Sadly, as others have mentioned, the big part of it comes down to money.... and there's probably not a whole heckuva lot you can do about that part.
My home state, Alabama, has some stunning film locations. Some things you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else (and I realize almost everyone else can truthfully say that about the places they live, too).
However, we have no tax or other monetary incentives for filmmakers. Zero. Zip. Nada.
Our state's "film commission" is virtually non-existent. I'm pretty sure it's just one guy in a folding chair at a card table in an unused utility closet in the statehouse. They
might give him a telephone, not even sure about that.
Ergo, it's only once in a blue moon that we ever have a movie made here... even rarer for a major motion picture. I can practically count on one hand the legit big films that have done any shooting here in the last recent memory. Even films that are made
about the stories, people, places, or things here are usually shot somewhere else. Money.
Our little company produces mostly broadcast commercials, and we handle a
lot of political advertising. Each and every time we handle a candidate (or incumbent) that might be able to do something about it (governer, lieutenant gov, state representatives, senators) we always find some time during a shoot to quietly take him or her aside, explain the situation and the
huge opportunities the state is missing, and beg them to do something about it.
They always seem enthusiastic, nod in agreement, and promise to "look into it."
Invariably, they never do.
Sigh.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
