Film productions need to see "green" in Florida once again!

This week, Florida's entertainment industry and the overall state economy, has a chance for a rebirth and climb back to its rightful place at the top.  House Bill 697 (Entertainment Industry Economic Development) is going to the floor before the House in the next few days.  If passed, the entire state of Florida stands to benefit.    

Rep. Kevin Ambler has been one of the driving forces behind getting this bill into legislation as co-sponsor.  A former entertainment lawyer, Ambler has shown since 2003, that he knows the value of the film industry and how it can help Florida's economy.  Speaking at numerous film festivals, and taking part in an array of conferences over the last year.  Ambler's passion and knowledge has been contagious to the other House members as well as film industry professionals all over the state.  

“If you don’t fight for your seat at the table, you will end up on the menu.”    

That statement is what he has been trying to impress upon all the filmmakers in Florida.  Most recently, at the Gasparilla International Film Festival: 

"We (State Reps.) will respond to your input.  Social networking sites and email blasts are your tools. Tell the legislators to vote on the passing of this bill."   

To see where the state of Florida currently stands, read a brief history in this article. 

So the natural question many people in the Senate continue to ask is how can the entertainment industry help the entire state's economy?  To many, this seems like a foolish question, but as we were all taught years ago...there is no such thing as a dumb question.  But there is an easy answer.  By having productions come to Florida to either shoot a movie and/or TV series, these crews will be spending money in Florida.  Hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. all benefit.  

Another issue the Senate raises is how funds should be allocated in the overall budget for Florida.  In other words, will the passing of this bill force budget competition with schools, healthcare and public safety.  The way the bill is structured with tax incentives, enables the same amount of funds to still be available for all the other programs in the state.  Don't take my word for it, listen to the main man(Ambler) behind the bill...

"The tax credit removes the incentive program from having to compete annually with fiscal appropriations under the legislative budget and avoids pitting the choice of funding film and television industry incentives against health care, education, and public safety."   

Despite the Senate having some concerns, arguably the most important man to convince is already on board and ready to sign the bill.  Governor Charlie Crist...

"Anything we can do in our administration to help the great artist in Florida, my office is here to do it.  Not only do the hard-working people of Florida benefit from this bill in getting jobs, jobs, jobs; The state of Florida is advertised all over the world which is priceless."  
 

Gov. Crist is ready to ink this bill when it finally passes through all the legislation hoops.  Crist did take some backlash in approving $20 million for Wyndcrest Holdings (parent company of Digital Domain), to open a studio here in Florida.  How that deal was handled was a hot topic six months ago, but it clearly had to be done.  And you'll understand why in a minute.

In speaking with the actual talent (Producers, actors, etc.), they're hoping they can once again film in this great state and use the talent being cultivated right here.

"It hurt to have to leave FL to shoot in Connecticut. It truly hurt.  But Conn. gave us $12 million to make our film there.  Getting tax credits in Conn. for example was the easiest thing I’ve done.  In this state (FL), I have to do stupid human tricks. It’s crazy.” ---Lou Maggio, Executive Producer of Maven Films. 

"It is still all about location, location, location.  Sure places like Digital Domain can recreate aspects of FL…but that means the budget goes up for a production.  I want my students to stay here, but I have to tell them to go to states with tax incentives." ---Prof. Tom Garrett, University of Tampa/Producer.

Currently, the Florida incentives are in the neighborhood of $10-11 million.  One big movie production and/or TV series can wipe that out in one shot.  Raising the budget to the proposed $75 million over 3 years is just part of the solution.  One of the many positive goals of this bill is to keep Florida talent working.  Having an outside production just walk in, shoot, and then leave, is not going to help in the long-run.  Enter in Digital Domain Studios.

Digital Domain Chairman, John Textor, announced that the visual effects studio is building a 150,000 square-foot facility in Port St. Lucie.  Therefore, post-production can now be used as another lure to get more business pumped into the Florida economy.  He envisions not only keeping the students enrolled in the excellent film schools all over the state, but also attracting people in L.A. who want to cut their cost-of-living down.  You simply get more bang for your buck when comparing Florida to California.  Both Textor and Ambler believe that the greatest attraction to filming in Florida is the upcoming students and/or talent in the top-notch programs all around us.  Not the beaches.

"I saw the talent in FL while touring schools in the state.  Instead of getting the kids to come to L.A. and go broke, why not bring the tools to the talent in FL."---John Textor, Chairman of Digital Domain
 

And they are, despite a small resistance from other legislators last year.  We won't call anyone out in this column today.  However, we will give a list of people that all concerned filmmakers and businesses should contact to help get this initiative done.  Even though Rep. Ambler is confident, this initiative could still go South (no pun intended).  Be vocal to these guys:

House Speaker Larry Cretul, Rep. Ron Reagan, Rep. Adam Hasner, Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Rep. Bill Galvano, Rep. Elyn Bogdanoff, Rep. David Rivera, Rep. Dean Cannon, Rep. Will Weatherford, Rep. Steven Precourt, Rep. Jennifer Carroll, Rep. Rich Glorioso, Rep. Faye Culp, Rep. Ed Homan, Rep. John Legg, Rep. Tom Anderson, Rep. Peter Nehr, Rep. Ed Hooper, Rep. Jim Frisch, and Rep. Kevin Ambler.  (All can be found at www.myfloridahouse.gov)

"Reach out to your Legislators."---Graham Winick, President of Film Florida.

Finally, here are a few other details about the HB 697 and how this will help filmmakers:

Three platforms qualify for this incentive package (Film, TV, and Digital Media).   $12 million dollar cap per project.  Audits will be done for outside projects in accordance with having a certain amount of FL residents working on the project.  Once again, don't take my "reporting" for it, here is a statement Rep. Ambler sent me, which we will use as the "closing argument."

“This bill is absolutely critical if Florida has any hope of regaining its place as a major contender for film and television productions in the U.S. It is a significant plank in our plan to effectively diversify Florida’s economy, and it provides the support that is necessary to attract a greater presence by a clean industry that has a verified return on investment for every incentive dollar spent of nearly 7 to 1. That is a great investment. Under the current entertainment industry incentive program, Florida does not even rank in the top 25 states for its percentage rebate or the amount of funding allocated. HB 697 with its base incentive (20%) will put us in the top 10, and with the bonus structure (additional 10%), it places us in the top 5. The amount of funding allocated under the bill for the first year will place Florida in the top 10. These factors combined with the significant infrastructure that already exists around the state, along with a highly trained and skilled industry work force, will put Florida back on top as a leading destination in the country for film and television productions. It is also essential that Florida convert over to the transferable tax credit instead of the current cash rebate. The tax credit has the flexibility of extending beyond the one year fiscal year boundary which is more conducive to the industry's longer planning time horizons for choosing production locations. The tax credit should also provide greater stability and continuity of funding which demonstrates to the entertainment industry a long term commitment to encouraging industry growth and investment in Florida. Finally, the bill includes a substantial increase in funding (up from the current $10 million to $55 million)--this is essential if Florida is serious about attracting enough projects to the state on an on-going basis to keep the production pipeline full throughout the year and therefore ensures that the indigenous labor force has a steady stream of regular work. Without sufficient projects being attracted into Florida to keep the production pipeline active throughout the year, Florida will continue to see the exodus of its best labor and talent to other states where the film incentives are much more effective in attracting new production projects." ---Rep. Kevin Ambler