It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
When you think filming locations for movies, you probably imagine the glittering back lots of Hollywood, not the rolling plains of Missouri. This week, we explore the film industry in Missouri. Today we kick off a three part series about incentives for filmmakers shooting in the Show Me State with KSMU’s Brett Moser.
Mark Biggs knows film in Missouri. In addition to serving as the head of the theatre and dance department at Missouri State University, Biggs is the acting chair of the Missouri Film Commission.
The film commission was created in the late 80s as part of the Missouri Department for Economic Development. Biggs says in those days, the board’s role was to promote film festivals and film tourism, not to bring productions to the state. However, in the early 90s, he says that began to change.
Now, the commission works closely with productions, and also lobbies in the state legislature to increase tax incentives for film production companies, something Biggs has done personally.
These state tax incentives are a major factor in a production company’s decision on where to film. Biggs says the concept of creating tax incentives is still a relatively new approach.
Biggs states that the structure of tax incentives can be a complex model and varies from state to state. In Missouri, filmmakers who shoot here receive a return of 35%. So with every dollar a production spends in state, they get back 35 cents. As part of the deal, a percentage of the cast and crew must consist of state and local residents, which helps the local economy.
For example, the new George Clooney film Up in the Air recently completed filming in St. Louis, spending close to $14 million in the state. But Biggs says that there’s a limit to the amount of tax credits Missouri can offer.
He says once the pool of money is gone, Missouri can no longer offer tax credits for those productions seeking to film in the state. Up in the Air nearly drained all of the commission’s tax credit funds for the year.
But Biggs says it’s not just about tax breaks. He says filmmakers are also drawn to Missouri’s scenic landscape.
In the past when filmmakers have decided to shoot in Missouri, Biggs says they have commented on the support they’ve received from local communities.
However he says these aspects aren’t enough to make Missouri more of a hotspot for production crews. Biggs says that he believes there needs to be a bigger pool of money for tax incentives in order to bring bigger productions to the state.
