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Other states aggressive in offering incentives to filmmakers
Native Dayton filmmaker says that incentives do influence producers decision where to shoot movie.
> Film Dayton see Gem City as a magnet for movie, TV production
Sunday, August 17, 2008
DAYTON — As a native of the area, artist and filmmaker J. Todd Anderson says he believes Dayton can attract film projects if it offers the right incentives.
"If they want to make movies in Dayton, they're going to have to compete," Anderson said. "It's a tough market out there because all these states are offering huge incentives, financial incentives."
But, having been involved in such films as "Leatherheads" and "No Country for Old Men," he knows that incentives do influence a producer's decisions. And the industry isn't wedded to making films in Hollywood. During the last three years, he said, he has been involved in feature film projects that were shot in Santa Fe, N.M.; Ann Arbor, Mich. and Seattle, among others.
The inducements don't necessarily have to be financial, he said. The region does offer other benefits, such as strong locations. He recalls, for example, walking downtown on a summer day a couple of years ago and thinking how much the city reminded him at the time of Universal Studio's back lot.
"We could shoot this," he thought at the time.
If the region really wants to attract film projects, Anderson said, its leaders will need to "think really out of the box and offer incentives no one can match," he said.
Organizers of Film Dayton, an effort to support movie making in the area, believe Dayton has other advantages such as Wright State University's film program, film producers and trained crew and production facilities, said Debra Wilburn, a vice president Film Dayton. Dayton Daily News Assistant Managing Editor Ron Rollins is the other vice president for Film Dayton.
Wilburn added that the importance of financial incentives shouldn't be underestimated.
"That's something that's very important to any business," Wilburn said. "It is — for a lot of people not in it — a romantic business. But it is a business. It's part of our economy.
"It really feels like an idea whose time has come here in Dayton," she said.
And apparently for Ohio.
In December 2007, the state launched the Ohio Film Office with Christina Grozik as its director and sole employee. The office markets the state as a production site for feature movies, music videos, training videos and television shows, among other projects, Grozik said. A major economic benefit of these projects, she said, is the money they pump into the economy through spending at hotels, restaurants, catering and other services, she said.
When trying to bring film projects to Ohio, Grozik said she points out its inventory of varied locations, from urban areas to hills, all in close proximity to one another, as well as the relative ease of permitting.
Ohio has no tax credits or other financial inducements in place for film producers. However, a bill introduced in April in the Ohio House calls for a tax credit for feature-length films, television series and commercials.
Other states provide a mix of tax credits and other inducements to bring film projects within their borders. Among them:
• Michigan offers a variety of inducements such as a 40 percent refundable tax credit on money spent in the state as well as tax credits for infrastructure and training, according to the film office's web site.
• New Mexico refunds 25 percent of the sales taxes spent by filmmakers in the state and, for projects up to $15 million, offers no-interest loans, according to the state's film office. The state has attracted such projects as "No Country for Old Men," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins."
• In Louisiana, a study by Economics Research Associates of Chicago found that spending in the state on film production jumped from $7.5 million in 2003 to $343.8 million in 2005. The study also found that every $1 spent on films generated another $1.85 in spending in the state.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7317 or ttresslar@DaytonDailyNews.com.
