N.C. Continues to Improve Film Incentive
Arts & Culture
Tags: film industry, north carolina
By: Staff Writers
August 13, 2010 0
According to the N.C. Film Office, the state’s General Assembly has passed two important pieces of legislation making North Carolina film incentives among the best in the country.
The bills include the following changes:
HB 1973:
• Eliminates the 15% and Alternative Film credit.
• Creates a single, easy to use 25% film Incentive.
• Increases per project cap to $20 million (was $7.5 million).
• Defines employee fringe contributions, including health, pension and welfare contributions as qualifying expenses.
• Defines per diems, stipends, and living expenses as qualifying expenses.
• Expenditures made in 2010 that are claimed on a return for a taxable year starting on or after Jan 1. 2011 will qualify.
HB 713:
• Eliminates the 6.9% corporate income tax on the incentive taken by a production company. This allows the production company to realize a full 25% of qualifying expenses.
The North Carolina film incentive has a low minimum spend requirement of $250,000 and allows $1 million of each person wages and compensation to qualify.
The North Carolina Film Office is a state agency in the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development in the North Carolina Department of Commerce. It was founded in 1980 by Governor James B. Hunt and is a member of the Association of Film Commissioners International.
The office promotes North Carolina as a location for television, motion picture and advertising productions. Working in cooperation with state agencies and six regional film commissions, the Film Office assists filmmakers by providing services that include custom location packages, scouting assistance and permitting guidance.
Over the past 27 years, more than 800 films and 15 television series and numerous documentaries and commercials have been made possible with the assistance of the North Carolina Film Office.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
From Screen Actors Guild
August 2, 2010, 12:05pm
Filed in: Legislative Advocacy
Los Angeles (August 2, 2010) — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Friday that the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program that was a part of last year’s budget agreement has achieved its desired goal of keeping scores of film and television productions in state. In its first year, the California Film Commission allocated $200 million in tax credits to 77 projects. This year, another 30 projects are set to receive an additional $100 million in tax credit allocations, which exhausts the fiscal year funding. (Read the complete press release below.)
Screen Actors Guild continues to support the incentives program and we applaud its success at bringing more entertainment industry jobs to California. It benefits entertainment industry workers, including SAG members and their families, here in California while strengthening the state's economy.
“This is a terrific success and further reinforces the importance of tax incentives to the state economy. The positive effects of these tax credits echo throughout California and bring widespread benefit to the entire state," said SAG Manager of Government Relations & Policy Jenn Heater. "This is just the beginning of what we can achieve through the incentive program, and by working together bring entertainment and related industry jobs back to California.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Film & Television Incentives to Generate $2 Billion in Direct Spending
First Year of California Film & Television Tax Credit Program Succeeds in Creating and Retaining Tens of Thousands of Jobs
July 30, 2010 — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program that was a part of last year’s budget agreement has achieved its desired goal of keeping scores of film and television productions in state – creating and retaining tens of thousands of jobs and generating spending in California. In its first year, the California Film Commission, which administers the Program, allocated $200 million in tax credits to 77 projects. This year, another 30 projects are set to receive an additional $100 million in tax credit allocations. Together they are estimated to bring $2 billion in direct spending to California communities, which includes $736 million in wages paid to “below-the-line” crew members (electricians, grips, drivers, costumers, etc), according to data compiled by the Film Commission.
“This is exactly why I fought so hard for tax credits in last year’s budget. Already, the film and television incentive has led to thousands of retained jobs and increased economic activity. Just the first two years of this incentive will generate $2 billion in direct spending, with even more to come,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “It is the private sector that will bring California’s economy back, and our tax incentives are clearly helping employers along the way. That’s why it’s important that we continue to be a partner to employers and not a roadblock.”
The California Film Commission reports that the 77 first year projects approved for tax credits will hire 18,200 crew members, 4,000 cast members, and over 100,000 background or “extra” players. These approved projects include 51 feature films, both studio and independent, seven television series and 14 made-for-television-movies.
“For three years, I've been trying to make RED STATE. It wasn't until my project qualified for the tax credit program that the flick fast-tracked into reality," said feature film Director Kevin Smith. “A film it seemed would never get made is now lensing right here in California.”
As of June 1, 2010, production companies could apply to California’s tax credit program for allocations from the program’s second year. Thirty productions have been approved for allocations which exhausts the fiscal year funding. The remaining applicants have been added to a waitlist. The 30 productions include 19 feature films, eight television series and three made-for-television-movies.
In order to spur job growth, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation enacting the tax credit program in 2009 as part of a targeted economic stimulus package to increase film and television production in California. The program authorizes the California Film Commission to allocate $100 million in tax credits each fiscal year (or up to $200 million in its first year of operation) to eligible productions through fiscal year 2013-14. Productions will not receive their tax credit certificates until they have completed post-production, and the tax credits do not become effective before January 1, 2011.
“The enormous interest in our tax credit program shows that a targeted incentive can keep tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in California,” said California Film Commission Executive Director Amy Lemisch. “I am thrilled with how effective this program has been.”
Filed in: Legislative Advocacy
Los Angeles (August 2, 2010) — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Friday that the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program that was a part of last year’s budget agreement has achieved its desired goal of keeping scores of film and television productions in state. In its first year, the California Film Commission allocated $200 million in tax credits to 77 projects. This year, another 30 projects are set to receive an additional $100 million in tax credit allocations, which exhausts the fiscal year funding. (Read the complete press release below.)
Screen Actors Guild continues to support the incentives program and we applaud its success at bringing more entertainment industry jobs to California. It benefits entertainment industry workers, including SAG members and their families, here in California while strengthening the state's economy.
“This is a terrific success and further reinforces the importance of tax incentives to the state economy. The positive effects of these tax credits echo throughout California and bring widespread benefit to the entire state," said SAG Manager of Government Relations & Policy Jenn Heater. "This is just the beginning of what we can achieve through the incentive program, and by working together bring entertainment and related industry jobs back to California.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Film & Television Incentives to Generate $2 Billion in Direct Spending
First Year of California Film & Television Tax Credit Program Succeeds in Creating and Retaining Tens of Thousands of Jobs
July 30, 2010 — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program that was a part of last year’s budget agreement has achieved its desired goal of keeping scores of film and television productions in state – creating and retaining tens of thousands of jobs and generating spending in California. In its first year, the California Film Commission, which administers the Program, allocated $200 million in tax credits to 77 projects. This year, another 30 projects are set to receive an additional $100 million in tax credit allocations. Together they are estimated to bring $2 billion in direct spending to California communities, which includes $736 million in wages paid to “below-the-line” crew members (electricians, grips, drivers, costumers, etc), according to data compiled by the Film Commission.
“This is exactly why I fought so hard for tax credits in last year’s budget. Already, the film and television incentive has led to thousands of retained jobs and increased economic activity. Just the first two years of this incentive will generate $2 billion in direct spending, with even more to come,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “It is the private sector that will bring California’s economy back, and our tax incentives are clearly helping employers along the way. That’s why it’s important that we continue to be a partner to employers and not a roadblock.”
The California Film Commission reports that the 77 first year projects approved for tax credits will hire 18,200 crew members, 4,000 cast members, and over 100,000 background or “extra” players. These approved projects include 51 feature films, both studio and independent, seven television series and 14 made-for-television-movies.
“For three years, I've been trying to make RED STATE. It wasn't until my project qualified for the tax credit program that the flick fast-tracked into reality," said feature film Director Kevin Smith. “A film it seemed would never get made is now lensing right here in California.”
As of June 1, 2010, production companies could apply to California’s tax credit program for allocations from the program’s second year. Thirty productions have been approved for allocations which exhausts the fiscal year funding. The remaining applicants have been added to a waitlist. The 30 productions include 19 feature films, eight television series and three made-for-television-movies.
In order to spur job growth, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation enacting the tax credit program in 2009 as part of a targeted economic stimulus package to increase film and television production in California. The program authorizes the California Film Commission to allocate $100 million in tax credits each fiscal year (or up to $200 million in its first year of operation) to eligible productions through fiscal year 2013-14. Productions will not receive their tax credit certificates until they have completed post-production, and the tax credits do not become effective before January 1, 2011.
“The enormous interest in our tax credit program shows that a targeted incentive can keep tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in California,” said California Film Commission Executive Director Amy Lemisch. “I am thrilled with how effective this program has been.”
Friday, August 13, 2010
"Get what you need and then get the hell out"
Just got word that a film production company is going to be shooting "pick-up" shots for the movie "Butter" soon at the Iowa State Fair. Pick-up shots, for those unfamiliar with the term, are quick location shots to insert into the rest of the footage. The rest of the footage for this movie is being shot in Louisiana because of the Iowa film credits evaporating after being Culverized. It was originally planned to shoot it in Iowa.
That now makes two films that logically should have been shot here but weren't: "Butter" which concerns the butter cow at the fair, and "Cedar Rapids" which, although its story location is Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was actually shot in Ann Arbor, Michigan with only "pick-up" shots (quick establishing shots) actually being shot in its namesake city.
That now makes two films that logically should have been shot here but weren't: "Butter" which concerns the butter cow at the fair, and "Cedar Rapids" which, although its story location is Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was actually shot in Ann Arbor, Michigan with only "pick-up" shots (quick establishing shots) actually being shot in its namesake city.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hotels Benefit From Films, by Duane M. Swanson
How film credit is saving local hotels
BY DUANE M. SWANSON
In the first quarter of 2008, local hotels faced an incredible drop in corporate travel activity. The lack of business travel was forcing our hotel to lay off approximately 15 full-time employees.
Fortunately, film tax-credit legislation was passed in April 2008. Immediately, we began receiving calls from film production companies seeking accommodations for their casts and crews. Within a month, we had our first guests from Hollywood.
The Somerset Inn hosted the cast and crew of Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" during 2008. As a result, all 15 of our employees who would have been on the state's unemployment rolls were working 40 hours a week.
I also needed to hire 12 more staff members -- who likely would have been unemployed as well -- to help handle the business generated by the film industry. We were able to keep 27 of our co-workers and friends employed at our hotel and off of the state's unemployment program solely due to this modest-sized film project, which spent nearly $13 million with dozens of companies in Michigan.
The film credit legislation is not just about creating movie industry jobs and careers -- which it is doing. It is helping retain and create jobs in non-film related industries as well. Film production companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in our communities each year. They are generating sales tax and income tax revenues for Michigan. They are spending money in area restaurants, hotels, retail businesses, transportation companies and more.
The corporations investing those hundreds of millions of dollars in Michigan in 2010 will not receive their applicable portion of the tax credit until after they file their tax returns in 2011. Meantime, those dollars are being turned multiple times in our local economy. The multiplier used is debatable. Depending on who is commissioning the economic study, those dollars are turned two to eight times in our state.
The only problem with the film tax credit incentive is that the language has been interpreted so that commercial film production is not eligible for the incentive. There is a huge opportunity to capture more of the commercial market.
I agree with most of the efforts to diversify our state's business base that have targeted the life science, alternative energy and other cutting edge technologies. But film credits provide immediate job retention and creation while the state awaits the broader benefits those other industries have in store for us.
I hope all our legislators realize that the film industry is a bright spot that the hospitality community depends on while waiting for corporate travel to improve and emerging industries to gain traction.
DUANE M. SWANSON is chairman of the Troy Hospitality Committee and director of operations for Somerset Inn.
Read more: How film credit is saving local hotels | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100812/OPINION05/8120388/1068/OPINION/How-film-credit-is-saving-local-hotels#ixzz0wOtCv66n
BY DUANE M. SWANSON
In the first quarter of 2008, local hotels faced an incredible drop in corporate travel activity. The lack of business travel was forcing our hotel to lay off approximately 15 full-time employees.
Fortunately, film tax-credit legislation was passed in April 2008. Immediately, we began receiving calls from film production companies seeking accommodations for their casts and crews. Within a month, we had our first guests from Hollywood.
The Somerset Inn hosted the cast and crew of Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" during 2008. As a result, all 15 of our employees who would have been on the state's unemployment rolls were working 40 hours a week.
I also needed to hire 12 more staff members -- who likely would have been unemployed as well -- to help handle the business generated by the film industry. We were able to keep 27 of our co-workers and friends employed at our hotel and off of the state's unemployment program solely due to this modest-sized film project, which spent nearly $13 million with dozens of companies in Michigan.
The film credit legislation is not just about creating movie industry jobs and careers -- which it is doing. It is helping retain and create jobs in non-film related industries as well. Film production companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in our communities each year. They are generating sales tax and income tax revenues for Michigan. They are spending money in area restaurants, hotels, retail businesses, transportation companies and more.
The corporations investing those hundreds of millions of dollars in Michigan in 2010 will not receive their applicable portion of the tax credit until after they file their tax returns in 2011. Meantime, those dollars are being turned multiple times in our local economy. The multiplier used is debatable. Depending on who is commissioning the economic study, those dollars are turned two to eight times in our state.
The only problem with the film tax credit incentive is that the language has been interpreted so that commercial film production is not eligible for the incentive. There is a huge opportunity to capture more of the commercial market.
I agree with most of the efforts to diversify our state's business base that have targeted the life science, alternative energy and other cutting edge technologies. But film credits provide immediate job retention and creation while the state awaits the broader benefits those other industries have in store for us.
I hope all our legislators realize that the film industry is a bright spot that the hospitality community depends on while waiting for corporate travel to improve and emerging industries to gain traction.
DUANE M. SWANSON is chairman of the Troy Hospitality Committee and director of operations for Somerset Inn.
Read more: How film credit is saving local hotels | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100812/OPINION05/8120388/1068/OPINION/How-film-credit-is-saving-local-hotels#ixzz0wOtCv66n
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Iowa: Hope Glimmers on the Distant Horizon
I learned that Iowa Senator Bill Dotzler, Jr. is still planning to redraw the Iowa film bill, but with only a couple of people from the state's film family. He will begin his work later this month.
I was told that his new bill, once put in place of the existing three year suspension one now in effect, would become effective immediately upon being approved by both houses and signed by the new governor, who will obviously be former governor Terry Branstad.
The next Iowa legislative session will commence in January, so the new film program could be activated then.
Claudia Puig Article in USA Today
In the 1990s, filmmakers often traveled to Canada. But that eventually became less fashionable, and these days the industry is migrating in a different direction — to Louisiana. "L.A. South" has become the go-to spot for shooting movies.
Even before the economic recession hit Hollywood, the state of Louisiana had been quietly gaining stature as the place to make quality movies and stretch dollars.
"We have the largest number of productions outside of Los Angeles and New York City," says Chris Stelly, director of film for Louisiana Entertainment, a division of the state office of economic development.
"Like Vancouver used to be 'Hollywood North,' Louisiana's the hot spot now," says Patrick Lussier, director of Drive Angry 3D, a supernatural road movie starring Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard, opening in February.
The state subbed for Texas, Colorado and New Mexico in Drive Angry, Lussier says.
The consummate versatile character actor, Louisiana has also played Utah, Washington, D.C., and London. "The film industry wants to find places it can reinvent and make look like anything it needs," Lussier says. "There's a lot of opportunity do that in Louisiana."
Movies shooting in Louisiana range from mega-budget blockbusters to quirky indies. Films shot this year include testosterone-fueled action-adventure The Expendables, which opens Aug. 13, and the comic book-inspired The Green Lantern, due in 2011. The low-budget horror film The Last Exorcism opens Aug. 27, and the big-screen version of the 1960s TV show The Big Valley arrives next year.
And the films cross all sectors, from Oscar bait to tween phenomena. The much-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was shot in New Orleans in 2008, and Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment in the hugely successful Twilight series, films this year in Baton Rouge.
In 2009, 60 films and TV shows shot in Louisiana. By mid-2010, 85 productions have already signed on, Stelly says: "We're well on our way to having a record-breaking year."
New Orleans as Anytown, USA
The boom is most visible around New Orleans. In 2009, 22 movies and TV shows filmed there. Records have already been broken in 2010; by July, 24 projects had shot there.
"We're way ahead of the curve in the New Orleans region," says Katie Gunnell, interim director of the city's Office of Film and Television. "The city has seen an incredible bump in applications for 2011 as well."
Across the state, work is consistent and year-round, despite hurricane season and blazing summer temperatures. "We've maintained 20 to 25 productions at any given time during the year," Stelly says. "We've doubled for New York City, Los Angeles, the Northwest, basically Anytown, USA."
Those who have shot there point to several factors contributing to the region's appeal: diversity of scenery, financial incentives and proficient crews.
"You can get an 1800s look, you can get a Parisian look," says Todd Lewis, producer of The Chaperone. "You can get suburbs, you can get the country. It's got a little bit of everything." His movie, out next year, is one of several Louisiana-based films funded by World Wrestling Entertainment and featuring wrestling stars, in this case Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
Director Rod Lurie was looking to duplicate rural Mississippi in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 classic coming out next year. He did so in and around Shreveport. "They really do have it all there," he says. "You can go anywhere from swamps to beautiful rivers to cities to football stadiums. We were able to shoot the entire film within a 10-mile radius."
Jonah Hex, the supernatural action thriller in theaters earlier this summer, used New Orleans to double for the Old West.
Though producer Andrew Lazar initially had reservations about shooting a Western in Louisiana, his concerns disappeared when he considered the obvious. "The French Quarter hasn't changed much over the years, so you don't need a lot of set dressing," Lazar says. "We just put some dirt on the road and we were back in the 1870s."
Says Lussier: "New Orleans has so many looks. You can get a European look, and it also has an unmistakable feeling of the American frontier. It's such an amazing city unto itself. Why not take advantage of it?"
Filmmakers say it's hard to go wrong with scenery like this.
"Wherever you point the camera, you have a beautiful and picturesque set design," says Daniel Stamm, director of The Last Exorcism. "And the atmosphere does something for the actors. It's so old world. We shot at a plantation, and the smell and the sounds of the floorboards did something to the atmosphere that's tangible, that you wouldn't get in L.A. on a soundstage."
Stamm's horror movie was enhanced by the surprise appearance of a toothy visitor.
"We were shooting in the Ninth Ward (an area in New Orleans hard-hit by Katrina), and you could still see the waterline in this old plantation," Stamm says. "One day, we couldn't shoot for three hours because an alligator had crawled on set. That does something to the team, something you can't fake."
Tax incentives best in USA
The hauntingly creative vibe may be palpable, but the bottom line is equally alluring.
The state offers the most competitive economic and tax incentives of any in the country. A system of financial perks was enacted after Hurricane Katrina destroyed $81 billion in property and killed 1,836 people in 2005.
"We approached it like a business, and it keeps (filmmakers) coming back, based on our reliability and stability," Stelly says. "For every dollar you spend in the state, we'll give you 30% back (in rebates). And we give you an additional 5% for hiring Louisiana residents on productions."
Tax incentives can be sold as credits or used to offset personal or corporate income tax, he says.
"As things get more expensive, you have to go wherever you get the budget relief," Lussier notes. "You can no longer use Mulholland Drive for your backwoods road movie."
There is also the sense among filmmakers that they are helping an area that sorely needs a hand in bouncing back from one of the worst natural disasters in history.
"Louisiana has been through so much, and I'm glad to be able to make a film there," says Nicole Kidman, who is shooting the 2011 film Trespass in Shreveport this summer with Nicolas Cage.
"The economy desperately needs the film business," Lurie says. "And it's fantastic watching people get employed. We hired a thousand people to be extras and put a couple of hundred bucks in their pockets, and that's helpful to the economy. The film commission is among the most proactive I've ever seen."
Between that obliging spirit and the financial incentives, Lurie says, "It doesn't pay to make movies in Los Angeles anymore. You can save too much money by going out of town."
Crews with skill, enthusiasm
Shooting movies outside Hollywood is certainly not new. But the more common scenario is to shoot segments in distant cities and use Hollywood studios as a base. As more films are shot in Louisiana, the ancillary businesses and infrastructure associated with the industry — post-production centers and soundstages — are also increasingly cropping up.
Every Hollywood-based filmmaker interviewed spoke glowingly of the local production personnel and regional actors.
"Because of all that's being shot there, local crews get better and better," says Ken Zunder, cinematographer for The Chaperone. "You get a lot of crews that are very savvy here. It's not like going to, say, Detroit."
The combination of skill and energy is something particularly appreciated by those coming from Hollywood.
"In L.A., everyone is exhausted by the film business, with all the noise and shooting at night," Stamm says. "Down there, everyone is not jaded. There is still an enthusiasm about the whole thing."
So much enthusiasm, in fact, that some Los Angeles residents have moved south with the jobs.
Producer Joshua Throne made several films in the state, the latest being The Expendables. He has homes in both Louisiana and Los Angeles. Throne's next project is The Technician, co-starring Kevin Bacon and Kurt Russell, which will shoot in Louisiana in January.
"There's such a zest for life here," he says. "There's lots of good food, good people, wonderful history, and it still has the Southern charm."
Lewis and his wife also have made the move to New Orleans. "I love L.A., I really do," he says. "And I'm sorry that productions are running away from L.A., but this is a really easy and cost-efficient place to make movies."
Ed Borasch Jr., a property master, moved from Southern California. "I have to go where the work is," he says. "It's just so much nicer and quieter here, and the traffic's not as crazy, and the people are super friendly. You feel like you're welcomed here. I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years, and that was a great run for me, but the work dried up, and now my time is here." Meanwhile, he's gotten married, had a baby and laid down roots.
'A sexy city'
Some stars have bought homes in New Orleans in recent years, including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Cage, who has shot several movies there.
Actress Annabeth Gish shot two films in New Orleans this summer. The first was The Fields, co-starring Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the second was The Chaperone.
"So much is happening in New Orleans," says Gish, who's married to stunt coordinator Wade Allen. "It's been a long time since I or my husband shot in Los Angeles. You'd think with Arnold (Schwarzenegger) as our governor, we'd be bringing movies back to L.A.
"But one of the great things about coming here on location is you feel like you're paying back the debt the country owes by being here and feeding the economy. And it's a character in its own right, so saturated with culture and flavor. It's a sexy city with so much history — a little hot, though."
Hollywood types are never shy about complaining, but except for occasional remarks about the searing summer heat, no one has a negative thing to say about the southward migration. "The love affair is on," Lussier says. "When filming starts going to a place, there's a real excitement. You can feel that, and it can be very productive for both sides."
Ties between Canada and Hollywood grew frayed as resentment mounted over film crews taking up so much space in cities like Vancouver and Toronto. Will Hollywood and Louisiana maintain a lasting romance?
"It'll be interesting to see if seven or eight years down the road, people get tired of road closures and the novelty of having movies come to their town," says Lussier. "For now, it's great. Hopefully, it will last a while."
Even before the economic recession hit Hollywood, the state of Louisiana had been quietly gaining stature as the place to make quality movies and stretch dollars.
"We have the largest number of productions outside of Los Angeles and New York City," says Chris Stelly, director of film for Louisiana Entertainment, a division of the state office of economic development.
"Like Vancouver used to be 'Hollywood North,' Louisiana's the hot spot now," says Patrick Lussier, director of Drive Angry 3D, a supernatural road movie starring Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard, opening in February.
The state subbed for Texas, Colorado and New Mexico in Drive Angry, Lussier says.
The consummate versatile character actor, Louisiana has also played Utah, Washington, D.C., and London. "The film industry wants to find places it can reinvent and make look like anything it needs," Lussier says. "There's a lot of opportunity do that in Louisiana."
Movies shooting in Louisiana range from mega-budget blockbusters to quirky indies. Films shot this year include testosterone-fueled action-adventure The Expendables, which opens Aug. 13, and the comic book-inspired The Green Lantern, due in 2011. The low-budget horror film The Last Exorcism opens Aug. 27, and the big-screen version of the 1960s TV show The Big Valley arrives next year.
And the films cross all sectors, from Oscar bait to tween phenomena. The much-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was shot in New Orleans in 2008, and Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment in the hugely successful Twilight series, films this year in Baton Rouge.
In 2009, 60 films and TV shows shot in Louisiana. By mid-2010, 85 productions have already signed on, Stelly says: "We're well on our way to having a record-breaking year."
New Orleans as Anytown, USA
The boom is most visible around New Orleans. In 2009, 22 movies and TV shows filmed there. Records have already been broken in 2010; by July, 24 projects had shot there.
"We're way ahead of the curve in the New Orleans region," says Katie Gunnell, interim director of the city's Office of Film and Television. "The city has seen an incredible bump in applications for 2011 as well."
Across the state, work is consistent and year-round, despite hurricane season and blazing summer temperatures. "We've maintained 20 to 25 productions at any given time during the year," Stelly says. "We've doubled for New York City, Los Angeles, the Northwest, basically Anytown, USA."
Those who have shot there point to several factors contributing to the region's appeal: diversity of scenery, financial incentives and proficient crews.
"You can get an 1800s look, you can get a Parisian look," says Todd Lewis, producer of The Chaperone. "You can get suburbs, you can get the country. It's got a little bit of everything." His movie, out next year, is one of several Louisiana-based films funded by World Wrestling Entertainment and featuring wrestling stars, in this case Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
Director Rod Lurie was looking to duplicate rural Mississippi in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 classic coming out next year. He did so in and around Shreveport. "They really do have it all there," he says. "You can go anywhere from swamps to beautiful rivers to cities to football stadiums. We were able to shoot the entire film within a 10-mile radius."
Jonah Hex, the supernatural action thriller in theaters earlier this summer, used New Orleans to double for the Old West.
Though producer Andrew Lazar initially had reservations about shooting a Western in Louisiana, his concerns disappeared when he considered the obvious. "The French Quarter hasn't changed much over the years, so you don't need a lot of set dressing," Lazar says. "We just put some dirt on the road and we were back in the 1870s."
Says Lussier: "New Orleans has so many looks. You can get a European look, and it also has an unmistakable feeling of the American frontier. It's such an amazing city unto itself. Why not take advantage of it?"
Filmmakers say it's hard to go wrong with scenery like this.
"Wherever you point the camera, you have a beautiful and picturesque set design," says Daniel Stamm, director of The Last Exorcism. "And the atmosphere does something for the actors. It's so old world. We shot at a plantation, and the smell and the sounds of the floorboards did something to the atmosphere that's tangible, that you wouldn't get in L.A. on a soundstage."
Stamm's horror movie was enhanced by the surprise appearance of a toothy visitor.
"We were shooting in the Ninth Ward (an area in New Orleans hard-hit by Katrina), and you could still see the waterline in this old plantation," Stamm says. "One day, we couldn't shoot for three hours because an alligator had crawled on set. That does something to the team, something you can't fake."
Tax incentives best in USA
The hauntingly creative vibe may be palpable, but the bottom line is equally alluring.
The state offers the most competitive economic and tax incentives of any in the country. A system of financial perks was enacted after Hurricane Katrina destroyed $81 billion in property and killed 1,836 people in 2005.
"We approached it like a business, and it keeps (filmmakers) coming back, based on our reliability and stability," Stelly says. "For every dollar you spend in the state, we'll give you 30% back (in rebates). And we give you an additional 5% for hiring Louisiana residents on productions."
Tax incentives can be sold as credits or used to offset personal or corporate income tax, he says.
"As things get more expensive, you have to go wherever you get the budget relief," Lussier notes. "You can no longer use Mulholland Drive for your backwoods road movie."
There is also the sense among filmmakers that they are helping an area that sorely needs a hand in bouncing back from one of the worst natural disasters in history.
"Louisiana has been through so much, and I'm glad to be able to make a film there," says Nicole Kidman, who is shooting the 2011 film Trespass in Shreveport this summer with Nicolas Cage.
"The economy desperately needs the film business," Lurie says. "And it's fantastic watching people get employed. We hired a thousand people to be extras and put a couple of hundred bucks in their pockets, and that's helpful to the economy. The film commission is among the most proactive I've ever seen."
Between that obliging spirit and the financial incentives, Lurie says, "It doesn't pay to make movies in Los Angeles anymore. You can save too much money by going out of town."
Crews with skill, enthusiasm
Shooting movies outside Hollywood is certainly not new. But the more common scenario is to shoot segments in distant cities and use Hollywood studios as a base. As more films are shot in Louisiana, the ancillary businesses and infrastructure associated with the industry — post-production centers and soundstages — are also increasingly cropping up.
Every Hollywood-based filmmaker interviewed spoke glowingly of the local production personnel and regional actors.
"Because of all that's being shot there, local crews get better and better," says Ken Zunder, cinematographer for The Chaperone. "You get a lot of crews that are very savvy here. It's not like going to, say, Detroit."
The combination of skill and energy is something particularly appreciated by those coming from Hollywood.
"In L.A., everyone is exhausted by the film business, with all the noise and shooting at night," Stamm says. "Down there, everyone is not jaded. There is still an enthusiasm about the whole thing."
So much enthusiasm, in fact, that some Los Angeles residents have moved south with the jobs.
Producer Joshua Throne made several films in the state, the latest being The Expendables. He has homes in both Louisiana and Los Angeles. Throne's next project is The Technician, co-starring Kevin Bacon and Kurt Russell, which will shoot in Louisiana in January.
"There's such a zest for life here," he says. "There's lots of good food, good people, wonderful history, and it still has the Southern charm."
Lewis and his wife also have made the move to New Orleans. "I love L.A., I really do," he says. "And I'm sorry that productions are running away from L.A., but this is a really easy and cost-efficient place to make movies."
Ed Borasch Jr., a property master, moved from Southern California. "I have to go where the work is," he says. "It's just so much nicer and quieter here, and the traffic's not as crazy, and the people are super friendly. You feel like you're welcomed here. I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years, and that was a great run for me, but the work dried up, and now my time is here." Meanwhile, he's gotten married, had a baby and laid down roots.
'A sexy city'
Some stars have bought homes in New Orleans in recent years, including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Cage, who has shot several movies there.
Actress Annabeth Gish shot two films in New Orleans this summer. The first was The Fields, co-starring Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the second was The Chaperone.
"So much is happening in New Orleans," says Gish, who's married to stunt coordinator Wade Allen. "It's been a long time since I or my husband shot in Los Angeles. You'd think with Arnold (Schwarzenegger) as our governor, we'd be bringing movies back to L.A.
"But one of the great things about coming here on location is you feel like you're paying back the debt the country owes by being here and feeding the economy. And it's a character in its own right, so saturated with culture and flavor. It's a sexy city with so much history — a little hot, though."
Hollywood types are never shy about complaining, but except for occasional remarks about the searing summer heat, no one has a negative thing to say about the southward migration. "The love affair is on," Lussier says. "When filming starts going to a place, there's a real excitement. You can feel that, and it can be very productive for both sides."
Ties between Canada and Hollywood grew frayed as resentment mounted over film crews taking up so much space in cities like Vancouver and Toronto. Will Hollywood and Louisiana maintain a lasting romance?
"It'll be interesting to see if seven or eight years down the road, people get tired of road closures and the novelty of having movies come to their town," says Lussier. "For now, it's great. Hopefully, it will last a while."
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Big Question - Will They Return?
Here is a great Letter to the Editor from the creator of this blog that is in The Des Moines Register:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100810/OPINION04/8100333/1038/Will-moviemakers-return-to-Iowa?
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100810/OPINION04/8100333/1038/Will-moviemakers-return-to-Iowa?
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