I.E. film commission seeking Hollywood movie-production tax incentive
The number of Hollywood feature-film movies being shot in the Inland Empire is dwindling, but the Riverside-based Inland Empire Film Commission is determined to do something about that.
"It's called run-away production," said Dan Taylor, deputy director of the commission. "We've seen a decrease in the amount of feature films being shot throughout the state."
That's a big loss for the local economy. When the film industry shoots movies, a small army of workers -- caterers, assistants, make-up artists -- is needed on site, which puts money into the community.
California, Taylor says, doesn't have a movie tax incentive like other states do. Even foreign countries like Canada and Mexico are luring movie productions away from our state.
"(Film producers) can go to Mexico and get a 25-percent tax rebate," he said. "On a $100 million film, that's a lot of money."
The commission is working with organizations like Film Liaisons in California Statewide and California Film Commission to get an incentives package passed in the state legislature.
Between 2000 and 2002, almost 40 big-time films were shot in the Inland Empire. Less than half that amount were produced locally between 2003 and 2005. Nine were shot in 2006, the most-recent number the commission has on record.
"It shows they're leaving the state," Taylor said. "We get calls from station managers saying they know we have the look in our area for their film, but they've been instructed by producers to not scout in California because it's too expensive."
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