Film commission director advocates for legislation

In January 2006, Hollywood came to Cape Girardeau.

Johnny Knoxville and Diane Lane were among the actors, actresses and stage crew who descended upon the town for scenes filmed at the Missouri Dry Dock and other locations for the movie "Killshot." Though most of the scenes shot in Cape Girardeau were cut from the film's final version, the economic impact locally equaled about $2 million.

Missouri Film Commission director Jerry Jones said more films like "Killshot" could be a reality in Missouri but the current state tax credit program prevents attracting more than one major motion picture annually.

"We had two pretty big motion pictures decide not to film in the state because the money from the credit wasn't there for them, and I expect we'll continue to see the same thing happen on an annual basis unless something changes," Jones said Friday shortly after the monthly Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee.

First enacted in 1999, the incentive program offered up to 50 percent of expected production in-state expenses. The original cap was $1 million per film, with a program cap of $1.5 million. The cap for each film has since been eliminated and the overall program cap increased to $4.5 million, while the percentage of production expenses has been reduced to 35 percent. To quality a production, company's budget must be at least $100,00 for movies in length of at least 30 minutes or $50,000 for films with a length of less than 30 minutes.

Expenditures that qualify for the credit include costs of labor, materials, equipment rental, location fees, property rental, food and lodging. The Weinstein Co., which produced "Killshot," was approved for about $350,000 in state tax credits.

For the expenditures in the cap to increase, Jones encouraged residents to contact their state representative.

"That's the only way to get this changed," Jones said. "It not only pumps in money to the economy but also creates jobs for Missourians during the time a movie is filmed there. Many times they hire people who have expertise in construction or simply can transport the crew back and forth."

State Sen. Jason Crowell said he was unsure about his position on increasing the cap. Crowell said he believes other areas were more important such as funding for education, nursing, health care and prisons.

"This is a spending decision, and on the state level you can't spend what you don't have and if I spend a dollar on X that means I don't have that dollar for Y," Crowell said. "With that said, I have been the champion of the film tax credit in the Missouri Senate, but I will not make decisions in a vacuum. The wants of the film commission must be weighed against all other obligations and against the state of our economy, and we just don't have all that information right now, today."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628