by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The HBO Films production of “Recount,” the story of Florida’s role in the controversial 2000 presidential election, had its Sunshine State premier Wednesday night at the Florida Theatre.
At a press conference prior to the screening, the film’s producers commented on what an exceptional location Jacksonville was for the three-month shooting schedule.
“I’ve never worked on a movie where I could ride my bike to all the locations,” said Jay Roach, director and executive producer.
He also complimented Florida’s Sunshine Law for aiding the production and added, “We had open access to records, people and locations including the Florida Supreme Court.”
Before the press conference, Todd Roobin, chief of the Jacksonville Film & Television Office, said the final numbers were in and the production of “Recount” resulted in a $9 million impact on Florida’s economy including $3.3 million in direct spending while the cast and crew was on location in Jacksonville.
When asked what he thinks the effect of the recent reduction in the film and television production subsidy budget by the state legislature will be, director and executive producer Jay Roach said, “It’s a big blow to the film-making industry because it means Florida will no longer be competitive.”
Michael Hausman, producer of the film, agreed that having access to state funds to cover a portion of the production costs made filming “Recount” in Florida even more attractive to the financial backers in view of the economics of the industry.
“It’s the motion-picture business,” he said. “We have to make movies that make money in order to get to make more movies.”