07.09.08
Written by Frank and Margie Barron Wednesday, 09 July 2008 Louisiana  Southern hospitality, along with Louisiana’s 25 percent transferable income tax credits, have productions flocking to the state, which helped start the growing trend in offering incentives. The 25 percent tax credit is for expenditures from Louisiana vendors. Labor costs qualify and an additional 10 percent employment credit is offered on the portion of the payroll for in-state residents. Plus, there’s a state infrastructure tax credit of 40 percent for qualifying investments. That has helped the overall production industry make giant leaps forward. Filmmakers are praising the Louisiana infrastructure, increasingly growing deep crew base, and the diverse locales throughout the state. Brad Pitt recently shot The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in New Orleans ─ as well as Jefferson Parish ─ thanks to the studio facilities that service southeast Louisiana. Sean Penn also knows the Jeff Parish area, since he did All the Kings Men, praising the shoot as “a pleasant experience.” Along with New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Southwest and Northeast Louisiana ─ among other areas ─ have friendly and helpful film commissioners who assist the many productions traversing the state. Baton Rouge Film Commission’s Amy Mitchell-Smith says that old fashion, southern hospitality and the diversity of locations keeps filmmakers coming back to the state. “And with the steady flow of productions ─ thanks to the incentive programs ─ our crew base is very strong. Plus, we now have the Celtic Media Center, a full service studio complex.” A big help to filmmakers is Louisiana Economic Development’s (LED) high-tech “FastLane” service, which provides online submittal and tracking of applications for two of the state’s most popular business incentives. LED is the first state economic development department to offer online electronic processing for the entire incentive application process. Recent productions include: I Love You Phillip Morris, Cirque du Freak, 12 Rounds, Billy the Exterminator, Cadillac Records, Drones, and Lightning Strikes. |