Posted 29 March, 2009 in CA News
Posted 29 March, 2009 in MI News
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University, Lansing Community College and Capital Area Michigan Works! are partnering to prepare Michigan residents seeking employment in the state’s growing film industry.
With a grant of $195,000 from the state of Michigan, Capital Area Michigan Works! will recruit and oversee a joint training program between MSU’s Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media and Lansing Community College’s Digital Media, Audio, and Cinema program to provide on-campus film production training.
Charles Steinfield, chairperson of the MSU department, says the training program is a wonderful example of state partnership – with economic benefits.
“This training partnership demonstrates our commitment to community outreach, and also to the growth of the film industry in Michigan,� Steinfield said.
The MSU department will work with LCC faculty to provide 80 hours of training, which will prepare Michigan residents who are seeking jobs in the film industry, such as production assistants and other below-the-line film jobs.
Competitive scholarships from Capital Area Michigan Works! will cover the full cost of the program for the students selected. Candidates should demonstrate a passion for the film and television industry, an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to do what needs to be done. Candidates should also be driven, flexible, highly mobile and willing to learn.
“People with a background in catering, construction, carpentry, security and IT are all needed on a film set,� said Doug Stites, CEO of Capital Area Michigan Works! “Particularly in demand are folks with previous theater, performing arts and broadcast experience, as well as those with electrical experience. This program will give them the foundation to transfer their existing skills into the film industry.�
The program is expected to start in May with the screening process for candidates beginning immediately. Those interested should email film@camw.net.
Michigan enacted an aggressive film incentive structure in April 2008. Since then, the state has seen more than 70 film and TV projects slated for production in Michigan, estimated to bring in about $430 million in economic activity. Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced new film developments in her State of the State address on Feb. 3.
MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences has a film and media arts initiative, which is headed by former Discovery Films executive Andrea Meditch. Meditch was executive producer of the documentary Man on Wire, which received a 2009 Academy Award. The college offers quality degree programs for film-related careers and has a solid group of alumni involved in the film business, ranging from actors to producers to sound designers to directors and storytellers. In fall 2009, MSU is proposing two new specializations: in Fiction Film Production and Collaborative Documentary Production.
Posted 29 March, 2009 in WI News
Former “Malcolm in the Middle” star Jane Kaczmarek is getting in the middle of the battle over Wisconsin’s film incentives.
She and her “West Wing” actor husband Bradley Whitford, both of whom are Wisconsin natives, sent Gov. Jim Doyle and legislative leaders a letter recently asking them to work on improving the state’s current incentive program rather than scrap it.
“Monk” star Tony Shalhoub, a Green Bay-native, also sent Doyle a similar letter on Thursday. Shalhoub spent three weeks in February shooting the independent film “Feed the Fish” in Door County and said that wouldn’t have been done here without the incentives.
Doyle wants to eliminate the program that grants tax incentives up to 25 percent of what is spent in the state, saying it is too costly in light of a record-high $5.7 billion budget shortfall. In its place he wants to award grants of up to $500,000 per year for projects that create permanent jobs.
“One year hardly seems like a sufficient time to make an informed determination on whether the incentives should be discontinued,” Kaczmarek and Whitford said in the letter dated March 3 that film backers in the state sent out late last week.
The actors ask Doyle to reconsider eliminating the program, consider other economic impacts beyond those reported by the state Commerce Department, and work with those who want to modify the current incentives.
Kaczmarek said in an interview Monday from her home in Pasadena, Calif., that she visits family and friends in Wisconsin four times a year. Kaczmarek, who has children age 6, 9 and 11, said because of her family she refuses to film outside of Hollywood. But she said she would make an exception if she could come to Wisconsin for work.
“There’s something about this place,” she said of Wisconsin. “It’s magical, it’s beautiful. It offers everything you could possibly want.”
Shalhoub said he hoped Wisconsin would nurture its film industry “and allow us to continue to showcase the beauty of the area and the tremendous capabilities of its residents.”
Doyle’s spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner had no immediate comment on the letters.
The letters are the latest push by supporters of the state’s fledgling film industry to save the incentives.
In their first year, nine feature films, including the Johnny Depp movie “Public Enemies,” and 16 television shows filmed in Wisconsin.
There is support within the Legislature to modify the current incentives program rather than do what Doyle wants. State Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, circulated an outline of a bill last week that she said would close loopholes, reward hiring Wisconsin workers, and place a cap on the credits.
One of the co-chairs of the budget-writing committee, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, expressed support for keeping the program during a hearing last week. Grigsby is also a member of that committee that will make a recommendation on whether to eliminate or change the current program.
Kaczmarek and Whitford have been supporters of the incentives from the beginning, mailing letters of support back when the idea was proposed in 2006. Kaczmarek, who is from Milwaukee, also previously donated her time and likeness to the Film Wisconsin Web site.
She is best known for playing the mom in the “Malcolm in the Middle,” receiving an Emmy nomination for each of the seven years the show aired on Fox. Whitford, who’s from Madison, starred on “The West Wing” for seven years and won an Emmy for playing deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman in 2001. (reported by Business Week)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in AL News
On March 24, 2009, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley signed legislation which provides a refundable tax credit for qualified production companies for purposes of personal and corporate income taxes. A qualified production company is entitled to a credit for production expenditures equal to 35% of payrolls paid to Alabama residents and 25% of other production costs including nonresident payroll. The total expenditures for a project must be at least $500,000 and not exceed $10,000,000. Where the project is limited only to the production of a soundtrack used in a motion picture, expenditures must be at least $50,000 and not exceed $300,000 to qualify for the credit. The credit may be applied to any income tax liability applicable to a qualified production company. The aggregate limit on credits available for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009 is $5,000,000. The aggregate limit increases to $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2010 and $10,000,000 for all subsequent years. There is not a sunset clause in this bill.
In addition, a production company that intends to spend $150,000 or more in connection with one or more qualified productions within consecutive 12-month period may receive an exemption from state sales, use and lodging taxes. (reported by Cast & Crew’s The Incentive Program)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in CA News
City aims to keep film, TV productions in town
By DAVE MCNARY
There are no tax credits in there yet, but the Los Angeles City Council has approved a package of incentives aimed at keeping film and TV productions in Los Angeles.
The council adopted the seven-point package in a unanimous vote Wednesday. It includes provisions designed to make it easier to shoot in L.A., and it directs city staffers to develop guidelines for a business tax break for film and TV productions.
Key components include providing producers with assistance in identifying parking options for crews and with reducing parking costs and the installation of utility nodes in frequently used locations to eliminate the need for generators.
Move by the council comes a month after the state of California approved a $500 million production tax credit incentive program, which goes into effect in July. Execs in the TV biz have already complained about the limits in the state program, such as incentives for new series being available only for hourlong series for basic cable with budgets of at least $1 million (Daily Variety, March 17).
The city’s incentives were included in a report from chief legislative analyst Gerry Miller following a request by council president Eric Garcetti after ABC’s “Ugly Betty� moved its production from Los Angeles to New York. Miller’s report used an analysis by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. that asserted a one-hour TV program generates more than 180 direct jobs, supports 540 indirect jobs, generates $2.2 million in state income taxes and $880,000 in state sales taxes.
Julie Wong, a spokeswoman for Garcetti, said the city’s aiming to provide the tax break for productions that aren’t eligible for the state incentive program. No timetable’s been set for implementing that part of the city’s initiative.
“The entertainment industry is a key economic driver for Los Angeles, and we need to do what we can to keep production where it belongs — in the entertainment capital of the world,â€? Garcetti said in a statement.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001646.html
(NOTE: The City Council has approved recommendations to delegate research to various city departments to investigate ways in which the city can become more “film friendly.)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in MA News
A few tips film production companies should consider prior to having Agreed Upon Procedures performed on films produced in Massachusetts:
Massachusetts has two different credits – one for Labor and one for Goods and Services – which are recorded and tracked separately by the state. Therefore, it is critical to code and segregate items correctly between categories. Two areas of particular importance: fringe benefits and employer paid taxes related to payroll. Taxable fringe benefits are allowable expenditures under the Labor category. Employer tax expenses related to qualified labor are allowable expenses under the Goods and Services credit category.
Massachusetts pays a credit for the “use” of items in the state, even if these items were purchased outside of the state. However, the film production company must be able to provide proof of use of the item to the independent Certified Public Accountant performing the agreed upon procedures. Therefore, proper recordkeeping of wardrobe usage, raw stock usage, set dressing, etc. is very important.
Travel qualifies for the Massachusetts production expense credit; however, travel must originate and conclude in Massachusetts (intrastate only). It is important for the film production company to be able to provide proof that a particular travel expense (or travel allowances provided to employees) originated and concluded in Massachusetts to qualify for the credit. (reported by mper, Politziner & Mattia)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in PA News
Pennsylvania film tax credit guidelines require that all personal service corporations or loan-out companies engaged by the applicant are incorporated in or have registered to do business in Pennsylvania prior to the commencement of principal photography in Pennsylvania or the date on which such company was engaged, whichever is later. Pennsylvania had waived this requirement for films approved under the Commonwealth’s 2007/2008 budget, however, the requirement has been reinstated for applications approved under the fiscal year 2008/2009 budget. (reported by Amper, Politziner & Mattia)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in UT News
On March 23, 2009, Utah SB 14 was signed by Governor Hunstman. This bill enhances the current Motion Picture Incentive Fund by providing a hybrid film production incentive program. Utah now offers a 20% cash rebate with a $500,000 per project cap for smaller productions and a 20% fully refundable tax credit for larger productions with a pending per project cap. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development may issue up to $2,206,300 in cash rebates and up to $7,793,700 in fully refundable tax credits per fiscal year. Unused amounts will roll over to their respective programs. Utah uses the term “dollars left in the state� to define qualifying expenditures. As such, wages to residents of Utah will qualify in full, but the term limits the amount that qualifies on payments to loan-out companies and nonresidents to the income tax paid or withheld from such payments. Currently, there is still a minimum spend requirement of $1 million in Utah. This program will be reviewed on or before 10/1/2014 and every five years thereafter to determine if the tax credit should be continued, modified, or repealed.
(reported by Cast & Crew’s Prodution Incentive Department)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in SC News
SOUTH CAROLINA still has funds available for their supplier rebate (30%), but funds for the wage rebate are gone. As of July 1 additional funds will become available; enough for approximately $150 million in production. (reported by The Incentives Office)
Posted 29 March, 2009 in IL News
MICHIGAN has sent out the first two rebate checks for 2008 productions. A total of $48 million in rebates will be paid for 2008. Legislation has been introduced that would reduce the 40%-42% credit to 35%, with a ceiling of $50 million per year. Commercials, currently excluded from the program, would become eligible. There does not seem to be much support for this legislation. (reported by The Incentives Office)
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