In a recent story titled “N.J. commission in Limbo”, the Hollywood Reporter cited major budgetary problems surrounding the future of New Jersey’s Motion Picture and Television Commission. The crisis is in light of a proposed 2008-2009 state budget, which fails to include a provision for the Commission. In fact, at the time this issue of P3 went to print, the Commission faced the very real possibility that it would not be funded for the upcoming fiscal year.

That the future of the Garden State’s film commission hangs in the balance makes little sense when its past achievements are considered. Filmmakers are said to spend “upward of $100 million” in New Jersey every year and the Commission has been widely accredited for its success in resourcefully assisting in oversight of the state’s tax credit, along with helping productions with child labor permits and getting licenses for, among other things, theatrical firearms and special effects. The state has housed the production of TV hits like The Sopranos, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Guiding Light and The Electric Company, and big-screen fare such as Be Kind, Rewind, World Trade Center and War Of The Worlds. Undoubtedly, the Governor will need to fit the Commission into his budget if he wants the state to stave off its competitors for these high-profile productions.

New Jersey offers a tax credit of 20 percent of qualified production expenses to companies that produce projects in the state. At least 60 percent of the project’s total expenses, exclusive of postproduction costs, must be incurred for services performed or goods used or consumed in New Jersey, and principal photography of the project must commence within 150 days after the approval of the credit application. Additionally, certain “tangible property” (including the purchase of replacement parts for equipment) used directly and primarily in the production of film and television programs can be exempt from the state’s seven percent sales tax. Finally, the state’s Film Production Assistance Program enables film projects to be eligible for various loan guarantees through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

While the future of the Commission is currently up in the air, a great deal of hopefulness remains. Stephen Gorelick, Associate Director with the New Jersey Film Office says, “The budget process is still continuing and with the support of the administration and the legislature, we are optimistic that we will be funded for the next fiscal year.” 

NEW YORK

“The entertainment industry plays an important role in fostering economic growth by promoting our state on movie and television screens across the world,” New York Governor David A. Paterson announced during April’s seventh annual Tribeca Film Festival. Shortly after, the governor signed revolutionary legislation greatly expanding New York’s Empire State film production tax credit program, with the hope of luring even more TV and film production to a state where the industry currently creates billions of dollars worth of economic activity a year. Such a high level of production, Paterson acknowledges, is “vital” to the state’s economy. 

The “Empire State Film Production Credit”, the state’s official tax credit, now provides a refundable 30 percent tax credit on in-state below-the-line costs for qualified feature films, episodic television, pilots and television movies/miniseries. For filmmakers who have their eye on New York City, the “Made in New York” program provides an additional 5 percent credit for production within the city’s five boroughs; it’s the first city in the country to offer an additional tax incentive bonus. Both “Empire State” and “Made in New York” apply to qualified production costs for work incurred in the state and/or the city and both share similar qualifications. For a feature film or television project, the production must shoot at a set, on a stage, at a qualified facility within the state, and complete 75 percent of the total facility related expenses at a qualified facility. For location work, postproduction, and costs of other work done in the state but outside of the facility (or the city), at least 75 percent of location shooting days must take place within New York or the production must spend at least $3 million on work incurred at the qualified facility. The production is eligible for the additional 5 percent credit if the facility is in New York City and 75 percent of location days take place within the city as well.

With any luck, the new state legislation will help the state compete with neighboring states that are fighting to offer ever more aggressive incentive packages. The new legislation essentially triples the percentage of qualified film production costs eligible for the credit (from 10 percent to 30 percent). It also extends the program, initially set to expire in 2011, for an additional two years, and raises the aggregate amount awarded under the credit during a calendar year from $60 million to $110 million incrementally over the next six years until 2013. All of this sounds great to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who declared the expansion to be “good news for New York City.”

Boosted efforts to attract production don’t necessarily mean that the state has been suffering from lack of production. “There were 28,594 NYC shooting days in 2007 — down from the all time high of 2006 in part due to the WGA strike, but nonetheless the third most active year in city history,” says Mark McKennon, a NYC/metro location scout and manager who operates The Location Station, a full-service locations endeavor for film, commercial, TV, video and print production in New York. Just last year, McKennon was on set as NY location manager for Nu Image/Millenium Films feature film, Blonde Ambition, starring Jessica Simpson, which shot on Broadway, between E. 22nd and E. 23rd St. New York sees hundreds of feature films each year, which have included I Am Legend, Michael Clayton, American Gangster and The Departed, just to name a few.

All in all, New York is a dynamic state, one that will surely remain strong and competitive for years to come. Governor Paterson, perhaps, says it best. Despite all the fierce competition facing the state, domestically and internationally, he insists, "”New Yorkers never go down without a fight, and with the significantly expanded state film tax credit I announced today, New York will continue to serve as the most fascinating backdrop in the world.”

In April, Deluxe Laboratories officially cut the ribbon for “Deluxe New York”, their state-of-the-art motion picture laboratory and EFILM® Digital Intermediate Facility in New York City. Attending the festivities were Mayor Michael Bloomberg, investor Ronald O. Perelman, Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal, Ethan & Joel Coen, and Brett Ratner. The art motion picture laboratory opens for business in early May, followed by EFILM® digital intermediates, and a full range of digital mastering services in June to support the needs of the feature film, long form television, and commercial production community. “We are excited about entering the market,” says Deluxe President and CEO, Cyril Drabinsky.  The film laboratory is set to be one of the largest motion picture film laboratories in the United States outside of Hollywood, housing 35mm and 16mm processing and printing, HD telecine and mastering, along with an EFILM® Digital Intermediate facility.