Roll credits

Posted 30 September, 2007 in NJ News

New Jersey is luring moviemakers with some big tax incentives

Sunday, September 30, 2007

BY ABBY GRUEN

Newhouse News Service

You can read New Jersey ’s future in the stars. Stars like Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Kevin Bacon, Angelica Huston, Matthew Broderick and Paul Giamatti, all of whom have worked on film productions here this year.

Moviemaking has come back to New Jersey in a big way because of a new 20 percent tax credit program, and aggressive outreach by the state’s film commission.

New Jersey , like dozens of other states that have recently started offering generous tax incentives, wants to host filming projects because they generate millions of dollars in economic activity with little effect on the state’s infrastructure, said Steven Gorelick, associate director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.

The appeal of New Jersey extends beyond lower taxes. It benefits by its location next door to New York City ’s media and production companies; its experienced work force; and by local specialized vendors, such as ARRI of Secaucus, which is one of the largest suppliers of lights and cameras to the industry.

“This is the first full year the 20 percent tax credit has been in effect and the interest has been through the roof,” Gorelick said. “Last year, 941 productions spent $92million in the state.”

New Jersey has joined a rush of states, more than 35, that have either passed or enhanced existing tax credits in the past five years, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

New York City began to offer 15 percent filming credits, using a 5 percent contribution from the city on top of 10 percent from New York state, in 2005. New Jersey and Connecticut followed the next year with 20 percent and 30 percent tax credit programs.

GARDEN STATE

“A single production, such as ‘Be Kind, Rewind,’ a Jack Black comedy, spent just under $10million in the state in an eight-week period last fall.” Gorelick said. “And when ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ recently shot 14 episodes, they spent $24million in the state.”

Tax credit programs are thought to generate economic activity equivalent to three times the production company’s expenditures, said Steven Katz, co-founder of the Center for Entertainment Industry Data and Research in Los Angeles .

This summer, Lori Keith Douglas produced an HBO movie in New Jersey called “Taking Chance,” the true story of a Marine lieutenant colonel who escorts the body of a 19-year-old private killed in Iraq to his hometown in Wyoming .

“This was my first foray into shooting an entire movie in New Jersey ,” said Douglas who also produced the movie “The Namesake.” “We could have done this in and around Philadelphia , or in and around Baltimore , but we wanted to get into production really quickly without having to scout a lot of states.”

Scenes that actually took place in other parts of the country were filmed in a home in West Caldwell; a VFW hall in Fairfield; Bergen Community College in Paramus; Newark Liberty International Airport; and Kean University in Union.

“The beauty of New Jersey has always been that there are a lot of different looks in the zone,” said Douglas, referring to an industry term used in determining overtime charges for union crew based on proximity to New York City . “You can have beautiful suburban houses, an urban environment, an airport, schools and churches. Plus, a lot of the crew lives in New Jersey and always has. It’s great when they can sleep in their own beds, as well as our lead actor and director, who live in the city.

“We employed 150 for this production, maybe 30 to 50 were from New Jersey ,” said Douglas, who also lives in New York City . “We bought food; set dressings; rented and bought materials and equipment; we rented vehicles; hired extras and spent as much as we could here.”

More than 350 extras were hired for the film at an open call at Bloomfield College .

THE COLOR OF MONEY

“I’ve been in casting for four years and since the tax breaks, projects that used to film in Toronto and elsewhere are now filming around here,” said David Waldron, a senior casting associate for Grant Wilfley Casting in New York City , which handled the “Taking Chance” casting. “Now, at busy times like ‘pilot season’ in March, we are scrambling to find people.”

The professional services offered by the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission give the state an edge with producers. The film commission has five full-time and one part-time staff members who assist producers in finding locations and personnel for their projects and troubleshoot during the entire length of the project.

Currently, the state has a $10million cap on the tax credits that can be allocated in any one year as well as a requirement that each production spend at least 60 percent of their budget in New Jersey . The film commission has already reached the cap for this fiscal year.

The state legislature passed a bill this summer to lower the 60 percent requirement to 50 percent; raise the cap to $30million of total tax credits allocated per year, from $10million, and to combine “certain digital media content” with “film production expenses” for the first time.

” New Jersey has been at the forefront of tax incentives from the start,” said Vans Stevenson, senior vice president of state government affairs, for the Motion Picture Association of America, “and if the governor approves adding digital media, it will continue to take a forward, visionary approach.”

The governor has not signed the bill into law yet, and may not. No action is required until the senate is back in session in November, said Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesperson for Gov. Jon Corzine, who said the governor has concerns about the cost, and whether the state would get an appropriate return on investment in terms of job creation.

In the meantime, the film commission is keeping its fingers crossed, because some productions that might like to film in New Jersey may not be able to wait until more tax incentives become available in two years.

“We are hopeful that the legislation will be signed into law because we have a lot of customers for it,” Gorelick said. “It will generate a lot of film productions for the state.”