Interview Experts and Questions

Johnny Griffin, Director
P (910) 343-3456
F (910) 343-3457
commish@wilmingtonfilm.com

_{PHYSICAL & MAILING ADDRESS}
1223 N. 23rd Street
Wilmington, NC 28405

Johnny Griffin was hired as executive director of the Wilmington of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, Inc, in 1999. The commission is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit private corporation governed by a five-member board of directors.

Questions:

1.      What are your duties as a film commissioner?

2.      Can you explain with as much detail as possible what the Film Tax Incentive is?

3.      What kind of economic impact has is had on the state?

4.      How many full time jobs have been created for local North Carolinians due to the Tax Incentive?

5.      What has been the overall impact on Wilmington due to the Tax Incentive?

6.      Aside from the money brought to the state from films, what other benefits does film bring to the community and the state?

7.      What would be the loss to Wilmington if the Tax Incentives expire?

8.      What have you personally done to help promote the Tax Incentive, and what can local citizens do?

9-     What can locals do to urge lawmakers to extend the deadline on the Tax Incentive?

1-    Is there anything we didn’t cover or anything that you’d like to say to people about the Film Tax Incentives?

Top of Form

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Campaign Mailing Address:

For Correspondence with the Governor’s office:

20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

PO Box 98027
Raleigh, NC 27624

Email:

Media Inquiries: media@patmccrory.com

- See more at: http://www.patmccrory.com/contact/#sthash.8TAJpdrW.dpuf

Patrick Lloyd "Pat" McCrory is an American politician and the 74th Governor of North Carolina. He previously served a record 14 years as the 53rd Mayor of Charlotte from 1995 to 2009, and as a city councilman from 1989 to 1995.

Questions:

1.      Can you explain with as much detail as possible what the Film Tax Incentive is?

2.      What kind of economic impact has is had on the state?

3.      Why have you and other legislators recently considered letting the Film Tax Incentives expire?

4.      What other state funded programs help create jobs or stimulate the economy like the Film Tax Incentive? What is the cost of those programs?

5.      When will the extension of the Film Tax Incentive be looked at again and voted on?

6.      At this point, what is your position on the Film Tax Incentive? Why or why not?

7.      If the Film Tax Incentive expires potentially hundreds of production companies and thousands of skilled workers could leave the state for places like Georgia and Louisiana which already have better Film Tax Incentives. What are your thoughts on that?

8.      Years ago North Carolina was dubbed the “Hollywood of the East” since then film has become part of the culture of many cities in the state such as Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Wilmington, what kind of effect do you think losing the Film Tax Incentive would have in these areas?

9.      With the Film Tax Incentive being such an important issue to the ongoing development to the state of North Carolina, your name will most likely be remembered by locals and filmmakers on what you end up deciding on this topic, what are your thoughts on that?

1-   Is there anything we didn’t cover or anything that you’d like to say to people about the Film Tax Incentives?




8***This is still a work in progress***

Treatment

This documentary will explore the issue of the North Carolina Film Refundable Tax Credit within House Bills 1973, 713, and Senate Bill 847 that will expire January 1, 2015. The film will explore both sides of the story from lawmakers to filmmakers and even small business owners who have thrived and grown because of the film industry. The main focus of this documentary will be to educate viewers about the Tax Credit and the benefits it has brought to the state, ultimately the goal of this documentary is to persuade viewers to take personal action to urge lawmakers and Governor Pat McCrory to extend the Tax Credit. Currently, North Carolina provides filmmakers with a 25% tax break on production costs incurred in the state. This incentive cuts off at 20 million dollars and has a minimum production expense of 250,000 dollars that must be spent in North Carolina to receive the credit. So far, film production averages 150 million dollars of income each year to the state of North Carolina; not to mention thousands of high paying jobs each year for crewmembers and tens of thousands of jobs opportunities for positions such as extras. If no action is taken soon, our state could be saying goodbye to the flood of films, jobs, and money pumped into the North Carolina economy by the film incentive. This documentary hopes to give the necessary push to the public and legislators to pass a long-term extension to the Tax Credit so that North Carolinians can enjoy the benefits of a clean industry that brings millions of dollars into the state and thousands of well paying jobs for local residents. This topic has been briefly mentioned in the news but too often it’s glossed over the real benefits to the state are rarely or never mentioned. Through investigating the issue, this documentary will help prove the true benefits that film can offer the state.

This documentary will begin with a simple introduction to the subject, bringing up basic facts and information about the Film Tax Credit. The film will then explore both sides of the debate, starting with local filmmakers, local production companies, and legislators to get a fully balanced argument. The goal is to show what the Tax Credit has brought to the state and what exactly would be lost if it’s not extended. While this documentary is meant to be persuasive both sides of the argument will fairly and accurately portrayed in an effort to bring real credibility to this documentary and the subject of the Tax Credit. Interviews, animated texts and graphs/charts, and B-roll footage of films being shot in North Carolina will be used to argue for the Tax Credit. After this, attempts will be made to portray the side of lawmakers who are against the tax credit, this strategy will be similar using interviews, additional statistics and B-roll from legislative meetings. This documentary hopes to provide the necessary information and present it in a “call to action” manner by showing viewers they have the ability to contact their legislators to request changes regarding the matter.

This documentary will run approximately 10-15 minutes. This film will be shot digitally with interviews intercut with B-roll footage, animated graphs, charts and text to show the effects of film production on North Carolina’s economy. This will be a fair and balanced documentary, but it will ultimately argue for extending the Tax Credit. Digitally scanned government documents will show exactly where the Film Tax Incentive exists in the House and Senate bills. A central narrator will be used to carry the viewers through the film and provide necessary dialogue to discuss the facts surrounding each segment of the film.

This film will be aimed at filmmakers and younger people (20-35), it will have a fast and entertaining pace. The music that will underlay the action and serve as sound bridges will be rock and alternative and the film will have lots of fast cuts. Style-wise the goal is to make an informative film that is persuasive but at the same time attempts to be entertaining and engaging.

Research

Refundable Tax Credit

North Carolina offers a 25% refundable tax credit. The 25% refundable tax credit is in effect for a single production who report the qualified expenses on their tax return beginning with the taxable year 2011.

SUMMARY OF NORTH CAROLINA REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT

Incentive	25% refundable tax credit
Per Project Cap	$20 million (television series are not subject to per project cap)
Minimum Spend	$250,000
Annual Cap	No cap
Qualified Labor	First $1 million of each resident & nonresident qualify
Loan Out Withholding	Yes. 4%
Audit	North Carolina pays for the audit
Screen Credit Required	Yes
Qualifying Expenses	Goods / Services / Compensation & Wages / Production-Related Insurance / Fringes / Per Diems / Living Expenses & Stipends
Qualifying Productions	Feature Films / Direct-to-Video / Episodic Television Series / Movies of the Week / Television Mini-Series / Reality Television / Commercials / Documentaries / Animation Productions / Webisodes
Application	File Intent to Film online form prior to start of production
State-Owned Property	Fee-free usage
Sunset Date	January 1, 2015
Enacted Bill Numbers	H 1973 (SL 2010-147); H 713 (SL 2010-89); S847 (SL 2012-194)

Year-end projections show television and film productions had a direct in-state spend in excess of $254 million and created more than 4,000 well-paying crew positions for the state’s highly skilled workforce.  These productions created nearly 25,000 job opportunities (full time equivalent and temporary jobs), including talent and background extra positions, for North Carolinians.  These numbers are the second highest in the industry’s history for in-state spending by productions as well as total job opportunities created. Beyond the more than $254 million in direct spending, additional spending and job creation have taken place on numerous lower budget projects and commercials.

“The past three years have produced unheralded numbers in direct in-state spending and job opportunities," said NC Film Office Director Aaron Syrett.

According to the North Carolina Film Office, the Tarheel State is fifth in the nation when it comes to production revenue, trailing only California, New York, Georgia and Louisiana. The state — which offers a 25% refundable tax credit — is coming off back-to-back record years for film production, taking in $376 million in 2012 that created more than 4,100 full-time crew jobs. Last year it hosted shoots for projects including Iron Man 3 and Homeland. “It is amazing to see what has taken place the past two years in North Carolina,” said NC Film Office Director Aaron Syrett said in his 2012 report. “Not only were we able to exceed our record-breaking numbers from 2011, but we continue to grow throughout the state.” 

People of interest to interview:
Pat McCrory
Carey Jones
Aaron Syrett
Sharon Decker