Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

www.MPBusinessMag.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com MPB mp business I n the mid-90s, South Carolina was one of the most sought-after states to film in for its dependable, local crew and variety of beautiful locations. With the rise of incentives beginning in 2002, however, the state soon lost out to competition around the country — but we are slowly building our way back up. To get there, we need more funding to offer production companies, as more funding means steadier jobs and exponentially more money put back into the economy. And 2020 could be our year thanks to the dedicated members of The Carolina Film Alliance (CFA) and South Carolina Film Commission. Tommy Melton, publisher of The Southeast Film Guide and board member of the CFA, a nonprofit membership organization aimed at advocating for the state’s TV and film business, said, “I’ve been in the industry for almost 20 years and it has radically changed, mainly because of rebates, which are now essentially required by any state hoping to get film projects to shoot in their area.” In the mid to late ‘90s, Canada a way to entice filmmakers to do business in the great white north through the favorable exchange rate. The implementation became so wildly successful that within a decade, the country had built their own industry. Several states soon followed suit with their own rebate system, and the term “runaway productions” was coined to describe films and television productions that were filmed outside of Hollywood, California — or even other countries — intended for initial release in the U.S. Surpassing even California’s $330 million in transferable tax credits per year, in 2018, Georgia took top honors as the state to film in with the most incentive funding, not to mention more than 50 filming facilities, including nearly 40 sound stages. So how much would such boycotts impact the state? Immensely. “Y’allywood” offers upward of $800 million dollars in trasferrable tax credits a year, and its record- breaking 455 productions equates to billions — the state has claimed a $9.5 billion economic impact in fiscal 2017, with a direct spend of $2.7 billion — poured back into the economy from 320 film and television productions. New York trails with nearly $400 million in refundable tax credits, and, in comparison, South Carolina offers $15.5 million. It wasn’t until 2013 that South Carolina started a competitive wage rebate with 25% cash return on residential workers’ wages, 20% on out-of-state, 30% on local supplies with 25% on out-of-state supplies. There have been a number of provisos on how the money was allocated to bring the state to our 2019 funding total that solely goes to the film rebates. The CFA has high hopes for funding to increase, or at least double, to $30 million for 2020, which would put South Carolina more in line with North Carolina, which currently has $31 million to offer. BY TERI ERRICO GRIFFIS Making ’Hollywood ’ Happen in South Carolina