The state Senate and House of Representatives are working on legislation to bring filmmakers to South Carolina.
The bills, called the "S.C. Motion Picture Incentive Act of 2004," propose tax incentives for movie production companies spending money in the state. Of the $8 million that the general fund receives now, $3.5 million comes from movie admissions. The S.C. Film Commission wants to use that money to provide a 5 percent deduction on labor and a 7 percent deduction on supplies to filmmakers working in South Carolina. They also want to award a 10 percent tax credit when they spend at least half a million dollars in the state.
"Right now we're not competitive, really," said Jeff Monks, commissioner for the Film Commission Department.
The responsibility of the Film Commission Department, part of the S.C. Department of Commerce, is to encourage movie developers to come to South Carolina so they will buy their materials and get their talent from towns in the state.
The Film Commission is working to combine the resources of the USC film school, which has a media arts program centered on the creative and business aspects of filmmaking; Trident Tech, which has a film department renowned for its advanced study on film and editing equipment; Clemson, which has combined its film and computer graphics departments to form a graduate program; and the Film Commission itself.
This plan would help the colleges pool resources and make for easier credit transferal.
The plan's main goal is to have students work with filmmaking in South Carolina through the film commission. The students would be able to get easier hands-on experience, and filmmakers could use the students' skills and labor.
"So far, all three colleges have voiced their support for the plan," Monks said.
Enticing filmmakers to one location or another has become an extremely competitive market. Canada uses the exchange rate to its advantage, since filmmakers going into that country gain more money. The Canadian government also lures them by refunding a third of what they spend on manual labor when they hire in the country.
"South Carolina has to have a lot of incentives to compete, and when a film company can save millions by going to another country, this isn't easy," Monks said.
Other countries have offered national armies to act as extras in blockbuster films such as "Cold Mountain" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
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