Cut! That’s not a director yelling on the set of a movie being filmed in Maryland. It’s what Gov. Martin O’Malley’s $30 billion budget did to the Employer Wage Rebate Program fund.

The move slashes the fund by around 40 percent. Last year, the allotment of about $6.75 million helped to lure the filming of movies such as Bruce Willis’ newest installment of the “Die Hard” series to the Free State.

But with the funding slash, crews that worked last year could be looking at a tough future in Maryland.

“I had a difficult time in explaining to the crew that they will be losing benefits, health plans, pension plans, and they are revamping their lifestyles to move out of Maryland,” said Rosemarie M. Levy, business agent for the Mid-Atlantic Studio Mechanics and Broadcast Technicians Local 487, which represents more than 500 technicians in Maryland.

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Hannah Byron, the assistant secretary for tourism, film and the arts in Maryland, told The Examiner that the film industry contributed more than $155 million in economic impact to the state during fiscal 2006. Despite this dollar figure, the Local 487 looked for an increase in this year’s total Wage Rebate Fund. The union hoped for a boost to around $12 million for fiscal 2008.

In 2006 alone, the Local 487 said films such as “Man of the Year,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Hairspray” rejected Maryland based on its available incentive package compared with other states.

“It is going to affect our ability to bring in the major productions,” Byron said of the funding cut. “It’s been a very important tool in our toolbox.”

In a letter Levy addressed to the House Economic Matters Committee on March 6, she stated that the workers are “losing their ability to support themselves and their families.” The letter states that in 2005, members of Local 487 earned $5.3 million in income but only $3.8 million in 2006. Levy hoped to use this substantial drop as a key part of her argument to boost the funding.

Instead, she now has to plan outside the box to try to keep the workers she represents employed.

“When one door closes, I like to think another door opens,” Levy said. “I just need to find that door.”

dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com