said he is encouraged by the proposed studio project, which would provide facilities for the growing number of Hollywood productions shooting in Massachusetts.
Fay said he is cautious about the use of tax incentives to lure companies after the Evergreen debacle, in which the Marlborough-based solar-panel manufacturer used the breaks to build a factory at Devens, only to shut it down this winter, taking with it more than 800 jobs. However, he also said the $5 million sum is relatively modest compared with the $58 million package doled out to the now-struggling Evergreen.
“I have said all along Devens should focus on manufacturing,’’ Fay said, adding the studio complex, in his view, would be “manufacturing films.’’
MJM Development LLC, which is based in Andover, hopes to win approval from MassDevelopment by the end of the year to begin construction on the first phase of a 600,000-square-foot studio complex.
The project is slated to take shape on vacant land on Jackson Road, across from the Bristol-Myers Squibb plant at Devens.
The developer plans to build the project over 10 years, with an initial, $30 million phase to feature four 18,000-square-foot sound stages that would be suitable for rental to everything from big-budget movie productions to commercials. The complex would have a permanent staff of around 40, with hundreds of other positions working out of the studios at any one time, based on the various movies, TV shows, and other productions being filmed there, according to MJM.
The developer is also exploring the potential for converting what was once officer housing at nearby Sherman Square into dorms for a film school, though there are no pending plans to buy the site, said Michael Meyers, MJM’s managing partner.
“It makes a very good opportunity for the region,’’ Fay said. “It’s not on the scale of what Evergreen could have been, but at least it will be a success.’’
Along with Fay, others are also throwing their support behind the studio proposal.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
HotelNewsNow.Com Article
Film crews create hotel demand in Cleveland
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27 July 2011
By Carlo Wolff
HotelNewsNow.com contributor
carlo.wolff@gmail.com
Story Highlights
The key movie is The Avengers, a US$40-million Marvel Comics franchise.
One source says the movie business will swell occupancy levels in downtown Cleveland hotels.
In 2006, Spider-Man 3 generated 4,820 room nights in greater Cleveland hotels.
CLEVELAND—Movies under way in Cleveland could mean millions of dollars and thousands of room nights for hotels in the struggling northeast Ohio city. The Ohio Department of Development suggests they could produce close to US$5.3 million in economic activity and more than 41,000 room nights, making movies one of the biggest demand generators in Cleveland, on par with the Cleveland Clinic and Progressive Insurance.
According to Katie Sabatino, public information officer for the state development department, the figures are based on Ohio Motion Picture Tax applications. “There are plenty more film and TV projects that come to Ohio and use hotel nights that do not use the tax credit, and since there is no real film permit in Ohio—it is impossible to know exactly how many room nights are used,” she said by e-mail.
The key movie is The Avengers, a US$40-million Marvel Comics franchise that already has mounted a casting call of 2,000 for crowd scenes. It will be the largest feature film ever made in Ohio, according to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.
In 2009, then-Governor Ted Strickland signed into law the Ohio Film Tax Credit, including US$30 million over two years, for film, television and other media productions in Ohio. Every dollar spent will generate about US$1.50 in local economic activity, according to the city’s film commission. Strickland’s successor, John Kasich, pushed hard to shift Avengers production from Detroit to Cleveland.
David Sangree, president of Lakewood, Ohio-based Hospitality & Leisure Advisors, said the movie business will swell occupancy levels in downtown Cleveland hotels for the year, and assuming crews “have a good experience, they’ll want to keep coming back,” becoming a new demand generator.
Top executives may stay at the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland or the Renaissance Cleveland while “the lesser people may stay at the Comfort Inn or the Hampton Inn,” he said. “I’m sure the movie companies will try to negotiate packages that will guarantee a lot of room nights and that would give them a lower rate.”
“In effect, it’s like adding a new company downtown,” said Sangree, noting movies are being shot all over Ohio. “If a movie is really successful, it can generate some long-term benefits as well as short-term benefits.”
The head of the city’s film commission, Ivan Schwarz, said the hotel-spend and roomnight figures are realistic. They speak to at least seven movies in process: The Avengers; Fun Size; I, Alex Cross; Boot Tracks; Old Fashioned; Suicide Kings 2; and Liberal Arts. There is an application for an eighth, Flashback. Avengers is set to spawn 27,000 room nights; Flashback, 44. Respective expenditure figures are US$3.384 million and US$44,000.
“I’ve been talking about building an industry here, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Schwarz said. “This is all part of it.”
Past performances
Dan Williams, VP of sales at Positively Cleveland, said that in 2006, Spider-Man 3 generated 4,820 room nights in greater Cleveland hotels. He suggested this year’s projections reflect eight movie productions at an average of 5,000 roomnights each. “I’d be a little more conservative than that, but looking at what was requested for Spider-Man,” it makes sense. “That would be phenomenal. But that’s eight movies, too. Movie crews tend to be smaller, but they stay a lot longer. For Spider-Man, there was almost a month in production,” at about 200 rooms per night.
Commission President Schwarz says there’s no formula on how many people are involved in a film production. About 3,300 room nights were generated by film productions in Cleveland last year—by three “small” films. Fun Size sports a 150-person crew, for example. “The wealth is spread,” said Schwarz. “They’re all over.”
Meanwhile, local hoteliers wouldn’t quantify revenue and roomnight projections.
Joseph Mattioli, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton, said these productions would benefit hotels accommodating stars, crews and their relatives. “As far as talking about how much this could bring dollar-wise and how many roomnights (these productions might generate), I cannot really comment. It changes. It’s not happening yet. Nothing has been decided. Those are all last-minute decisions.”
Williams, the sales chief at Positively Cleveland, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, said movie-related groups will bring steady business to the area but will “be smaller than the typical convention.
“Typically, an average convention (attendee) will stay two-and-a-half to three days. Typically, what we get for movie crews is 30 to 45 days. They also rent apartments. One of the good things about the movies when crews come in is they use a lot of food and beverage, so that’s a positive.”
There can be negatives, noted Leonard Clifton, general manager of the DoubleTree Cleveland Downtown Hotel. “Movies are a risk a lot of times unless you’re talking about an A-rated movie. They’re typically operating on funds that are being applied for through grants and funding can fall through … Unless it’s an A-rated, Hollywood, box-office Tom Cruise (-level movie)—I’m being a little old school there—you run a risk of collections. You have to make sure to secure money upfront.” At the same time, he noted Cleveland’s low rates and occupancy levels make it appealing to film crews.
Cleveland market
In Cleveland, developers recently broke ground on medical mart, a four-story showplace of medical equipment, and a connected, underground convention center. The 1-million-square-foot complex, costing taxpayers US$465 million, is scheduled to open in 2013.
“With the lack of a convention center, the market is not bearing premium dollars for rooms at the moment for large group businesses,” Clifton said. “They’re able to come into a city that is running 57% occupancy and you are obviously are going to get a much better rate than a city that is running 65% to 70% and has a full convention center doing 30 to 50 citywides a year.”
There are about 4,200 hotel rooms in downtown Cleveland, according to Positively Cleveland’s Williams.
According to STR, parent company of HotelNewsNow.com, the greater Cleveland market offers 189 hotels with more than 21,600 guestrooms. STR said overall occupancy in 2010 in greater Cleveland was 54.5%, with an ADR of US$81.92. The first three months of 2011 yielded respective figures of 47.1% and US$83.90.
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[Printer friendly version]
27 July 2011
By Carlo Wolff
HotelNewsNow.com contributor
carlo.wolff@gmail.com
Story Highlights
The key movie is The Avengers, a US$40-million Marvel Comics franchise.
One source says the movie business will swell occupancy levels in downtown Cleveland hotels.
In 2006, Spider-Man 3 generated 4,820 room nights in greater Cleveland hotels.
CLEVELAND—Movies under way in Cleveland could mean millions of dollars and thousands of room nights for hotels in the struggling northeast Ohio city. The Ohio Department of Development suggests they could produce close to US$5.3 million in economic activity and more than 41,000 room nights, making movies one of the biggest demand generators in Cleveland, on par with the Cleveland Clinic and Progressive Insurance.
According to Katie Sabatino, public information officer for the state development department, the figures are based on Ohio Motion Picture Tax applications. “There are plenty more film and TV projects that come to Ohio and use hotel nights that do not use the tax credit, and since there is no real film permit in Ohio—it is impossible to know exactly how many room nights are used,” she said by e-mail.
The key movie is The Avengers, a US$40-million Marvel Comics franchise that already has mounted a casting call of 2,000 for crowd scenes. It will be the largest feature film ever made in Ohio, according to the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.
In 2009, then-Governor Ted Strickland signed into law the Ohio Film Tax Credit, including US$30 million over two years, for film, television and other media productions in Ohio. Every dollar spent will generate about US$1.50 in local economic activity, according to the city’s film commission. Strickland’s successor, John Kasich, pushed hard to shift Avengers production from Detroit to Cleveland.
David Sangree, president of Lakewood, Ohio-based Hospitality & Leisure Advisors, said the movie business will swell occupancy levels in downtown Cleveland hotels for the year, and assuming crews “have a good experience, they’ll want to keep coming back,” becoming a new demand generator.
Top executives may stay at the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland or the Renaissance Cleveland while “the lesser people may stay at the Comfort Inn or the Hampton Inn,” he said. “I’m sure the movie companies will try to negotiate packages that will guarantee a lot of room nights and that would give them a lower rate.”
“In effect, it’s like adding a new company downtown,” said Sangree, noting movies are being shot all over Ohio. “If a movie is really successful, it can generate some long-term benefits as well as short-term benefits.”
The head of the city’s film commission, Ivan Schwarz, said the hotel-spend and roomnight figures are realistic. They speak to at least seven movies in process: The Avengers; Fun Size; I, Alex Cross; Boot Tracks; Old Fashioned; Suicide Kings 2; and Liberal Arts. There is an application for an eighth, Flashback. Avengers is set to spawn 27,000 room nights; Flashback, 44. Respective expenditure figures are US$3.384 million and US$44,000.
“I’ve been talking about building an industry here, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Schwarz said. “This is all part of it.”
Past performances
Dan Williams, VP of sales at Positively Cleveland, said that in 2006, Spider-Man 3 generated 4,820 room nights in greater Cleveland hotels. He suggested this year’s projections reflect eight movie productions at an average of 5,000 roomnights each. “I’d be a little more conservative than that, but looking at what was requested for Spider-Man,” it makes sense. “That would be phenomenal. But that’s eight movies, too. Movie crews tend to be smaller, but they stay a lot longer. For Spider-Man, there was almost a month in production,” at about 200 rooms per night.
Commission President Schwarz says there’s no formula on how many people are involved in a film production. About 3,300 room nights were generated by film productions in Cleveland last year—by three “small” films. Fun Size sports a 150-person crew, for example. “The wealth is spread,” said Schwarz. “They’re all over.”
Meanwhile, local hoteliers wouldn’t quantify revenue and roomnight projections.
Joseph Mattioli, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton, said these productions would benefit hotels accommodating stars, crews and their relatives. “As far as talking about how much this could bring dollar-wise and how many roomnights (these productions might generate), I cannot really comment. It changes. It’s not happening yet. Nothing has been decided. Those are all last-minute decisions.”
Williams, the sales chief at Positively Cleveland, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, said movie-related groups will bring steady business to the area but will “be smaller than the typical convention.
“Typically, an average convention (attendee) will stay two-and-a-half to three days. Typically, what we get for movie crews is 30 to 45 days. They also rent apartments. One of the good things about the movies when crews come in is they use a lot of food and beverage, so that’s a positive.”
There can be negatives, noted Leonard Clifton, general manager of the DoubleTree Cleveland Downtown Hotel. “Movies are a risk a lot of times unless you’re talking about an A-rated movie. They’re typically operating on funds that are being applied for through grants and funding can fall through … Unless it’s an A-rated, Hollywood, box-office Tom Cruise (-level movie)—I’m being a little old school there—you run a risk of collections. You have to make sure to secure money upfront.” At the same time, he noted Cleveland’s low rates and occupancy levels make it appealing to film crews.
Cleveland market
In Cleveland, developers recently broke ground on medical mart, a four-story showplace of medical equipment, and a connected, underground convention center. The 1-million-square-foot complex, costing taxpayers US$465 million, is scheduled to open in 2013.
“With the lack of a convention center, the market is not bearing premium dollars for rooms at the moment for large group businesses,” Clifton said. “They’re able to come into a city that is running 57% occupancy and you are obviously are going to get a much better rate than a city that is running 65% to 70% and has a full convention center doing 30 to 50 citywides a year.”
There are about 4,200 hotel rooms in downtown Cleveland, according to Positively Cleveland’s Williams.
According to STR, parent company of HotelNewsNow.com, the greater Cleveland market offers 189 hotels with more than 21,600 guestrooms. STR said overall occupancy in 2010 in greater Cleveland was 54.5%, with an ADR of US$81.92. The first three months of 2011 yielded respective figures of 47.1% and US$83.90.
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011
From WWW.10TV.com
More Movies Shot In Central Ohio From Tax Credit
Monday, July 25, 2011 5:57 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A tax-incentive program has brought a taste of Hollywood to Ohio.
Since former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in 2009 approved a $30 million film tax credit for 2010-11, several movies have been shot in the state, 10TV's Andrea Cambern reported.
The credit only applies for productions that promise to spend more than $300,000.
"I think for Ohio, especially in the last couple of years, we're definitely seeing the upswing of growth," said Amir Elyon, the state's tourism director.
SPECIAL SECTION: Entertainment
Some of the locations that have been used in Ohio include Oxford, when George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti were working on "Ides of March." The movie was shot on the Miami University campus.
"The Avengers" is set for a 2012 release and is being shot in Cleveland, featuring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson.
Recently, Bexley native Josh Radnor shot "Liberal Arts" on the Kenyon College campus, his alma mater.
"It's a great school," Radnor said. "It's a beautiful school. They've really opened the place up for us, and it's just been really nice."
Radnor, who stars on the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother," said he started working on the script about a year ago and knew central Ohio was the place for the movie to be made.
"You can film anything here in Ohio except for a desert and the Rocky Mountains," Elyon said.
Huntington Park was recently the backdrop for "Gibsonburg: The Movie," the story of a 2005 Ohio high school state championship team.
Talent and crew members from central Ohio were used. Director Bob Mahaffey said that he plans to enter the motion picture in national film festivals.
A new Web series, "Two Doors Down," is about to debut. The comedy is based in Columbus.
The series revolves around a divorced couple trying to raise their son while living in the same neighborhood. The series was shot with central Ohio areas in neighborhoods that included Clintonville and German Village.
The series will debut on Aug. 21.
Several filmmakers spent the weekend shooting and editing 4-7 minute films. The 48 Hour Film Festival is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the Grandview Theater, located at 1247 Grandview Ave.
Monday, July 25, 2011 5:57 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A tax-incentive program has brought a taste of Hollywood to Ohio.
Since former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in 2009 approved a $30 million film tax credit for 2010-11, several movies have been shot in the state, 10TV's Andrea Cambern reported.
The credit only applies for productions that promise to spend more than $300,000.
"I think for Ohio, especially in the last couple of years, we're definitely seeing the upswing of growth," said Amir Elyon, the state's tourism director.
SPECIAL SECTION: Entertainment
Some of the locations that have been used in Ohio include Oxford, when George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti were working on "Ides of March." The movie was shot on the Miami University campus.
"The Avengers" is set for a 2012 release and is being shot in Cleveland, featuring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson.
Recently, Bexley native Josh Radnor shot "Liberal Arts" on the Kenyon College campus, his alma mater.
"It's a great school," Radnor said. "It's a beautiful school. They've really opened the place up for us, and it's just been really nice."
Radnor, who stars on the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother," said he started working on the script about a year ago and knew central Ohio was the place for the movie to be made.
"You can film anything here in Ohio except for a desert and the Rocky Mountains," Elyon said.
Huntington Park was recently the backdrop for "Gibsonburg: The Movie," the story of a 2005 Ohio high school state championship team.
Talent and crew members from central Ohio were used. Director Bob Mahaffey said that he plans to enter the motion picture in national film festivals.
A new Web series, "Two Doors Down," is about to debut. The comedy is based in Columbus.
The series revolves around a divorced couple trying to raise their son while living in the same neighborhood. The series was shot with central Ohio areas in neighborhoods that included Clintonville and German Village.
The series will debut on Aug. 21.
Several filmmakers spent the weekend shooting and editing 4-7 minute films. The 48 Hour Film Festival is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the Grandview Theater, located at 1247 Grandview Ave.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
From SouthCoastToday.com ..Could've Been In Iowa...
Construction on Mass. film production center could start next year
By Michael Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
July 23, 2011 12:00 AM
BOSTON — The state's economic development agency has agreed to enter into negotiations over a sale price and tax incentives with a development company that plans to build a 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art film and television production complex in Devens.
After declining to release details following a unanimous board vote a week ago, MassDevelopment officials on Thursday elaborated on plans to move ahead with MJM Development LLC of Andover, which plans to build the studio complex, including four 18,000 square foot sound stages, over 10 years.
The deal hinges on the development team, helmed by former hotel industry executive Michael Meyers of Andover, purchasing two lots encompassing a 28-acre site along Jackson Road, the main access road into Devens, a former military installation in north central Massachusetts that is home to about 75 businesses.
The project's first phase is expected to include the four sound stages, a mill, production support offices, a storage building and other support areas totaling 126,000 square feet and expected to cost $30 million.
At full build-out, the project will include 600,000 square feet with eight sound stages at a cost of $104 million. The full project is expected to create 44 permanent jobs and another 800 to 1,000 jobs when the facility is fully leased, according to a memo to the board from MassDevelopment chief Marty Jones.
If details are worked out, the first phase of construction could begin next year and the first facilities could open by the end of 2012, according to a MassDevelopment official.
Meyers told State House News Service on Thursday that he is working on the project with local businessmen who wish to remain anonymous. The team includes real estate developers and equity investors, film industry consultants, studio operators and designers, according to officials familiar with the project.
While Meyers said the project will be fully funded through private equity, MJM and MassDevelopment have also agreed to enter into talks on tax increment financing valued at $5 million over 20 years, with clawback provisions, to reduce property taxes on improvements made in connection with the project.
Meyers acknowledged a "long road to travel as we start our due diligence, engineering and permitting" but expressed confidence about moving the project forward.
Under state law, MassDevelopment is the designated public agency responsible for redevelopment within what is known as the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone. MJM Development, which was formed to build the studio complex, hopes to provide a facility capable of producing feature and documentary films, TV programs and commercials.
By Michael Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
July 23, 2011 12:00 AM
BOSTON — The state's economic development agency has agreed to enter into negotiations over a sale price and tax incentives with a development company that plans to build a 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art film and television production complex in Devens.
After declining to release details following a unanimous board vote a week ago, MassDevelopment officials on Thursday elaborated on plans to move ahead with MJM Development LLC of Andover, which plans to build the studio complex, including four 18,000 square foot sound stages, over 10 years.
The deal hinges on the development team, helmed by former hotel industry executive Michael Meyers of Andover, purchasing two lots encompassing a 28-acre site along Jackson Road, the main access road into Devens, a former military installation in north central Massachusetts that is home to about 75 businesses.
The project's first phase is expected to include the four sound stages, a mill, production support offices, a storage building and other support areas totaling 126,000 square feet and expected to cost $30 million.
At full build-out, the project will include 600,000 square feet with eight sound stages at a cost of $104 million. The full project is expected to create 44 permanent jobs and another 800 to 1,000 jobs when the facility is fully leased, according to a memo to the board from MassDevelopment chief Marty Jones.
If details are worked out, the first phase of construction could begin next year and the first facilities could open by the end of 2012, according to a MassDevelopment official.
Meyers told State House News Service on Thursday that he is working on the project with local businessmen who wish to remain anonymous. The team includes real estate developers and equity investors, film industry consultants, studio operators and designers, according to officials familiar with the project.
While Meyers said the project will be fully funded through private equity, MJM and MassDevelopment have also agreed to enter into talks on tax increment financing valued at $5 million over 20 years, with clawback provisions, to reduce property taxes on improvements made in connection with the project.
Meyers acknowledged a "long road to travel as we start our due diligence, engineering and permitting" but expressed confidence about moving the project forward.
Under state law, MassDevelopment is the designated public agency responsible for redevelopment within what is known as the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone. MJM Development, which was formed to build the studio complex, hopes to provide a facility capable of producing feature and documentary films, TV programs and commercials.
Friday, July 15, 2011
From The Denver Post, by Jason Blevins
business
Colorado's new film commission chief wants to boost state's movie-making incentives
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post
Legislators in 17 states, including Michigan, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Idaho, are scaling back and even suspending movie-incentive programs as they wrestle with budget deficits.
Lawmakers in Utah and Wyoming are ramping up programs that offer cash rebates of 25 percent or more to filmmakers who roll cameras in their states.
Then there's Colorado, which boasts the oldest state film commission in the country. Filmmakers have largely eschewed the state — not for its lack of theater-filling landscapes but for its bottom-of-the-barrel incentive program, which offers a comparatively meager 10 percent rebate to production outfits that film here.
In the past seven years, legislative attempts to grow the incentive program have failed, including this year's push to tack a dime onto every movie ticket sold.
"I'm a firm believer that if we create a better incentive plan for Colorado, it will be a good business development tool," said Republican state Rep. Tom Massey, who has carried some form of movie-incentive legislation for the past seven years. "We have to find a way to create that funding source outside of the traditional government funding procedures."
Colorado has not hosted a major movie production in years, while neighboring states such as New Mexico
and Utah have attracted scores of Hollywood hits.
Since Utah created its state-run film commission in 2004, 65 film projects have earned rebates and left about $178 million in the state, according to the commission. Recent films out of Utah include all three "High School Musical" flicks and the Oscar-nominated "127 Hours."
New Mexico's 25 percent incentive has lured 159 major productions in the past nine years, harvesting almost $4 billion in economic impact and paying out $253 million in rebates, according to that state's film office.
With a big-name Hollywood producer now helming the recently revived Colorado Office of Film Television & Media, and a governor friendly to the idea of more Colorado-based movies, hopes are high that Colorado can regain its luster with moviemakers.
"Independent filmmakers generally choose the place with the best incentives," said Donald Zuckerman, whom Gov. John Hickenlooper this spring tapped as new chief of the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media.
Zuckerman would know.
The Hollywood producer has backed almost 20 pictures, including several with the late director George Hickenlooper , cousin of the governor. In the past decade, Zuckerman said, he has watched incentive programs grow to dominate the industry. A pair of recent films he produced in New Mexico earned him cash rebates of $1.3 million and $1.25 million.
"We could not have made those movies without that money," he said.
He has crafted a plan — which he says he can't discuss until he presents it to the governor — that "will bring a lot of business to Colorado. A lot of significant business."
"It will not cost the state any money but will actually earn the state money," Zuckerman said. "The centerpiece is something unique that no other state has done. It will actually be a profit center for the state."
In 2010, a record 40 states delivered $1.4 billion in film and television tax rebates as part of incentive programs. Today, 43 states have movie-incentive programs. More than $6 billion in public money has been delivered to filmmakers since incentive programs first bloomed a decade ago, according to research by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.
In fact, some scripts, Zuckerman said, are actually being written and revised with an eye toward incentives, which can reach as high as 42 percent in suddenly movie-mad Michigan. Last year, Michigan taxpayers paid nearly $100 million in incentives, almost triple the amount paid in 2008, the incentive program's first year.
But in Michigan, they are skeptical. A report last fall by the state Senate fiscal agency argued that nearly half the private spending generated by movie-making "effectively left the state and did not contribute to the state's economic activity."
The report found the state spent $37.5 million in rebates to generate $21.1 million in private-sector activity in 2008-09 and plans to spend $100 million in 2009-10 to generate $59.5 million in private-sector activity.
A similar report by New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center concluded that the state — which has recently been dubbed "Tamalewood," thanks to its thriving movie industry — lost money on its incentive program.
(To counter the reports, movie and tourism supporters in both states commissioned studies that show, not surprisingly, significant boosts in revenue for every dollar invested in movie incentives.)
Today, Michigan is planning to cap its rebate program at $25 million and New Mexico is weighing a cap.
Nationally, both support for and opposition to movie incentives cross political boundaries. The liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and the conservative Tax Foundation issued reports last year concluding that movie incentive programs delivered too little bang for their buck.
"Basically, this thing has become an arms race. I call it a race to the bottom," said Harris Kenny, a policy analyst for the free-market-advocating Reason Foundation who testified against the proposed 10-cent movie ticket fee in Colorado's statehouse this spring.
Still, some states are investing in movie incentives, betting that the scaling-back by other states poses an opportunity.
In Utah, for example, lawmakers this spring raised the state's incentive from 20 percent to 25 percent and established a fund that guarantees rebate money would never lapse.
Studios love the fund concept because it means they get rebates in weeks instead of months or even years, said Marshall Moore , director of the Utah Film Commission.
State lawmakers believe in the program, he said, and they recognize the promotional opportunities.
"We have a proven stable record of success over the years, and legislators recognize those benefits," Moore said.
"Our program is here to stay. This is the way of the future and the way it is today."
Jason Blevins
Colorado's new film commission chief wants to boost state's movie-making incentives
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post
Legislators in 17 states, including Michigan, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Idaho, are scaling back and even suspending movie-incentive programs as they wrestle with budget deficits.
Lawmakers in Utah and Wyoming are ramping up programs that offer cash rebates of 25 percent or more to filmmakers who roll cameras in their states.
Then there's Colorado, which boasts the oldest state film commission in the country. Filmmakers have largely eschewed the state — not for its lack of theater-filling landscapes but for its bottom-of-the-barrel incentive program, which offers a comparatively meager 10 percent rebate to production outfits that film here.
In the past seven years, legislative attempts to grow the incentive program have failed, including this year's push to tack a dime onto every movie ticket sold.
"I'm a firm believer that if we create a better incentive plan for Colorado, it will be a good business development tool," said Republican state Rep. Tom Massey, who has carried some form of movie-incentive legislation for the past seven years. "We have to find a way to create that funding source outside of the traditional government funding procedures."
Colorado has not hosted a major movie production in years, while neighboring states such as New Mexico
and Utah have attracted scores of Hollywood hits.
Since Utah created its state-run film commission in 2004, 65 film projects have earned rebates and left about $178 million in the state, according to the commission. Recent films out of Utah include all three "High School Musical" flicks and the Oscar-nominated "127 Hours."
New Mexico's 25 percent incentive has lured 159 major productions in the past nine years, harvesting almost $4 billion in economic impact and paying out $253 million in rebates, according to that state's film office.
With a big-name Hollywood producer now helming the recently revived Colorado Office of Film Television & Media, and a governor friendly to the idea of more Colorado-based movies, hopes are high that Colorado can regain its luster with moviemakers.
"Independent filmmakers generally choose the place with the best incentives," said Donald Zuckerman, whom Gov. John Hickenlooper this spring tapped as new chief of the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media.
Zuckerman would know.
The Hollywood producer has backed almost 20 pictures, including several with the late director George Hickenlooper , cousin of the governor. In the past decade, Zuckerman said, he has watched incentive programs grow to dominate the industry. A pair of recent films he produced in New Mexico earned him cash rebates of $1.3 million and $1.25 million.
"We could not have made those movies without that money," he said.
He has crafted a plan — which he says he can't discuss until he presents it to the governor — that "will bring a lot of business to Colorado. A lot of significant business."
"It will not cost the state any money but will actually earn the state money," Zuckerman said. "The centerpiece is something unique that no other state has done. It will actually be a profit center for the state."
In 2010, a record 40 states delivered $1.4 billion in film and television tax rebates as part of incentive programs. Today, 43 states have movie-incentive programs. More than $6 billion in public money has been delivered to filmmakers since incentive programs first bloomed a decade ago, according to research by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.
In fact, some scripts, Zuckerman said, are actually being written and revised with an eye toward incentives, which can reach as high as 42 percent in suddenly movie-mad Michigan. Last year, Michigan taxpayers paid nearly $100 million in incentives, almost triple the amount paid in 2008, the incentive program's first year.
But in Michigan, they are skeptical. A report last fall by the state Senate fiscal agency argued that nearly half the private spending generated by movie-making "effectively left the state and did not contribute to the state's economic activity."
The report found the state spent $37.5 million in rebates to generate $21.1 million in private-sector activity in 2008-09 and plans to spend $100 million in 2009-10 to generate $59.5 million in private-sector activity.
A similar report by New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center concluded that the state — which has recently been dubbed "Tamalewood," thanks to its thriving movie industry — lost money on its incentive program.
(To counter the reports, movie and tourism supporters in both states commissioned studies that show, not surprisingly, significant boosts in revenue for every dollar invested in movie incentives.)
Today, Michigan is planning to cap its rebate program at $25 million and New Mexico is weighing a cap.
Nationally, both support for and opposition to movie incentives cross political boundaries. The liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and the conservative Tax Foundation issued reports last year concluding that movie incentive programs delivered too little bang for their buck.
"Basically, this thing has become an arms race. I call it a race to the bottom," said Harris Kenny, a policy analyst for the free-market-advocating Reason Foundation who testified against the proposed 10-cent movie ticket fee in Colorado's statehouse this spring.
Still, some states are investing in movie incentives, betting that the scaling-back by other states poses an opportunity.
In Utah, for example, lawmakers this spring raised the state's incentive from 20 percent to 25 percent and established a fund that guarantees rebate money would never lapse.
Studios love the fund concept because it means they get rebates in weeks instead of months or even years, said Marshall Moore , director of the Utah Film Commission.
State lawmakers believe in the program, he said, and they recognize the promotional opportunities.
"We have a proven stable record of success over the years, and legislators recognize those benefits," Moore said.
"Our program is here to stay. This is the way of the future and the way it is today."
Jason Blevins
Monday, July 4, 2011
Detroit Free Press Article
Alternatives to movie incentives aim to keep Michigan competitive
With the end of tax credits that spawned a growing Michigan film industry, new state incentives -- beyond the $25 million in direct subsidies approved for 2012 -- are a long shot for the near future.
But advocates of incentives, who say $25 million isn't enough to keep Michigan in the highly competitive game, aren't giving up.
Here are some possible scenarios:
• The $25-million direct subsidy could become the norm, and major productions such as "Oz" take Michigan off their possible location list.
"Oz" was approved for more than $40 million of refundable tax credits and is in preproduction at Raleigh Studios in Pontiac.
• The direct subsidy could be increased a lot or a little if the program proves successful and state revenues grow enough to allow more spending. Gov. Rick Snyder would consider this.
• A different type of tax credit -- one that could be sold since the state's tax format changed -- could be used, with a Louisiana program serving as the model.
State Sen. Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, is exploring this, but Snyder doesn't like credits.
State's goal: Make sure film grants benefit Michigan
First of three parts
Gov. Rick Snyder wanted a stripped-down business tax, one without loopholes and exemptions for every well-connected interest group. And that's pretty much what he got from the Legislature when it replaced the Michigan Business Tax with a 6% corporate income tax.
Since the movie and TV subsidies enacted in 2008 were calculated as part of each production's Michigan Business Tax (MBT), they will be history when the new tax -- to which virtually no media productions would be subject -- takes effect Jan. 1.
In their place, the Legislature approved Snyder's recommendation for $25 million in direct grants for media production, unconnected to the tax liability of investors or producers, for the state spending year that begins Oct. 1.
Officials in the Michigan Film Office and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. are in the early stages of developing a plan for the administration of that fund.
Film Office spokeswoman Michelle Begnoche said the grant-making procedures, which may or may not require legislative action, will almost certainly include criteria designed to maximize hiring of Michigan residents, spending in Michigan and promotional value to the state. She said administration officials also want to maintain as much flexibility as possible to control the size of the awards and limit reimbursements for spending deemed of little value to Michigan.
Under the original incentives program, Michigan taxpayers paid up to 42% of the cost of talent (stars, directors, etc.) up to $2 million per person. Begnoche said that cap could be reduced since "most of those ... expensive people don't live in Michigan."
Snyder administration proponents of the grant program said it will allow the state to target and control spending better, while still attracting film and TV production. Producers also benefit, they said, because the state money could be available up front, instead of at the conclusion of filming.
Exploring a few options
Entertainment industry advocates mostly reject that view and urge Snyder and the Legislature to consider a reconfigured tax credit.
They have a potential ally in Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, who has expressed concern about the fate of investment made under the original incentives, especially the millions of dollars spent to develop Raleigh Studios in a former Pontiac auto plant.
Richardville has asked Senate staff to explore options outside the grant program, said spokeswoman Amber McCann.
One possibility, she said, is an incentives program like that in Louisiana, which provides transferable credits (which can be sold back to the state treasury) against its business and income taxes. The incentives program has been expanded in recent years to include the recording industry.
The annual cost to Louisiana taxpayers was not immediately available. But the state's film office says the credits have resulted in $3 billion in spending in Louisiana since they were enacted in 2002.
Snyder appears to have little interest in restoring tax credits in any form.
"The governor wants to see how the grant program works out," spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said. "He believed we needed to get tighter control over the spending and a more transparent process, and that's what the new law does."
Another alternative -- and one Snyder may be more willing to entertain, Wurfel said -- would be increasing the money available under the new grant program. Film industry advocates told lawmakers in tax hearings that at least $100 million annually would be needed to sustain a viable movie and TV industry in Michigan.
Wurfel said Snyder would be open to increasing the $25-million program if it appears to be working and state finances stabilize enough to make it possible. But putting film subsidies in direct competition with school, health or community funding could be politically dicey.
Where things stand now
In the meantime, advocates for the industry will press for more. Some Oakland County legislators have expressed concern that the downsized incentive program could place the investment and jobs at Raleigh Studios in jeopardy.
Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake Township, said he would like to "do something," but it's hard to know what, before the new tax and budget plans begin later this year.
John Truscott, a longtime Lansing public relations consultant who has been working with an industry coalition called Michigan Film First, said, "Right now, everybody is just trying to catch their breath ... and assess what (the new rules) mean."
The Film Office is doing the same thing, Begnoche said, but without the expectation that the rules will change soon.
"We've been given our directive," she said. "We're going to focus on what we know ... and that's that we have $25 million to work with next year, and we're going to try to use it in a way that's best for Michigan."
With the end of tax credits that spawned a growing Michigan film industry, new state incentives -- beyond the $25 million in direct subsidies approved for 2012 -- are a long shot for the near future.
But advocates of incentives, who say $25 million isn't enough to keep Michigan in the highly competitive game, aren't giving up.
Here are some possible scenarios:
• The $25-million direct subsidy could become the norm, and major productions such as "Oz" take Michigan off their possible location list.
"Oz" was approved for more than $40 million of refundable tax credits and is in preproduction at Raleigh Studios in Pontiac.
• The direct subsidy could be increased a lot or a little if the program proves successful and state revenues grow enough to allow more spending. Gov. Rick Snyder would consider this.
• A different type of tax credit -- one that could be sold since the state's tax format changed -- could be used, with a Louisiana program serving as the model.
State Sen. Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, is exploring this, but Snyder doesn't like credits.
State's goal: Make sure film grants benefit Michigan
First of three parts
Gov. Rick Snyder wanted a stripped-down business tax, one without loopholes and exemptions for every well-connected interest group. And that's pretty much what he got from the Legislature when it replaced the Michigan Business Tax with a 6% corporate income tax.
Since the movie and TV subsidies enacted in 2008 were calculated as part of each production's Michigan Business Tax (MBT), they will be history when the new tax -- to which virtually no media productions would be subject -- takes effect Jan. 1.
In their place, the Legislature approved Snyder's recommendation for $25 million in direct grants for media production, unconnected to the tax liability of investors or producers, for the state spending year that begins Oct. 1.
Officials in the Michigan Film Office and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. are in the early stages of developing a plan for the administration of that fund.
Film Office spokeswoman Michelle Begnoche said the grant-making procedures, which may or may not require legislative action, will almost certainly include criteria designed to maximize hiring of Michigan residents, spending in Michigan and promotional value to the state. She said administration officials also want to maintain as much flexibility as possible to control the size of the awards and limit reimbursements for spending deemed of little value to Michigan.
Under the original incentives program, Michigan taxpayers paid up to 42% of the cost of talent (stars, directors, etc.) up to $2 million per person. Begnoche said that cap could be reduced since "most of those ... expensive people don't live in Michigan."
Snyder administration proponents of the grant program said it will allow the state to target and control spending better, while still attracting film and TV production. Producers also benefit, they said, because the state money could be available up front, instead of at the conclusion of filming.
Exploring a few options
Entertainment industry advocates mostly reject that view and urge Snyder and the Legislature to consider a reconfigured tax credit.
They have a potential ally in Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, who has expressed concern about the fate of investment made under the original incentives, especially the millions of dollars spent to develop Raleigh Studios in a former Pontiac auto plant.
Richardville has asked Senate staff to explore options outside the grant program, said spokeswoman Amber McCann.
One possibility, she said, is an incentives program like that in Louisiana, which provides transferable credits (which can be sold back to the state treasury) against its business and income taxes. The incentives program has been expanded in recent years to include the recording industry.
The annual cost to Louisiana taxpayers was not immediately available. But the state's film office says the credits have resulted in $3 billion in spending in Louisiana since they were enacted in 2002.
Snyder appears to have little interest in restoring tax credits in any form.
"The governor wants to see how the grant program works out," spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said. "He believed we needed to get tighter control over the spending and a more transparent process, and that's what the new law does."
Another alternative -- and one Snyder may be more willing to entertain, Wurfel said -- would be increasing the money available under the new grant program. Film industry advocates told lawmakers in tax hearings that at least $100 million annually would be needed to sustain a viable movie and TV industry in Michigan.
Wurfel said Snyder would be open to increasing the $25-million program if it appears to be working and state finances stabilize enough to make it possible. But putting film subsidies in direct competition with school, health or community funding could be politically dicey.
Where things stand now
In the meantime, advocates for the industry will press for more. Some Oakland County legislators have expressed concern that the downsized incentive program could place the investment and jobs at Raleigh Studios in jeopardy.
Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake Township, said he would like to "do something," but it's hard to know what, before the new tax and budget plans begin later this year.
John Truscott, a longtime Lansing public relations consultant who has been working with an industry coalition called Michigan Film First, said, "Right now, everybody is just trying to catch their breath ... and assess what (the new rules) mean."
The Film Office is doing the same thing, Begnoche said, but without the expectation that the rules will change soon.
"We've been given our directive," she said. "We're going to focus on what we know ... and that's that we have $25 million to work with next year, and we're going to try to use it in a way that's best for Michigan."
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Article Courtesy of the DenverPost.Com
business
Colorado's new film commission chief wants to boost state's movie-making incentives
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post
Posted: 07/03/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
Legislators in 17 states, including Michigan, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Idaho, are scaling back and even suspending movie-incentive programs as they wrestle with budget deficits.
Lawmakers in Utah and Wyoming are ramping up programs that offer cash rebates of 25 percent or more to filmmakers who roll cameras in their states.
Then there's Colorado, which boasts the oldest state film commission in the country. Filmmakers have largely eschewed the state — not for its lack of theater-filling landscapes but for its bottom-of-the-barrel incentive program, which offers a comparatively meager 10 percent rebate to production outfits that film here.
In the past seven years, legislative attempts to grow the incentive program have failed, including this year's push to tack a dime onto every movie ticket sold.
"I'm a firm believer that if we create a better incentive plan for Colorado, it will be a good business development tool," said Republican state Rep. Tom Massey, who has carried some form of movie-incentive legislation for the past seven years. "We have to find a way to create that funding source outside of the traditional government funding procedures."
Colorado has not hosted a major movie production in years, while neighboring states such as New Mexico
and Utah have attracted scores of Hollywood hits.
Since Utah created its state-run film commission in 2004, 65 film projects have earned rebates and left about $178 million in the state, according to the commission. Recent films out of Utah include all three "High School Musical " flicks and the Oscar-nominated "127 Hours ."
New Mexico's 25 percent incentive has lured 159 major productions in the past nine years, harvesting almost $4 billion in economic impact and paying out $253 million in rebates, according to that state's film office.
With a big-name Hollywood producer now helming the recently revived Colorado Office of Film Television & Media, and a governor friendly to the idea of more Colorado-based movies, hopes are high that Colorado can regain its luster with moviemakers.
"Independent filmmakers generally choose the place with the best incentives," said Donald Zuckerman, whom Gov. John Hickenlooper this spring tapped as new chief of the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media.
Zuckerman would know.
The Hollywood producer has backed almost 20 pictures, including several with the late director George Hickenlooper , cousin of the governor. In the past decade, Zuckerman said, he has watched incentive programs grow to dominate the industry. A pair of recent films he produced in New Mexico earned him cash rebates of $1.3 million and $1.25 million.
"We could not have made those movies without that money," he said.
He has crafted a plan — which he says he can't discuss until he presents it to the governor — that "will bring a lot of business to Colorado. A lot of significant business."
"It will not cost the state any money but will actually earn the state money," Zuckerman said. "The centerpiece is something unique that no other state has done. It will actually be a profit center for the state."
In 2010, a record 40 states delivered $1.4 billion in film and television tax rebates as part of incentive programs. Today, 43 states have movie-incentive programs. More than $6 billion in public money has been delivered to filmmakers since incentive programs first bloomed a decade ago, according to research by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.
In fact, some scripts, Zuckerman said, are actually being written and revised with an eye toward incentives, which can reach as high as 42 percent in suddenly movie-mad Michigan. Last year, Michigan taxpayers paid nearly $100 million in incentives, almost triple the amount paid in 2008, the incentive program's first year.
But in Michigan, they are skeptical. A report last fall by the state Senate fiscal agency argued that nearly half the private spending generated by movie-making "effectively left the state and did not contribute to the state's economic activity."
The report found the state spent $37.5 million in rebates to generate $21.1 million in private-sector activity in 2008-09 and plans to spend $100 million in 2009-10 to generate $59.5 million in private-sector activity.
A similar report by New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center concluded that the state — which has recently been dubbed "Tamalewood," thanks to its thriving movie industry — lost money on its incentive program.
(To counter the reports, movie and tourism supporters in both states commissioned studies that show, not surprisingly, significant boosts in revenue for every dollar invested in movie incentives.)
Today, Michigan is planning to cap its rebate program at $25 million and New Mexico is weighing a cap.
Nationally, both support for and opposition to movie incentives cross political boundaries. The liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and the conservative Tax Foundation issued reports last year concluding that movie incentive programs delivered too little bang for their buck.
"Basically, this thing has become an arms race. I call it a race to the bottom," said Harris Kenny, a policy analyst for the free-market-advocating Reason Foundation who testified against the proposed 10-cent movie ticket fee in Colorado's statehouse this spring.
Still, some states are investing in movie incentives, betting that the scaling-back by other states poses an opportunity.
In Utah, for example, lawmakers this spring raised the state's incentive from 20 percent to 25 percent and established a fund that guarantees rebate money would never lapse.
Studios love the fund concept because it means they get rebates in weeks instead of months or even years, said Marshall Moore , director of the Utah Film Commission.
State lawmakers believe in the program, he said, and they recognize the promotional opportunities.
"We have a proven stable record of success over the years, and legislators recognize those benefits," Moore said.
"Our program is here to stay. This is the way of the future and the way it is today."
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com
Utah's Incentives
2007
4 major productions
$798,000 incentives paid
2008
10 major productions
$3.4 million incentives paid
2009
9 major productions
$3.9 million incentives paid
2010
19 major productions
$7.5 million incentives paid
New Mexico's Incentives
2007
22 major productions
$17.7 million awarded in rebates
2008
30 major productions
$46.2 million awarded in rebates
2009
24 major productions
$76.7 million awarded in rebates
2010
16 major productions
$65.9 million awarded in rebates
Colorado's new film commission chief wants to boost state's movie-making incentives
By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post
Posted: 07/03/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
Legislators in 17 states, including Michigan, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Idaho, are scaling back and even suspending movie-incentive programs as they wrestle with budget deficits.
Lawmakers in Utah and Wyoming are ramping up programs that offer cash rebates of 25 percent or more to filmmakers who roll cameras in their states.
Then there's Colorado, which boasts the oldest state film commission in the country. Filmmakers have largely eschewed the state — not for its lack of theater-filling landscapes but for its bottom-of-the-barrel incentive program, which offers a comparatively meager 10 percent rebate to production outfits that film here.
In the past seven years, legislative attempts to grow the incentive program have failed, including this year's push to tack a dime onto every movie ticket sold.
"I'm a firm believer that if we create a better incentive plan for Colorado, it will be a good business development tool," said Republican state Rep. Tom Massey, who has carried some form of movie-incentive legislation for the past seven years. "We have to find a way to create that funding source outside of the traditional government funding procedures."
Colorado has not hosted a major movie production in years, while neighboring states such as New Mexico
and Utah have attracted scores of Hollywood hits.
Since Utah created its state-run film commission in 2004, 65 film projects have earned rebates and left about $178 million in the state, according to the commission. Recent films out of Utah include all three "High School Musical " flicks and the Oscar-nominated "127 Hours ."
New Mexico's 25 percent incentive has lured 159 major productions in the past nine years, harvesting almost $4 billion in economic impact and paying out $253 million in rebates, according to that state's film office.
With a big-name Hollywood producer now helming the recently revived Colorado Office of Film Television & Media, and a governor friendly to the idea of more Colorado-based movies, hopes are high that Colorado can regain its luster with moviemakers.
"Independent filmmakers generally choose the place with the best incentives," said Donald Zuckerman, whom Gov. John Hickenlooper this spring tapped as new chief of the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media.
Zuckerman would know.
The Hollywood producer has backed almost 20 pictures, including several with the late director George Hickenlooper , cousin of the governor. In the past decade, Zuckerman said, he has watched incentive programs grow to dominate the industry. A pair of recent films he produced in New Mexico earned him cash rebates of $1.3 million and $1.25 million.
"We could not have made those movies without that money," he said.
He has crafted a plan — which he says he can't discuss until he presents it to the governor — that "will bring a lot of business to Colorado. A lot of significant business."
"It will not cost the state any money but will actually earn the state money," Zuckerman said. "The centerpiece is something unique that no other state has done. It will actually be a profit center for the state."
In 2010, a record 40 states delivered $1.4 billion in film and television tax rebates as part of incentive programs. Today, 43 states have movie-incentive programs. More than $6 billion in public money has been delivered to filmmakers since incentive programs first bloomed a decade ago, according to research by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation.
In fact, some scripts, Zuckerman said, are actually being written and revised with an eye toward incentives, which can reach as high as 42 percent in suddenly movie-mad Michigan. Last year, Michigan taxpayers paid nearly $100 million in incentives, almost triple the amount paid in 2008, the incentive program's first year.
But in Michigan, they are skeptical. A report last fall by the state Senate fiscal agency argued that nearly half the private spending generated by movie-making "effectively left the state and did not contribute to the state's economic activity."
The report found the state spent $37.5 million in rebates to generate $21.1 million in private-sector activity in 2008-09 and plans to spend $100 million in 2009-10 to generate $59.5 million in private-sector activity.
A similar report by New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center concluded that the state — which has recently been dubbed "Tamalewood," thanks to its thriving movie industry — lost money on its incentive program.
(To counter the reports, movie and tourism supporters in both states commissioned studies that show, not surprisingly, significant boosts in revenue for every dollar invested in movie incentives.)
Today, Michigan is planning to cap its rebate program at $25 million and New Mexico is weighing a cap.
Nationally, both support for and opposition to movie incentives cross political boundaries. The liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and the conservative Tax Foundation issued reports last year concluding that movie incentive programs delivered too little bang for their buck.
"Basically, this thing has become an arms race. I call it a race to the bottom," said Harris Kenny, a policy analyst for the free-market-advocating Reason Foundation who testified against the proposed 10-cent movie ticket fee in Colorado's statehouse this spring.
Still, some states are investing in movie incentives, betting that the scaling-back by other states poses an opportunity.
In Utah, for example, lawmakers this spring raised the state's incentive from 20 percent to 25 percent and established a fund that guarantees rebate money would never lapse.
Studios love the fund concept because it means they get rebates in weeks instead of months or even years, said Marshall Moore , director of the Utah Film Commission.
State lawmakers believe in the program, he said, and they recognize the promotional opportunities.
"We have a proven stable record of success over the years, and legislators recognize those benefits," Moore said.
"Our program is here to stay. This is the way of the future and the way it is today."
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com
Utah's Incentives
2007
4 major productions
$798,000 incentives paid
2008
10 major productions
$3.4 million incentives paid
2009
9 major productions
$3.9 million incentives paid
2010
19 major productions
$7.5 million incentives paid
New Mexico's Incentives
2007
22 major productions
$17.7 million awarded in rebates
2008
30 major productions
$46.2 million awarded in rebates
2009
24 major productions
$76.7 million awarded in rebates
2010
16 major productions
$65.9 million awarded in rebates
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Maneater Article (Mo. U.) by Caitlin Swieca
Missouri Film Office cut from state budget
The office assisted in production of Oscar-nominated films 'Up in the Air' and 'Winter's Bone.'
By Caitlin Swieca
Published July 1, 2011
The Missouri Film Office closed Thursday after Gov. Jay Nixon cut its state funding.
The office was established in 1983 as a resource for production companies looking to film in the state. Its employees provided companies with information about local film crews, tax credits and other incentives to film in Missouri.
"As you may know, this is the last day of existence for the Missouri Film Office," director Jerry Jones said in a letter Thursday. "It began in 1983 and since then has been responsible for bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in production revenue to the state, plus immeasurable worldwide publicity."
The office assisted in the production of two Oscar-nominated movies: "Up in the Air," which was filmed in St. Louis, and "Winter's Bone," filmed in southern Missouri.
The General Assembly voted to provide $150,000 to fund the office after Nixon cut it out of his proposed budget in January. When approving the budget, Nixon cut the funding again.
Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a member of the Missouri Film Commission Board, said he was disappointed in the governor's lack of support for the office.
"It's unfortunate the governor doesn't support the film industry in the state of Missouri even though the General Assembly was supportive of it," he said.
Schaefer said the state will suffer economically due to the loss of film production.
"When you have film production going on, whether it be 'Up in the Air' or 'Winter's Bone' or a smaller film, you get a lot of local economic activity as a result of that," he said.
Missouri is one of a very small number of states that will not have an office of this type.
"We know that, to many of you, this industry is your livelihood, and while Missouri becomes one of just a few states to have no film office, (assistant director) Andrea (Sporcic) and I both sincerely hope that the production industry here will overcome this setback and become thriving and vibrant," Jones said.
Schaefer said the state might also lose business from smaller productions.
"In addition to some of the films that are done for entertainment, the film office was also very helpful with commercial film productions for industries or associations, so a lot of smaller productions will also suffer," he said.
The salaries of the office's two employees, Jones and Sporcic, were paid by MU.
The functions of the office will be reallocated to the Division of Tourism, according to a statement by Sporcic.
"It has been my great pleasure to work as the assistant director for the last six years," she said in the statement. "I am very proud to have been a part of the many movies, TV segments and commercials shot in our beautiful state."
Cutting the office will save the state $175,000.
The office assisted in production of Oscar-nominated films 'Up in the Air' and 'Winter's Bone.'
By Caitlin Swieca
Published July 1, 2011
The Missouri Film Office closed Thursday after Gov. Jay Nixon cut its state funding.
The office was established in 1983 as a resource for production companies looking to film in the state. Its employees provided companies with information about local film crews, tax credits and other incentives to film in Missouri.
"As you may know, this is the last day of existence for the Missouri Film Office," director Jerry Jones said in a letter Thursday. "It began in 1983 and since then has been responsible for bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in production revenue to the state, plus immeasurable worldwide publicity."
The office assisted in the production of two Oscar-nominated movies: "Up in the Air," which was filmed in St. Louis, and "Winter's Bone," filmed in southern Missouri.
The General Assembly voted to provide $150,000 to fund the office after Nixon cut it out of his proposed budget in January. When approving the budget, Nixon cut the funding again.
Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a member of the Missouri Film Commission Board, said he was disappointed in the governor's lack of support for the office.
"It's unfortunate the governor doesn't support the film industry in the state of Missouri even though the General Assembly was supportive of it," he said.
Schaefer said the state will suffer economically due to the loss of film production.
"When you have film production going on, whether it be 'Up in the Air' or 'Winter's Bone' or a smaller film, you get a lot of local economic activity as a result of that," he said.
Missouri is one of a very small number of states that will not have an office of this type.
"We know that, to many of you, this industry is your livelihood, and while Missouri becomes one of just a few states to have no film office, (assistant director) Andrea (Sporcic) and I both sincerely hope that the production industry here will overcome this setback and become thriving and vibrant," Jones said.
Schaefer said the state might also lose business from smaller productions.
"In addition to some of the films that are done for entertainment, the film office was also very helpful with commercial film productions for industries or associations, so a lot of smaller productions will also suffer," he said.
The salaries of the office's two employees, Jones and Sporcic, were paid by MU.
The functions of the office will be reallocated to the Division of Tourism, according to a statement by Sporcic.
"It has been my great pleasure to work as the assistant director for the last six years," she said in the statement. "I am very proud to have been a part of the many movies, TV segments and commercials shot in our beautiful state."
Cutting the office will save the state $175,000.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals - by I-Chun Chen
California film tax credits added $3.8 billion to economy
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals - by I-Chun Chen
Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011, 1:45pm PDT - Last Modified: Wednesday, June 29, 2011,
California’s film and television tax credit program has generated more than $3.8 billion for the state’s economy over its two years so far and created more than 20,000 jobs, according to a study by Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
In 2009, the California legislature approved a five-year program of $100 million in annual tax credits on qualifying film and television productions. About 110 productions have been approved under the program so far.
In its study, the LAEDC looked at the effects of the first 77 productions that were approved for allocation of tax credits totaling $198.8 million and found that state and local governments received a return of $201 million from taxes, permits and fees.
For every tax credit dollar approved under tax credit program, at least $1.13 in tax revenue will be returned to state and local governments, the study said.
In addition, the productions approved under the program created 20,040 jobs and generated labor income totaling $1.4 billion.
The study also found that for each tax credit dollar allocated, total economic activity in the state will increase by $20.11. Labor income, including to the self-employed, will increase by $7.41 per tax credit dollar, while total GDP in the state will increase by $8.48 per tax credit dollar.
Initial tax revenue returned to local and state governments will be $1.06 per tax credit dollar, with the highest return on state tax credits generated by productions with large above-the-line expenditures.
The productions also could attract additional, or ancillary, production activity. Each additional $100 million in follow-on production spending facilitated by the local availability of talent, supplies and services generates at least $10 million in state and local taxes, or an additional 7 cents per current dollar of tax credit allocated, the study said.
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals - by I-Chun Chen
Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011, 1:45pm PDT - Last Modified: Wednesday, June 29, 2011,
California’s film and television tax credit program has generated more than $3.8 billion for the state’s economy over its two years so far and created more than 20,000 jobs, according to a study by Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
In 2009, the California legislature approved a five-year program of $100 million in annual tax credits on qualifying film and television productions. About 110 productions have been approved under the program so far.
In its study, the LAEDC looked at the effects of the first 77 productions that were approved for allocation of tax credits totaling $198.8 million and found that state and local governments received a return of $201 million from taxes, permits and fees.
For every tax credit dollar approved under tax credit program, at least $1.13 in tax revenue will be returned to state and local governments, the study said.
In addition, the productions approved under the program created 20,040 jobs and generated labor income totaling $1.4 billion.
The study also found that for each tax credit dollar allocated, total economic activity in the state will increase by $20.11. Labor income, including to the self-employed, will increase by $7.41 per tax credit dollar, while total GDP in the state will increase by $8.48 per tax credit dollar.
Initial tax revenue returned to local and state governments will be $1.06 per tax credit dollar, with the highest return on state tax credits generated by productions with large above-the-line expenditures.
The productions also could attract additional, or ancillary, production activity. Each additional $100 million in follow-on production spending facilitated by the local availability of talent, supplies and services generates at least $10 million in state and local taxes, or an additional 7 cents per current dollar of tax credit allocated, the study said.
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