Incentives called key to luring movie crews

Tax breaks and other financial incentives for film and TV production companies might be viewed as extra money for the rich, but several experts said Wednesday that incentives often decide which locations get productions — and their spending.

The issue of "runaway" productions, or those occurring outside the United States, was discussed at the National Conference of State Legislatures at the Salt Palace. Utah and several other states have seen a drop in the number of productions as companies have ventured elsewhere for a variety of reasons.

Melissa Gilbert, an actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild, said productions have a ripple effect on local economies, from hotels to doctors, from pharmacies to restaurants, from retail outlets to jobs for local residents. Regarding tax breaks, she said it is "absolutely shortsighted not to see that the benefits of doing so pay off in the form of new and welcome revenue."

"Billions of dollars in tax revenue and money paid for goods and services have been lost to runaway productions," she told the crowd of about 75. "All but a handful of movies-of-the-week are done outside the U.S. Once a great source of employment, they're gone, taking only a few (stars) with them."

She noted that "Chicago" was filmed in Toronto and "Cold Mountain" was shot in Romania.

"Don't think for a minute that locations in your state, while historical and picturesque, cannot be replicated anywhere in the world. They can be, they are and they will continue to be," Gilbert said.

Panelists said several factors can decide a production's location, including financial incentives, the availability of talent, construction costs, the director's preference and currency exchange rates.

Lisa Rawlins, senior vice president of studio and production affairs for Warner Bros. Entertainment, said "Logan's Run" will be done in Australia because of low construction costs. "Third Watch" is made in New York City because that setting is vital to the show's content.

"The reality is . . . these shows are budget-driven, television in particular, and they are going to go wherever they can to get the most value on the screen for the dollars they spend. . . . The shows are always looking for an opportunity to save whatever budget dollars they can," Rawlins said.

But productions spend locally in the millions, she said.

"If you bring a show in, aside and apart from incidentals that are spent by a cast and crew, a production company will spend millions of dollars on location. My department tracks every dollar that we spend on location anywhere we shoot, and it's never in the tens of thousands of dollars. It's in the millions, every time," she said.