The news of the past few months has been filled with film and television productions announcing plans to film in North Carolina. The excitement began to build last October when the 3D adventure film “Journey 2: They Mysterious Island,” directed by Brad Peyton, announced that it would shoot in Wilmington. Over the next few months, additional projects, such as the feature film “Hick” and the ABC Family film “A Cinderella Story” made plans to film in North Carolina. Where before the lead story on North Carolina’s film industry was about the loss of business to other states, slowly a new picture seems to have taken shape: one of a hopeful, yet cautious, optimism that the state’s film industry is heading for a renaissance.
Most industry insiders assign credit for the state’s increase in film and TV business to the recently expanded 25 percent tax incentive for productions. Others have also pointed to the shaky state of affairs in many states that had previously been vigorous competitors for production business. With Hollywood uncertain as the long-term viability of some state’s production industries (and more specifically, their tax incentives), it seems North Carolina has emerged as one of the prime beneficiaries.
We spoke with a variety of the state’s production industry insiders to discuss what all this means. Some offered off-the-record viewpoints, and some chose to sit this discussion out altogether, because of concern that it may still be too soon to tell where things are headed. (And maybe there’s a bit of superstition, that saying something might jinx it – like baseball players who don’t mention anything when a pitcher is in the midst of a no-hitter.) But some – principally the state’s film commissioners, who are tasked with recruiting new production business for the state and its various regions – offered their take on the situation.
To start with, Aaron Syrett, Director of the North Carolina Film Office, said that through the first three months of 2011, the state has at least tripled the amount of production than all of 2010.
“This will be the busiest year North Carolina has seen in over a decade,” said Syrett. “And if some of the projects we are close to landing get greenlit and shoot in North Carolina, it may be the busiest year in the history of the state.”
He provided a list of more than a dozen productions that have either already filmed in North Carolina this year, or were planning to within the next few weeks. (The list at left details most of the film and TV projects that have been announced so far.) Syrett credits the state’s film incentive, but also, the certainty of the incentive, for helping boost the state’s production levels.
“Productions know what they will get when they come to North Carolina,” said Syrett. “That, coupled with the infrastructure, makes North Carolina among the top five states in the conversation when producers are looking for a place to shoot.”
Rebecca Clark, Director of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission, agreed that it’s the state’s expanded incentive that has led to increased production interest.
“We’ve always had a great reputation as a filmmaking state with many resources, fabulous locations and a great crew base,” she said, “but the initial and most important consideration for film producers when trying to determine where to film is the amount of film incentives an area can offer.”
In fact, Syrett also said that because some of the states with “monster” incentives are now facing budget difficulties and wavering on whether they can actually fulfill their incentive commitments, production inquiries are pushed along to North Carolina.
“The slightest uncertainty a studio has in a program will make them rethink a jurisdiction,” said Syrett. “They need certainty and right now North Carolina is one of the states that offer that level of certainty.”
With the increase in productions, of course, comes an increase in jobs. In recent years, many crew members moved to other states with aggressive incentive programs, such as Louisiana or Georgia, to work on the large numbers of productions happening there. With this latest uptick, that trend might soon be reversing.
“People had to go where the work was. Lucky for us they kept their homes in North Carolina,” said Syrett. “We are seeing the migration back home. They want to be in North Carolina with their families and work at home. Because of the incentive that is starting to happen. Jobs are coming back, people are coming back and so is the tax base.”
As for where the bulk of the state’s production business is heading, it’s no surprise that Wilmington is leading the charge. Wilmington has a larger and longer history in TV and film, said Syrett, and has essentially been supporting the entire southeast with its infrastructure.
“When it comes down to filmmakers making a decision on where to film in North Carolina, Wilmington currently is benefitting far more than any other area in the state,” said Clark. “Wilmington has a great reputation for its deep crew base and film production companies generally tend to consider that area first because of the crew and sound stages.”
But it’s also clear that many other regions of the state may – and already have – benefit from the expanded incentive program.
“I think you will see dramatic growth in Charlotte, Asheville and the Piedmont,” said Syrett. “Through the incentive it is now cost effective to shoot in those areas and you will see companies that support the industry and film professionals migrate and that will help sustain productions in those areas.”
