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UK Producer-Seller MSR Media Extends Film Production Deal With Caribbean Island Nevis, Sets Next Project

(deadline.com)

First out of the gate as part of the new three-year multi-picture deal will be rom-com Two Weeks In Paradise, written by Kate Wood (Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop) and based on a story by MSR boss Philip Martinez (Father Christmas is Back) who will also direct. Shoot is due to begin in June on Nevis. Casting is still under wraps.

The film will tell the story of Maggie, a film star whose world collapses when her film director husband is outed by the paparazzi when its discovered he has had a baby with his new leading lady. Seeking solace and healing Maggie escapes to her ex-pat cousin’s beautiful hotel in Nevis. After two weeks in paradise she finds herself and a new love before the outside world comes crashing back in.

Producing are MSR Media’s Martinez and Highfield Grange Studios’ Alan Latham. Lee Beasley and Karinne Behr from MSR Media, Alastair Burlingham of Sherborne Media and Charlie Dombek serve as executive producers. Production financing is being provided by Sherborne Media. MSR Media International is handling worldwide rights.

MSR had previously struck a two-picture deal with Nevis’s administration. Recently shot were thriller Assailant starring Poppy Delevingne, Chad Michael Collins, Casper Van Dien and Jeff Fahey, and comedy One Year Off, starring Chad Michael Collins, Nathalie Cox, Antonio Fargas and Ray Fearon.

Under the production deal, the Nevisian government offers access to multiple locations across the island and hotel support for visiting cast members.

The new deal was inked with Nevisian Premier, The Hon. Mark Brantley. According to the two parties, the deal has helped birth the Nevis film industry with dozens of full time jobs created as a result. MSR Media says it has launched an “acting Academy” on the island, with local actors getting roles in feature Assailant. A number of actors from the Academy are expected to be cast in Two Weeks In Paradise.

Premier Brantley commented: “This new multi-year multi-film deal is truly good news for Nevis. My Government’s vision for a film industry, born out of a need to diversify our economy from its heavy dependence on tourism, is bearing spectacular fruit due to this partnership with MSR Media. The benefits to the local economy in terms of jobs, critical skills transfer and global recognition of Nevis are obvious. My Government is committed to this relationship with MSR and to developing this film industry for the benefit of the people of our beloved country.”

By: Andreas Wiseman

Continue Reading at deadline.com

Advocates Strive Once More To Make Mass. Film Tax Credit Permanent

(wbur.org)

According to advocates of the Massachusetts’ film tax credit, a series of reforms recommended by the state Senate as part of the 2022 budget will destroy the commonwealth’s film industry just as it gets back on track from the pandemic and stands on the cusp of significant growth.

The House unanimously passed its budget, which includes language to keep the current film tax credit and remove its 2023 expiration. (A detailed summary of the credit can be found on the Massachusetts Film Office website.) But for its budget, the Senate Ways and Means Committee outlined four changes to the program, which on average accounts for between $60 and $80 million per year:

• Move the sunset date from Jan. 1, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2027
• Increase the minimum amount of in-state spending or in-state principal photography days from 50% to 75%
• Cap salaries eligible for the credit at $1 million
• Eliminate transferability of credits

Tinkering with an already successful credit makes no sense to the owner of Rule Boston Camera in Newton. John Rule says that making any one of the proposed changes may seem reasonable but could drop Massachusetts way down the list of locations that compete for major film projects. A 2019 report by Michael Thom ranks Massachusetts fifth in film tax credit spending behind New York, Louisiana, Georgia and Connecticut.

By: Erin Trahan

Continue Reading at wbur.org

Missoula welcomes new film studio

(kulr8.com)

MISSOULA, Mont. – As the states film industry grows, a local production company opened a new movie studio in the Garden City.

Treasure State Studios wants to shine a light on Montana’s talent, resources and locations.

Production companies can rent out the space and bring in their crew or hire the Missoula-based company, With a Cause Productions, to help out.

Co-owner John Niles said either way, they’ll be spoiled with the studio’s equipment.

“So, we have a cyclorama, we’ve got industry standard lighting, grip and electric gear. We have a ‘grandma’s parlor chic’ decorated green room, with an adjacent ‘River Runs Through It’ [themed] makeup suite,” Nilles said.

Despite all the Hollywood glitz and glamour, Nilles is a fifth generation Montanan and wants the studio to support other Montanans pursing film.

“We would like to see these big projects, that are shooting in Montana actually be led by Montanans,” he said.

By: Tessa Nadeau

Continue Reading at kulr8.com

Gov. Gavin Newsom Adds $30 Million to California Film Tax Credit Budget

(thewrap.com)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has added $30 million in tax credits to the budget of California’s Film Tax Credit Program, allowing the state to give out up to $360 million in tax credits annually to qualifying film, TV and commercial productions that shoot in California.

The added cash comes as part of Newsom’s $100 billion “California Rolls Back” plan, thanks to the state’s $75 billion budget surplus. And in a press conference on Friday, Newsom, who is facing a recall election, mentioned that the new funds were specifically designed to lure productions back from states like Georgia.

“This is an opportunity for those productions, TV and others, in places like Georgia, whose values don’t necessarily always align with the production crews to consider coming back to the state of California,” Newsom said. “And that’s what that $30 million intends to do.”

“Governor Newsom’s announcement to expand the film and TV tax credit program is great news for California,” California Film Commission executive director Colleen Bell said in a statement. “The additional $30 million in funding will be allocated to relocating TV series, which bring long-term, high-wage jobs and significant production spending to our state. To date, our tax credit program has welcomed 23 relocating series from other states and countries. The additional funding will enable us to grow that positive impact.”

The current tax credit program has been in place since 2014, and the most recent round of tax credits were granted to 22 qualifying film projects, including new movies by the Coen Brothers, Steven Soderbergh, Eva Longoria and Jason Bateman. Meanwhile, some TV shows such as “Chad” and “The Flight Attendant” were among 23 programs that have all relocated to the state as a result of the credits.

By: Brian Welk

Continue Reading at thewrap.com

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Senate unveils a $48b budget plan, one that would tighten state’s film tax credit, increase aid to schools

(bostonglobe.com)

Massachusetts Senate leaders on Tuesday unveiled the contours of a $47.6 billion budget proposal that would boostspending by $1.2 billion over the current year and funnel hundreds of millions of more dollars to local schools, without any broad-based tax increases.

The chamber will debate changes to the bill on May 25, after which Senate and House leaders will have to reconcile differences between their proposals before sending a final product to Governor Charlie Baker for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Here are some notable details in the Senate’s package:

Film credit targeted

The proposal avoids any hikes to the broad-based taxes the state’s budget is built upon — including the income tax and salestax. But it would tweak the edges of the state’s tax code, most notably with a series of proposed changes meant to tighten the controversial film tax credit program, putting the chamber at odds with the House, which voted last month to permanently extend the credit during its own budget debate.

By contrast, the Senate plan would extend the credit only to 2027, four years after it’s slated to expire. It also would cap those salaries eligible to be covered by the credit at $1 million, and, in a major change, end the ability of production companies to transfer the credit — in other words, sell it to other entities, including insurance companies, corporations, or even individuals, said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, the chamber’s budget chairman.

By: Matt Stout

Continue Reading at bostonglobe.com