Arkansas film incentives may soon see rewards
by July 15, 2009 2:00 pm 59 views
Arkansas is slowly but surely gaining attention in the film production industry, according to a story from Roby Brock at TalkBusiness.net.
State film commissioner Christopher Crane said Tuesday that Arkansas is now playing in the world of film and digital production thanks to the Digital Product and Motion Picture Industry Development Act signed into law in early April. The Act creates a 15% rebate on qualified production expenditures made in Arkansas. An additional payroll rebate of 10% is available if Arkansas-based cast members and technical crews are used. Projects must exceed $50,000 within a six-month period to qualify.
“We’ve seen a 10 to 20 percent increase just because of the incentive package being passed,” Crane said. “These inquiries have been hard, concrete inquiries that are ready to film.”
States like Missouri, Louisiana and Michigan have much larger financial incentives, but they are geared to bring many projects quickly to those states where a larger film and production workforce exists. Arkansas presently would be pressed to “fully crew” enough skilled workers for more than one major motion picture project, according to Crane.
Will we see significant project announcements soon?
“Without giving too much away, yes. We will have projects in the state immediately,” Crane said emphatically.
Link here for the complete report at TalkBusiness.net.