by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Being able to serve up practically any backdrop other than a mountain range used to keep Florida at the top of movie-makers’ preferred sites.
But as studios got financial incentives to film in other states and countries, Florida faded from the screen. Gone with the wind.
“You have the director who wants to go where he feels creatively it’s the best location for the film,” said Todd Roobin, chief of the Jacksonville Film & Television Office. “Then the directors go into meetings with executives and financial backers, and they’re told where they can go to save money.”
The Sunshine State didn’t get many of those referrals. Louisiana and New Mexico became locations of choice. So did Canada, Australia and South America.
State Rep. Don Davis worked for three years to change all that. Two years ago, the legislature unanimously approved his bill calling for an Entertainment Financial Incentive.
Last year, legislators even approved some money to go along with it — $2.45 million.
“We’ve got the sites that far exceed what’s available in other states,” said Davis. “We have 30,000 people employed and trained in the industry. We have better sound stages and access to all the necessary equipment.
“But without incentives, producers were reluctantly going to other states.”
The new program is structured as a rebate. To qualify, studios will have to spend at least $850,000 in the state on workers, vendors, hotel and motel rooms, raw materials, rentals and “qualified” equipment. Star salaries don’t count.
If an audit verifies the in-state expenses, the person writing the checks for the studio gets back 15 percent.
The maximum rebate for one film is $2 million.
“This industry is about as good as it gets,” said Davis. “We don’t have to build sewage treatment plants, roads or schools.”
Roobin added that communities in search of stable, profitable, smokestack-less businesses — and that means just about everybody — can’t do better than the film industry.
“A company comes into town and sets up shop,” he said. “They rent hotel rooms, apartment, houses. They inject $14 million-plus direct dollars into the community by hiring local labor, spending a lot of money on lumber and hotel rooms.
“Then they pack up and leave.”
Davis had wanted a minimum of $6 million to spread among locales around the state. He got a commitment for $3.75 million; the Senate bill had a provision for $1.5 million.
An end-of-session conference agreed on $2.45 million, which was approved by the two houses.
Applications from studios may not be submitted before July 1, when the new fiscal year starts.
Roobin has e-mailed applications for several projects that he knows are interested in coming to the Jacksonville area.
“I’m making it very easy for them,” he said. “I’m saying, ‘I know you’re looking at other states. But hopefully you’ll fill out this application, and you’ll be potentially the recipient of a rebate on your project.’ ”
Roobin is also sending around a three-minute video that was mass-produced onto CDs. It won first place in the Association of Film Commissioners International Marketing Award for promotional videos.
Featured are quick clips from films done in Jacksonville and encouraging words from directors who worked on them.
“You can do anything down here, and the people are great,” said director Joel Schumacher, whose films include “The Client” and “A Time To Kill.” “If you don’t come to Jacksonville and check it out before you make your movie, you’re nuts.”
Declaring movie-making “nonpolluting, exciting and well-paying,” Mayor John Peyton said, “Movies come to Jacksonville because of our can-do attitude as well as our ability to follow through, delivering on what we promise.”
Some of the films included in the city’s impressive resume are “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Basic,” “Sunshine State,” “The Devil’s Advocate” and “G.I. Jane.”
Davis wishes the legislature had put more money into the project. But he’s confident there will be more the next time around when the Entertainment Financial Incentive shows what it can do.
“A lot of numbers are tossed around,” he said, “but the most reliable figure seems to be a 60-1 return in terms of economic impact. Sixty dollars spent for each dollar in incentives.
“And the communities get excited about having the films made there.
“I’m going to get some really good data together to take back to the legislature. We’ll have six movies in the next six months.
“Next time, we’ll ask for $10 million. It’s going to work.”