In the above photo: Producer Jen Gatien, Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Leo, Laurent Rejto, and Tessa Thompson on the set of the film ‘Furlough’. (Photo Credit: Randy Harris)
Spending funds from the New York State coffers to boost film production in Gotham has worked well for almost 15 years. To the consternation of some fiscal conservatives, it was a Republican governor – George Pataki – who signed it into law in 2004. Governor Cuomo is a big fan of the tax credits, expanding and lengthening their availability.
One report states that such tax benefits finds most support in locations that have already had success, California and New York for example. Both states have expanded their aid, while states with less established production support systems, such as Alaska and Michigan, have entirely closed such offerings as too expensive.
Laurent Rejto, director of the Hudson Valley film commission, won’t be one of the complainers. He credits the state’s allowance for production outside of New York City, which increased by an additional 10% (to 40%) for 2016, for a “turning point” in Hudson Valley film production, up some 300% over the prior year period.
Read the entire article by Eliza Siegel on the HV1 website. Want a behind the scenes look at the production of Furlough? Eead the Poughkeepsie Journal’s article here.
–Reported on January 22, 2018
