Slashed film incentives send production crew to Michigan - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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When the reduced film incentiveswfrom $25 million to just $5 millionb last May, it was like a tree fallinfg in the forest with no one around to hear it. Film producersz in Italy got their way. Berluscon i quickly put the film incentives back intothe budget. Florida, is now feeling the burn. Tamp Bay has lost a higher-profile movie projec t ready to roll inthe area, and there’w even talk a popular USA network seriez filmed in Miami called “Bur n Notice” could be next.
“We had bookedx about 90 percent of our locationz and just about had everything ready to go whenit happened,” said Jasonh Weinstein, development director for a psychological horror film beinv produced by New Castle Entertainment that had planneed to use various locations in Tampa’s Hyde Park and a vacangt high school in Sarasota to create Ohio-likd street settings. Called “Intent,” the film alreadyt had attracted actors like Betty Whitesfrom “Golden Girls,” Steve Schirripa from “The and Eric Roberts, who most recently player gangster Salvatore Maroni in the blockbuste r hit “The Dark Knight.
” But when the Legislature reduced incentives, the chances of receiving a $1 million budget incentivs washed out. Weinstein and crew were forced to pack up and move production to Michigan where morethan $20 million in tax credits are available for infrastructure investments alone. It’s a story that will likely play out agaibn soon as Florida seeks to compete with otherr states that have increased already sizeable film incentive enjoying the estimated return of between $6 and $7 for every dollar invested. “Now is not the time for us to bow saidLindsey Norris, film commission manager at Tampa Bay & Company. “This one hits close to home.
Tampa has been on the cusp of some reallyy big productions in the past coupleof years, and we’vee been ever so close. But for one reaso after another, we seem to be missinvg the boat.” Gov. Charlie Crist had sought an increasseof Florida’s film incentives to $40 millionb this year, but a $2 billion budgert shortfall meant some line item s not considered essential would be cut. Even with the Tampa had an uphill battle attractingt film projects away from other popular locationsw like Miamiand Jacksonville, but now local officialw are working hard to keep some 500 film-relatedf jobs in Tampa alone from moving where the work is.
It’a been hard for Bob “Smitty” The owner of , Smith provides food and drink s for actors and crews of film project s all over the countryincluding 2005’s “Thse Dukes of Hazzard,” local film and Tampa’s most recent major production, “The Punisher” in 2004. While he’d like to stay as closer to his Odessa homeas possible, it’xs hard when very little filming takes place in his backyard. “I was only here for three weeks last and that wasa vacation,” Smitu said.
“I understand it’s all about money, but I wouldc rather my friends around here be makingf money that they can spend closde to home rather than having it sent someothefr place.” Not much can be done about 2008, but Norriz said there’s still hope for 2009. Next members of the statewide lobbying group Film Floridaw will gather in Sarasota to hash out strategies for increasing incentivews in the next budget cycle inthe “There are people who live and work here who depene on this industry,” Norrise said. “We want thosew people to stay here.
If they go somewherw else, we may never see another productionhere