180° Previous Issues

July 29, 2010 :: 180eNews

After a brief hiatus, the official eNewsletter of the North Carolina Film Office is back. Now called 180, this frequent eNews piece will help keep you up-to-date on happens in North Carolina film production as well as some pieces from outside the state that effect the industry.

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NC Film Incentives Now 25%, Syrett speaking in L.A.

On July 22, Governor Bev Perdue signed House bills 1973 and 713 into law, representing a new 25% film incentive for the state. The new incentive raises the per project cap to $20M and allows for fringe benefits, per diems, and living expenses, among others, to count as qualified NC spends. Additionally, NC is no longer the only state to tax on their incentive as that part of the former incentive program has been eliminated. The law goes into effect January 1, 2011; however, single production can realize the changes now on qualified expenses as long as they claim those items on their 2011 taxable year returns. For more information on the incentive program, click here.

See the story as well in “Variety” and “The Hollywood Reporter”

NCFO Director Aaron Syrett will also be in Los Angeles touting the new incentive on today and Friday (July 29 & 30) as he will be presenting at The Incentives Office's "Summer Spectacular Incentives Symposium" at the Landmark Theatre.  In addition to the symposium, Syrett will also be meeting with several production companies to talk about the changes and future projects coming to NC.

Click here to check out an email blast that’s been sent on the new incentive and is part of NCFO's new interactive ad campaign targeting industry decision makers

North Carolina Film Office is Looking for the Next Great Location

The North Carolina Film Office debuted a new online location submission engine as an effort to expand its location library as well as to have residents of the state be a part of the filmmaking industry. Residents can load images of their homes, private businesses, land and other properties and have production companies consider them for upcoming projects. The launch of the new program has resulted in over 100 new locations being uploaded to date. Find out more about the submission engine here.

"Bolden!" Wraps in Wilmington, "Louis" Trailer Released

It began in 2007 as a biopic of arguably the inventor of jazz, and three years later, Dan Pritzker, son of Hyatt Hotels magnate Jay Pritzker, is finally wrapping "Bolden!". The feature stars Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) and is the story of Buddy Bolden. While shooting "Bolden!," Pritzker also shot a companion film, "Louis," a 68-minute silent film that turns the chilhood of Louis Armstrong into an improvisational jazz riff.  "Louis" begins a 5-city tour in August and will include a live 10-piece jazz ensemble led by Wyton Marsalis at each of its showings. Click here for an iTunes trailer of "Louis" and here to read Deadline Hollywood's exclusive on these two amazing productions.

Teamsters Vote to Approve 2-Year Agreement

Locals in the film industry are breathing a sigh of relief and no longer wonder “what if” as Teamsters 399 and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers came to a new two-year agreement. While the union did not get the 3% increase it asked for, they did get a 2% increase as well as at least three enhancements with regard to meals, medical tests and drivers licenses, as well as staffing of out-of-Los Angeles productions. Had an agreement not been met, productions across the US could have been halted. Click here to read more courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

Asheville’s ActionFest Hires Toronto Programmer

Following a highly successful inaugural film festival, the world’s first and only film festival dedicated to action movies, the organizers of of ActionFest have announced that Toronto International Film Festival programmer Colin Geddes will be taking the post of Festival Director in Asheville. A longtime fixture on the festival circuit, Geddes brings a passion for action films to the new position. Geddes will continue his programming duties at TIFF while also preparing for next year’s ActionFest, set for April 7-10. For more on ActionFest and its new director, click here.

AFCI Honors NC Film Office with Awards

The North Carolina Film Office once again was recognized by the Association of Film Commissioners International at the annual Locations Trade Show in California.   The state office brought home two first place awards as well as a second and third place honor. The awards were part of the office’s recent “Relax” campaign, which highlights the ease of filming in the Tar Heel State. This marks the 6th time the NCFO has been honored by AFCI since 2008. Read more about the awards here.

Lack of Competitive Incentives Leaves Baltimore, Maryland Productionless

Baltimore and the state of Maryland use to be a major player in the film business. With televisions series like “The Wire” and major features including “Hairspray” and the romantic comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You”, many projects were coming to the Chesapeake. But cuts to the state’s incentive program, including a cap of $1 million for incentives has seen production come to standstill. Residents use to work at least six months out of the year in Baltimore, but that dropped to about five weeks last year. As one resident put it “the choice I have is basically to change careers (and stay in Maryland) or work out of town.” Read the entire Baltimore Business Journal article here.

Some additional quick cuts...

One Tree Hill has started rolling its cameras for an NC record 8th season in Wilmington…UNC-Chapel Hill, the UNC School of the Arts, and Charlotte’s The Light Factory were all part of a record number of recipients of the annual grant program from The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences…EUE/Screen Gems has announced that they will be building a new studio in Atlanta, but Wilmington’s will remain the largest east of Hollywood…ABC’s reality show “Shaq Vs.” recently filmed in Concord for an episode that will air toward the end of the summer that features NBA All-Star Shaquielle O’Neal racing against Dale Earnhardt Jr…Noted film critic and Wake Forest University’s director of film studies, Peter Burnette, passed away in July; he was 66...Two reality shows, Food Network’s new “Restaurant Impossible” and CMT’s “World’s Strictest Parents” recently announced they are looking for participants within North Carolina.

Did you know….

In Hillsborough you can find a recreation of the famed Michael Myers' home, from the Halloween horror movie franchise. The home is available for tours as well as film production. See it for yourself by clicking here.

 

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