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Louisiana location film production passes billion-dollar mark in 2011
01/10/2012 » 10 January 2012
By Nick Goundry

Louisiana has reaffirmed its position as one of the central filming production hubs in the US – and indeed the world – by making some USD1.3 billion during 2011. The figures from film office Louisiana Entertainment are not quite official yet, but it’s clear the state had a hugely successful year.

Data from Louisiana Entertainment reported by Nola.com suggests that over 150 separate filming projects applied for Louisiana incentive support in 2011, with the bulk of these projects’ combined USD1.9 billion production budget being spent in Louisiana.

It’s not clear yet how much was paid out by the state, but in 2010 the total in-state spend came to just shy of USD900 million and the economy was making USD5.71 from every dollar spent.

Chris Stelly is Executive Director of Louisiana Entertainment and spoke to the outlet: “It’s good to be busy. You’re starting to see not only major studios but mini-majors as well – that have had such a great time and a great experience – come back. I think that sort of repeat business says a lot.”

Warner Brothers is one of the major studios to keep coming back, having shot The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jonah Hex and The Green Lantern in recent years. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is currently scheduled for a February start and Tom Cruise’s next project – known at the moment as either Oblivion or Horizons – will arrive in the summer.

SOURCE: P3 and GBR Business Report

http://www.p3update.com/preproduction/locations/1199-top-10-united-states-of-production

Top 10: United States of Production Written by Johan Kharabi and Sally Kemper

Preproduction - Locations

As runaway production took a toll on the U.S. in the 1990s, the country fought back by introducing its own competitive incentives. By 2010, 46 U.S. states and territories had introduced individual tax credit and rebate programs and saw an estimated $60 billion in television, movie and video production revenue. Once a year, P3 Update lists 10 states in the nation that offer the most attractive combination of tax incentives, crew base, talent pool, infrastructure, accessibility, significant production revenue and overall popularity among filmmakers.

1. LOUISIANA

Louisiana was the first state on the scene to adopt tax incentives, which sparked a trend across America. More and more filmmakers are now heading to Louisiana where business has been booming. “I’m thinking of moving down there myself,” declares Filmmaker Ron Carr. “The state has a good film base and a lot of stages.”

The state currently offers motion-picture productions a 30-percent transferable credit on total in-state expenditures, with no cap and a minimum-spending requirement of $300,000. For productions using in-state labor, Louisiana offers an additional 5-percent labor-tax credit on the payroll of employed residents. Louisiana is currently nine to ten crews deep, a nearly 400 percent increase since 2002. “We have seen a 22-percent growth in the industry’s workforce each year,” says Louisiana Entertainment Film Director Chris Stelly. “In addition, our infrastructure continues to mature at an exponential rate and a film of any size can spend 80 to 90 percent of their budget in Louisiana. We offer basically everything a production could want or need ─ from processing to trucks, as well as stages, to high-end visual effects.”

According to Stelly, after a big 2008–09 fiscal year, when the state saw $494 million in production, fiscal year 2009–10 drew $674.1 million in direct spend thanks to over 100 productions. Big-budget features like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Battleship, Green Lantern and Battle: Los Angeles have kept Louisiana busy. And, as of May 2011, the state had received 41 applications, which is comparable to 44 applications received at this time last year.

Stelly says that the state’s productions are usually comprised of feature films, such as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and 21 Jump Street, but also include top TV series, most notably HBO’s “Treme” and season two of “Memphis Beat.”

In addition to the southern hospitality, Louisiana’s success is largely due to the state’s ability to attract repeat business with its attractive incentive programs, deep crew base and abundance of studio facilities. “We have established both stability and credibility,” says Stelly, “and our incentive program is easy to maneuver. All of this keeps production coming back.”

2. ILLINOIS

Illinois’ five-deep crew base is only one of the reasons the state was added to the P3’s top-10 roster. It’s a good thing because productions have flooded the Prairie State in recent years — and they keep coming back.

The Illinois Film Office reports that the state saw $161 million in spending in 2010 — a 54-percent increase from 2009 — and over 8,000 production jobs. This activity comes in light of an already successful year, during which Illinois hosted big-name productions like Contagion (starring Matt Damon and Kate Winslet), Transformers: Dark of the Moon and The Dilemma. In 2010, Chicago alone saw six TV pilots, including Fox’s “The Chicago Code” and Showtime’s “Shameless.” In 2011, several TV pilots shot throughout the state, including NBC’s “The Playboy Club” and CW’s “Cooper and Stone.” Currently, the state is hosting more TV pilots, including “Boss” (starring Kelsey Grammer), and Zack Snyder’s big-budget feature Superman: Man of Steel is slated to begin filming in Illinois this summer.

The state’s incentive program includes a 30-percent tax credit on all qualified local expenditure, including postproduction. An additional 15 percent is available on salaries for individuals living in an economically disadvantaged area. Unfortunately, the state’s tax credit applies only to wages of up to $100,000 and excludes nonresidents. In late March, there was a possibility that the state would introduce a five year sunset clause to its incentive program, but last-minute political maneuvering succeeded in extending this to ten years — effectively saving the program until 2021.

Finally, Illinois’ infrastructure is rapidly developing. In May, the city celebrated the opening of Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, which, when fully built, will hold 1.2 million square feet of space.

3. FLORIDA

For a long time, Florida boasted having one of the largest production-crew bases in the country, but, according to Communications Coordinator Colleen McClure of the Florida Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment, the state has fallen in rank in recent years. This was partly due to a growing number of competitive domestic incentive packages and crewmembers moving to Louisiana when its production increased.

But the Sunshine State is fighting fire with fire to become an incredibly strong contender. With the recent passage of its Film & Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive Program — which offers $242 million in transferable tax credits over five years — Florida is seeing its crew base restored as production grows. This is bolstered by a robust incentive package that includes a 20-percent base transferable-tax credit for total expenditures associated with Florida businesses and resident wages. Combining additional bonus opportunities, including “Family-Friendly” and “Off-Season” perks, can increase the credits up to 30 percent of the total Florida spend. The savings continue for qualified productions that receive sales-and-use tax exemptions on the purchase or lease of certain items used in filming.

Recent Florida productions include Transformers: Dark of the Moon, A&E’s “The Glades” and season four of USA Network’s “Burn Notice.” McClure reports that production revenue for fiscal year 2010 sat at $760,722, 482, and, as of May 2011, the amount was $981,059,895 for fiscal year 2011. These numbers don’t lie: The heat is definitely on in Florida.

4. GEORGIA

Since 2008, Georgia has offered a transferable flat-tax credit of 20 percent on qualified in-state “base investment” for qualifying productions spending a minimum of $500,000. In addition, there’s the possibility to receive another 10 percent if production activities include a “qualified Georgia promotion,” which is a promotional logo in the production. If this 30-percent total transferable-tax credit hasn’t substantially cut costs, a qualified production can enjoy the state’s Sales & Use Tax Exemption, which is a point-of-purchase exemption on sales tax that can help save as much as 8 percent on equipment purchases and rentals.

Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office Director Lee Thomas praises the program for helping to boost production in the state. More than 274 productions shot in the Peach State from July 2010 through April 2011 to bring in more than $589.2 million in Georgia investments. These projects have generated an economic impact of $2.1 billion. In 2010, the state saw the filming of motion pictures like Footloose, Wanderlust, The Change-Up and Fast Five. Currently, American Pie 4 Presents: Family Reunion, the Farrelly brothers’ The Three Stooges and the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead” are shooting in Georgia.

Georgia’s film-industry infrastructure is undergoing serious growth as well. The state recently saw the opening of a Panavision in Atlanta, while the well-known Turner Studios holds six purpose-built studios with five HD control rooms. Raleigh Studios Atlanta is spread over 120 acres and holds four stages, while EUE/Screen Gems has taken over the old Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta and just completed a 37,500-square-foot soundstage.

What else makes Georgia one of the country’s best places to shoot? Thomas reports that Georgia’s crew base, once around two to two-and-ahalf deep, has grown to around six to seven deep. “[We have] crew depth combined with the infrastructure, temperate climate, the world’s busiest airport, great incentives, diverse locations and a great quality of life,” explains Thomas.

5. CALIFORNIA

According to California Film Commission Director Amy Lemisch, the Golden State hosts nearly 200 feature films every year along with countless TV series, commercials and documentaries. “California has moderate weather with 315 sunny days per year coupled with the deepest and most talented labor pool in the world,” boasts Lemisch. “In addition, the state offers over 500 stages and the most advanced and diverse range of postproduction facilities found anywhere.”

Lemisch celebrates the California Film & TV Tax Credit Program, which provides a nonrefundable tax credit of 20 to 25 percent for eligible feature films with budgets between $1 million and $75 million; and TV series, TV movies and miniseries with an appropriation of $100 million per year for five years through 2014. Independent features under $10 million are eligible to receive 25 percent and may transfer their credits. Credit is applied to below-theline spend, including postproduction and visual effects.

International Location Manager Bill Bowling will be the first to tell you that California, once again, has become a top-10 contender. “We’re seeing a stronger interest in keeping production in California [now more] than ever, which has led to a big upswing in the state’s popularity,” explains Bowling. He attributes this increase to the savings made by working at home versus extensive traveling in addition to the states successful incentive package.

California offers assistance from numerous film offices throughout the entire state. “Filmmakers work closely with our network of 50-plus regional film offices taking advantage of the diverse landscape of California,” says Lemisch. Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office Director Beverly Lewis takes pride in what the northern part of the state has to offer. “I am very aware that the California incentives made the difference when it came time for [productions] to select locations, and the local spend is welcomed back,” she says. Since then, qualified productions like HBO Films’ Cinema Verite, Jackass 3D and Disney’s upcoming fall release The Muppets have filmed in her area. Other recent productions shot throughout California include David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, HBO’s “Entourage” and the new ABC series “Scandal.”

6. CONNECTICUT

Connecticut’s current tax credit of up to 30 percent is still going strong. To qualify, 50 percent of principal photography or 50 percent of post must be done in the state, or at least $1 million in postproduction expenditures must be in-state. The tax credits for film and digital animation are tiered based on local spend from 10 to 30 percent. The credit is 10 percent for expenditures between $100,000 and $500,000, and there’s a 15-percent credit for expenditures between $500,000 and $1 million. The credit is 30 percent for anything above $1 million.

The big news out of the Constitution State is the recent release of Blue Sky Studios’ first animated feature made entirely in Connecticut. On the smaller screen, Showtime’s “The Big C” has returned to shoot its second season, as has “Are We There Yet?” for TBS. Other noteworthy productions include feature films like We the Peeples and We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring John C. Reilly and Tilda Swinton. “Our incentive program has been successful in bringing significant production and infrastructure expenditures to the state, with over $200 million in spending in 2010,” says George Norfleet, director of the Connecticut Office of Film, Television & Digital Media. “And we expect to exceed that number in 2011.”

The small state of Connecticut packs a big punch in the category of infrastructure, largely thanks to the fact that it shares a crew base with New York. The N.Y. IATSE Local 52 has over 3,400 members and includes Connecticut within its five-state jurisdiction. Moreover, the state has at least seven great studios, including Sonalysts, Connecticut Film Center, Sono Studios and Palace Digital Studios. And Norfleet reports that CT Studios plans to begin construction on a multistage facility in 2011.

7. NEW YORK

The Empire State and especially the city of New York know a thing or two about television and film production. According to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver, more than 100,000 New York City citizens work in the industry while the city houses over 4,000 local ancillary businesses — everything from digital effects companies to prop houses — playing a supporting role for filming in the city.

In all, New York has more than 100 production facilities, stages and video studios throughout its boroughs, amounting to around 900,000 square feet of stage space. All this capacity helps to bring about $5 billion worth of production to the city’s economy annually. Despite its global recognition, the state, like any other, still has to offer productions a good deal.
It currently offers eligible productions an up-to-35-percent fully refundable tax credit. And there’s plenty of money to go around, as the program holds about $420 million a year up until 2014.

Just last June, Oliver and Mayor Bloomberg hosted the sixth annual “Made in NY” Awards to honor those who have helped contribute to the city’s burgeoning entertainment industry. And these awards are well deserved: In 2010, over 230 feature films and primetime TV series were shot in New York City.

8. UTAH

The Beehive State has been busy and it looks like it might get busier — Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert signed groundbreaking tax-credit legislation in May for the state’s film industry, effectively increasing the tax rebate from 20 to 25 percent. The program has no sunset provision and requires a minimum of $1 million in-state spend. The legislature also approved an ongoing tax-credit fund of $6.8 million. “[The incentive] will enable us to position Utah and its talented motion-picture and digital-media work force to compete on a global basis for the film and digital-media industries,” announced Herbert. Since the fund was created in 2004, 65 film projects have already received funding.

According to Utah Film Commission Director Marshall Moore, a total of 19 productions took advantage of the incentive in fiscal year 2010, producing 1,188 production jobs and accounting for 502 production days. For fiscal year 2011 (as of May 2011), the state has about 14 productions taking advantage of incentives, accounting for 431 production days. Utah is currently three “A” crews deep and offers an excellent, constantly growing infrastructure that includes studios like Stone 5 Studios in Provo and Metcom and Salt Lake Studios in Salt Lake City. With so much happening, along with a political establishment that’s very supportive of the industry, Utah is now the state to watch in 2012.

Director Danny Boyle’s Academy Award nominated 127 Hours took advantage of the fund in 2010 as the production filmed on location in Moab and on stages in Salt Lake City. And Walt Disney Pictures’ John Carter filmed for 45 days across Utah, specifically in Delta, Hanksville, Kanab, Moab and Big Water.

9. NEW MEXICO

New Mexico is well known for titanic production houses like Albuquerque Studios, I-25 Studios, Garson Studios and Santa Fe Studios (the latter set to open in August 2011). “These are great stages [and] definitely one of the most popular reasons for shooting in the state,” says Location Manager Bill Bowling. The Land of Enchantment is home to approximately 20 stages ranging in size from 2,000 to 48,000 square feet. The state offers an enticing incentive package as well. Qualified productions can receive a 25-percent tax rebate on all direct expenditure. In addition, New Mexico has a Film Investment Loan Program as well as a Film Crew Advancement Program that offers a 50-percent wage reimbursement for on-the-job training.

Things weren’t looking great for the state in March when New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez targeted the incentive program with cuts, ideally wanting the rebate to be decreased to 15 percent. In the end, however, the state senate voted to keep the 25-percent rebate intact. And, according to New Mexico Film Office Deputy Director Jennifer Schwalenberg, an annual cap was placed. “[They] placed a ‘rolling cap’ of $50 million per fiscal year,” she says. Governor Martinez would do well to understand how important television and film production has become for New Mexico in recent years, as the state has hosted numerous big-budget features, such as Cowboys & Aliens, Fright Night and Thor, as well as AMC’s Emmy-winning series “Breaking Bad.”

10. MICHIGAN

Just based on numbers alone, Michigan is in a league of its own. Productions can receive a tax credit of up to 42 percent of qualifying direct production expenditures in “core communities,” which include 136 locations throughout the state. (The figure is 40 percent in other locations.) The massive incentive program requires a minimum in-state spend of $50,000, and there’s a $2 million salary cap per employee on each production.

According to Michigan Film Office Communications Advisor Michelle Begnoche, the state’s budget has passed and is on Governor Rick Snyder’s desk. He is expected to sign the bill, which would set next year’s funding for new projects at $25 million. “Prior to the fiscal year 2012 budget, we had no annual allocation from the legislature,” explains Begnoche. “The incentive is also no longer a tax credit; rather it is an allocation that will not be tied to the state’s business-tax structure. While we now have clarity on what our funding level will be, work is still being done to determine how best to administer the incentives within this new framework.”

According to Chris Baum, Film Detroit Senior VP and Government Relations Chair of Michigan Film First, a group of the state’s largest film and TV industry stakeholders is working with key legislators to revise the incentive program further. “Michigan Film First has hired the top lobbyists in Lansing to help key supporters in the legislature draft a new bill that will adjust the incentive and raise the cap, allowing us to sustain our terrific moment from the last three years,” Baum explains. Last year, the Detroit area welcomed the HBO series “Hung” and ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” as well as many feature films, including Real Steel, The Double, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, Salvation Boulevard, Machine Gun Preacher and Scream 4.

The Wolverine State has been working hard to build up the infrastructure needed to increase production. Perhaps the best example of the changes taking place is Raleigh Michigan Studios. Located on the grounds of the former GM Centerpoint truck plant and office complex in Pontiac, the new $80 million film studio is comprised of seven crisp soundstages and over 360,000 square feet of office space. The studio is already hosting the preproduction of Disney’s The Wizard of Oz prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful, which will receive approximately $40 million in incentives and is set to be one of the largest features to ever shoot in the state.

When you look at the big picture, you can see how big of a role the industry plays in each state’s economy. And film office representatives are pressured to show a positive ROI on incentives, so these programs fluctuate from time-to time. High incentives and a deep crew base are only two portions of the total package needed for states to make P3’s annual list of top-10 U.S. locations, an informative guide that filmmakers worldwide can rely on.

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Louisiana sees surge in TV & film projects

AP NEWS Latest local, national & international news from the Associated Press Louisiana sees surge in TV & film projects Dec. 2, 2011, 12:09 p.m. CST AP As cast and crew of the HBO television series "Treme" filmed in the French Quarter, a warehouse elsewhere bustled with stage hands prepping for production on the Will Ferrell comedy "Dog Fight" while a helicopter prepared to take flight for the shooting of the new 3-D IMAX film, "Hidden World."

The stream of film activity this late in the year is positioning Louisiana to hit, if not exceed, last year's record of more than 100 film and TV projects, said Chris Stelly, executive director of the Office of Entertainment Industry Development, the state agency that promotes Louisiana's film, theater, music and digital media industries.

Stelly said this is also likely more film activity than in any other U.S. state outside of the entertainment hubs of California and New York.

"It's incredible," he said. "The holidays and the summer months, those are usually slower times for the film industry here, but last year and this year that hasn't been the case. What we're seeing is the filming industry stabilizing in Louisiana with a steady stream of business all year long."

Other projects filming between now and Christmas include the Mark Wahlberg action flick "Broken City" and the TV police drama "Common Law." In the new year, production is set to begin on Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained", Summit Entertainment's caper film "Now You See Me" and the Columbia Pictures drama "Maersk Alabama" starring Tom Hanks.

Louisiana accepted more than 130 applications for its tax incentive program in 2011 and hosted more than 100 film and TV projects for the second year in a row. That's about triple previous years, Stelly said. According to state figures, Louisiana had fewer than 40 projects in both 2004 and 2005, and the state saw fewer than 90 projects each year thereafter until 2009.

In 2009, the state decided to make its tax credit permanent and increase the benefits to 30 percent. Originally, the statute reduced the incentive to 20 percent with plans to eventually reduce it again to 15 percent. Stelly said the state's move has helped to steady and grow the industry.

"It sent a message that we are here to stay, that Louisiana is a reliable place to do business," Stelly said. "That was such an important thing for us. As other states began dropping off, we gave more stability to what we were doing here in Louisiana."

Since the film tax credits were introduced in 2002, movie production hubs have popped up in cities across the state, including Shreveport, Lafayette and Baton Rouge. But New Orleans continues to see most of the activity. This year 45 projects — almost half of all those filmed in the state — were shot in the New Orleans area.

Most of the projects being filmed in New Orleans have a minimum $40 million budget, said Katie Williams, director of Film New Orleans, the department under the mayor's office of cultural economy that handles film and video projects.

"Every year we're getting bigger projects with bigger budgets and higher level actors," Williams said. "It really shows the maturation of our industry."

Among the projects heading to New Orleans in coming months is "Maersk Alabama", the real-life pirate drama being directed by Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass. Hanks will play Capt. Richard Phillips, who was kidnapped along with his crew when his ship was hijacked by Somali pirates on its way to a Kenyan port in 2009. The film is being based on a book Phillips wrote about the rescue, "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea."

Filming is expected to begin in February, Williams said.

Production will begin on "Now You See Me" in mid-January. That film is about a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine and Mark Ruffalo.

"Broken City" is about an ex-cop who trails the wife of New York City's mayor only to become immersed in a scandal. It stars Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The film is currently in production in the New Orleans area and is due out in theaters in 2013.

Despite its successes, the film industry has not been without problems. Former state film commissioner Mark Smith pleaded guilty in 2007 to taking about $65,000 in bribes to help inflate tax credits. He served two years in federal prison. Malcolm Petal, producer of "Bug," ''Factory Girl" and "Mr. Brooks," pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe Smith. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 2007, a state law tightened oversight of the program, which provides tax credits to production companies that use goods and services while shooting in Louisiana.

Just last month, a crew member working on the set of the Paramount Pictures film "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation" was killed in what the studio is calling an unusual accident. Paramount spokeswoman Virginia Lam said the Louisiana crew member, Michael "Mike" Huber, was killed Nov. 22 on set in New Orleans. She would not comment to The Associated Press on the circumstances surrounding his death but said the studio is fully cooperating with the investigation.

The sequel, which stars Bruce Willis, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Channing Tatum, is scheduled for release in the summer.

SOURCE:

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/louisiana-sees-surge-in-tv-film/789550e9fca5418fb15aea8104c5f99a

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