Special Issues
Dear VPA and Industry member,
I wanted to update you on the outcome of the General Assembly session that just concluded. The session produced two major items for the industry. First, we received a $200,000.00 funding for each year of the upcoming two year budget. $400,000.00 total for the incentive fund. Secondly, our sales tax exemption was extended until 2019. This represents an unprecedented 10 year renewal!! We did have other initiatives that were carried over until next year. They involved grants and tax credits. We knew they would not be immediately implemented so the fact they were carried over is a positive event.
The incentive funding may lead one to believe the Assembly does not support our industry. However, close examination of the facts demonstrates an entirely different story. The Commonwealth of Va. faced a budget deficit of 1 to 2 billion dollars. The fact we received any funding clearly shows the Assembly does support us and did what they could given the circumstances. The 10 year renewal of the sales tax exemption reinforces that fact. The General Assembly of Va. does understand our business and was very supportive during this session. Thank your legislator for their efforts when you follow up with them during the coming weeks.
I want to thank all members of the VPA, the Task Force and other industry professionals for their active support and contributions to the lobbying fund. We mobilized as never before and each of you made a huge difference. I have never seen a more energized group of people. Legislators took note. I would also like to thank Advantus Strategies, Bud Oakey, David Anderson and Josh Myers, for their active efforts and effective strategies. Together, we made great strides this year in our efforts to educate and motivate legislators.
In conclusion, we are reviewing the Assembly outcome and will start to develop the strategy for the coming year. This was just the beginning of our plan to keep the industry vibrant and cohesive. Please stay involved as we prep for next year.
Thanks again for your efforts and support. You made a difference.
If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Terry L. Stroud
Chairman
Virginia Production Alliance
804-344-5623
A letter from Mark Joy, Film Incentives Task Force.
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A letter from the VPA to Virginia Businesses
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View the current Donors List
The Virginia Production Alliance Needs You!
The film and video industry is in a constant state of change and the Virginia Production Alliance is committed to addressing issues involved in the industry.
What can be done?
All of us who have had our lives touched in any way by media production in Virginia must make our voices heard!
Please go here to find seven simple things that we all must do to help change the situation in Virginia.
Then – help us to pass the word on to others who care about media production in the state. This includes friends and colleagues, and businesses that you have worked with.
If you want to become even more involved, email info@filmva.com, and we’ll tell you how!
The Need for Incentives
Recently a screenwriter came to Virginia to research the story of Secretariat, the legendary triple-crown winner, for a possible Walt Disney production in the near future. Chances are very good that this quintessentially Virginia film about a local legend will be filmed elsewhere!
Why? Because Virginia does not have an incentive program that can compete with 38 other states that do have programs!
The reality of film and television production in the world today revolves around financial incentives. At one time, production companies cared first about locations, crew and support services. Now the first question they ask is “do you have incentives?” If you don’t they will go somewhere else – even if it means re-writing a script for another location.
This situation has reached a crisis point for Virginia production. Crew members who have worked in the state for years are working in other states to support themselves and their families. They are in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and North and South Carolina. Actors are out of work and businesses are closing – all because Virginia has lost its competitive advantage.
What can be done? We must all work together to inform our legislators that the situation is critical. Action must be taken before it’s TOO LATE! The Virginia Production Alliance is leading a campaign designed to inform and influence our legislators about this vitally important issue!
What can you do?
Here are SEVEN SIMPLE THINGS that WE ALL NEED TO DO!
1. Get Informed!
Go here for Incentives 101 – a crash course in what incentives are and how they work.
Go here for talking points – These are the facts you will need to know in order to communicate effectively with your friends, colleagues and legislators.
2. Stay Informed!
The Virginia Production Alliance has created two ways for you to receive and share information. They are the VPA listserve which will send information to you by email, and the VPA Forum – an online message board located on the website.
Sign up for one or both to get the most up-to-date information.
Go here to sign up for the Listserve
Go here to join the VPA Forum message board
3. Contact your elected state representatives by phone or in writing
Nothing influences government officials more than personal contact from their constituencies. You might think the voice of one person won’t change anything, but you would be wrong. We know that our greatest hope in getting what we need is to make ourselves heard. Call, write, email or visit your legislator. WE MUST MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD!
There’s no excuse for not doing this RIGHT NOW! It will take less than a minute for you to send a message to BOTH of your state legislators. Don’t believe us? Just click on the link below. Choose “Who’s My Legislator” and enter your name and address. Information about your legislators will immediately appear, along with the option to send them an email. It’s that simple. Really. Do it now – don’t wait!
Go here to send an email to your legislators, or to find out how to contact them via phone or in person.
Go here for a sample email that you can adapt to send.
4. Contact your elected state representatives in person
Every Virginia Senator and Delegate needs to be contacted in person – preferably by someone in their own district. Hearing your personal story and the influence that the flight of film work to other jurisdictions has had on your life can make all the difference in the world! You can make an appointment to visit them in their home offices in 2007 and at their Richmond offices during the session, January and February 2008. However, you are much more likely see them in person at their home offices.
If you are planning on making a personal visit, please email us at info@filmva.com so we can keep track of which representatives have been contacted.
5. Join the VPA!
We need to show that we are a strong and vital industry
Your dues will help the Alliance to create and launch valuable programs, and your name on the roster will help to demonstrate the strength and depth of Virginia’s production industry.
Memberships are $40 for individuals, $125 for corporations (which includes three individual memberships) and $15 for students. Join today and your membership will be good through December, 2008.
Go here for membership information or to join online.
6. Donate to the cause
For about the price of a movie and some popcorn, you can really make a difference. Any donation you make to the Virginia Production Alliance will be used to help the fight to pass legislation benefiting our industry. Mounting a campaign like this takes money, and the VPA could use donations of any size.
Go here to make a donation.
7. Tell Your Friends and Colleagues
We need all the help we can get. Please help by contacting your friends and colleagues and asking them to make their voices heard on this important issue. Crew members, actors, and businesses that benefit from production are all important to the cause.
States with Incentive Programs
States Without Incentive Programs
Virginia has an incentive plan which is not currently funded.
THE INCENTIVE STORY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
In order to influence Virginia’s lawmakers, it’s important that everyone is well informed about the issues. Here’s some basic information that will help you to make the case.
What do we want?
We want financial incentives that will encourage projects to shoot in Virginia. This includes projects from outside the state and also projects that originate within the state but that would film elsewhere without incentives. Projects such as feature films, mini-series, documentaries and episodic television would be eligible to receive incentives.
Why does Virginia need this?
Virginia has a very healthy film and video production industry that brings $600 million in economic impact into the state each year and also provides jobs for thousands of Virginians. However, without media incentives, this very valuable and lucrative industry will leave Virginia for other states.
What is an incentive?
An incentive is essentially an investment by a government in an industry. In the case of Virginia, we are asking for a grant to be provided to qualified companies that film here. The grant will be performance-based. This is important, because it means that it is based entirely on the number of Virginian’s hired and the amount of goods and services purchased. In other words, the amount of the grant is tied to jobs created for Virginians and revenue brought into the Commonwealth. The production company does not receive its money until filming is complete. To quote the film commissioner from the mighty state of Mississippi, “They don’t get a dime until they give us a dollar!”
Doesn’t Virginia already have an incentive program?
Virginia has the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund which was established by the General Assembly in 1998. Since then it has had a few small appropriations, but currently has no available funds in it.
Has the fund been successful?
Given the fact that it has had less than $2 million dollars in it for the entire ten years it’s been on the books, the fund has had relatively positive results. Projects that have received small grants include Gods and Generals, Iron Jawed Angels, Familiar Strangers, Beast of Burden, John Adams, Cry Wolf, Lake City, Bedford Documentary, and Special Forces: The Untold Story. We are especially pleased that the fund has benefited a wide range of productions including feature films, television movies, mini-series and independent films originating from within the state. The economic impact to the state from this $2 million investment is $118 million.
What are our competitors doing?
Thirty – nine states including Virginia now have incentive legislation on the books. When we established our fund in 1998, we were one of the very first states to have incentives. Our legislature was congratulated for its forward-thinking policies. However, we are now at the very bottom of this list in terms of the amount of funding available because, at this time there is no funding for Virginia incentives.
ALL of our closest competitors including Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Pennsylvania have incentives. In fact Maine and Alabama are the only states on the Eastern seaboard, from Maine through Louisiana, without incentives.
Why should Virginia give money to Hollywood?
Although it might seem like giving money to Hollywood, media incentives are really so much more. They are an investment in an industry that does a lot of good for the state. In fact, rather than giving money to Hollywood, the fund actually brings Hollywood to Virginia, which results in new money for the state in the form of wages and money spent at area businesses.
Qualified companies will not receive a grant from Virginia until they come here and spend money on a variety of items including hotels, accommodations, car and furniture rentals, antiques and furniture, hardware, dining, groceries, transportation, production equipment and lumber. After they have spent money here, a small portion of it will be returned.
Why should the Virginia legislature pass media incentives?
You’re mother probably told you that, just because your friends are doing something doesn’t mean that you have to do it too. Sound familiar? Unfortunately – that’s pretty much how the situation is in Virginia.
If all of our competitors are offering some kind of financial incentive, we must do it too, or our industry will begin to erode. In fact, if you’re a seasoned crew member, you have probably had to leave the state sometime in the past two years to find work. If you’re an actor, you have found that audition and casting opportunities are getting fewer and fewer. If you’ve just graduated from one of Virginia’s 17 media programs, you’re probably having trouble getting your foot in the door. If you work for a media-related business, you may have found that your company has down-sized or closed entirely. It’s the grim and frightening reality of the media business in Virginia today.
What does the state get out of incentives?
It’s pretty simple. It gets jobs for its citizens, tax revenue and economic impact for its communities. Because films, documentaries and television shows are proven drivers of tourism visitation, Virginia also gets additional revenue after the project has been seen by the general public in the form of dollars from visitors. Finally, it gets the opportunity to strengthen an industry that is already one of the best in the state, and is in danger of collapsing without a small investment on the part of our government.
How small an investment?
The truth is that the more money the state has available for media incentives, the greater the impact. A recent study by the VCU Center for Public Policy has shown that for every dollar the state invests, the economic impact is $14.00. (If you could get a 140% return on your investment in the stock market, you would probably jump at the chance!) The bottom line is, the more money that’s in the fund, the more work and revenue we can attract to Virginia.
What’s been happening lately?
THE BOX – Filming in Massachusetts
ICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD – Filming in Maryland
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH – Filming in Tennessee
PONY ISLAND RUN – looking for incentives
BIG STONE GAP – looking for incentives
SECRETARIAT – looking for incentives
Virginia has had many disappointments lately. One is a feature film called The Box¸ directed by Richard Kelly and starring Cameron Diaz. Richard is from Midlothian, and directed Donny Darko, his very successful first film. He was committed to filming The Box in Virginia and did everything he could to make it work. Unfortunately, the studio funding the film finally insisted that he shoot it in Massachusetts where he was offered more than $4 million in incentives.
Another feature film, Ice at the Bottom of the World, was written with Virginia in mind and recently scouted the state. This project, perfect for our state, is filming in Maryland.
Writer, director and producer Rod Lurie has filmed four projects here including the very successful feature film The Contender and the pilots for two ABC television series, Line of Fire and Commander in Chief. Rod loves to shoot here and is very devoted to Virginia. However, he is currently in Tennessee filming his next feature Nothing but the Truth, because Virginia could not offer him any significant incentives. In addition, he also plans on shooting his next film, Straw Dogs, in Tennessee.
Three other films that tell Virginia stories are currently in development. They are Pony Island Run set at Chincoteague, the screen adaptation of Adriana Trigiani’s book Big Stone Gap, and the Disney feature Secretariat. All three of these films are in danger of being taken to other locations based on film incentives.
It’s hard to believe, but Virginia has lost $1 billion in potential economic impact from films, television shows, and documentaries which choose to film in other state’s and countries because of incentives.