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The folks over at the Vermont Film and Media Coalition have produced a short video on why Vermont should pass a tax credit for film production. It features Bobby Farelly, Writer and Director “Dumb and Dumber” and “Me, Myself and Irene” as well as William H. Macy, Actor “Fargo” and “State and Main.”

I’ve always been happily surprised by the number of filmmakers and media producers who live and work in Vermont. Some went to school here at one of the several schools with excellent filmmaking programs. Others moved here because they could and continue to work due to proximity to contracts in New York and/or being situated on a good internet pipeline. I’ve been fortunate to meet and work with excellent film editors, directors of photography, actors, grips, sound crews, lighting specialists, animators and a horde of hard-working production assistants. All of whom live in Vermont.

As media production in all channels from print to 3-D animation to radio to video continue to experience changes in their production and business models, I think anything that helps develop talent and experience is a good thing and worth pursuing.

A commenter over at Bill Simmons’ Candleblog, stated how having a tax incentive has had an effect on the commenter’s boyfriend: “it means he doesn’t have to move to LA to work in film.”

Here’s the video and a transcript:

VT Film Incentive from Vermont Film and Media Coalition on Vimeo.

Bobby Farelly

Like the rest of the world right now the movie business is going through a tough economic period. The companies that own these studios are all as broke as everyone else. They’re getting more and more like “Let’s go through everything with a fine tooth comb and see where we can save money.”

Now what’s happened is a few of the states, out of the fifty, have come up with these tax incentive packages where if a production comes they’re going to save this amount of money on tax credits. It makes such a significant business on a big budget film that pretty much we’re forced to go where the tax credits are significant.

William H. Macy

First of all, if New England looks at the numbers they’ll do a very generous tax rebate in a New York minute. Because the numbers don’t lie. Every state that does it has made a bleeding fortune.

Bobby Farelly

Right now it’s Massachussetts, Rhode Island, New York Louisiana, New Mexico. There’s a few states that have really aggressive tax credit programs. That’s where all the filming is being done.

William H. Macy

Ask New Orleans. Nobody want’s to shoot in New Orleans anymore because there’s so many films shooting there you can’t get a crew. And it dumps millions and millions of dollars into the state budget every year.

Bobby Farelly

What you have in Vermont is such a beautiful state. And you have all the different seasons. Shooting in the fall is just a spectacular opportunity for any film crew. In the winter, of course it’s very winter-like and if your story calls for it you have it. And the summers are just gorgeous. There’s no reason that there isn’t a lot more filming being done in Vermont except that the studios won’t allow you to come here if it’s way cheaper to go somewhere else.

William H. Macy

We were talking about the film that I want to direct. We’re going to shoot it in Georgia, I need a little southern town. And this is a tiny little indie [film]. But we’ll go to this little town of probably 12,000 people and we’ll dump maybe three million bucks on them maybe four, in six weeks. That’s a lot of money. That whole town will feel the repercussions from that all year. That’s a lot of money.

Bobby Farelly

I’d love to film in Vermont. If I said “I want to film in Vermont” they’d come and say “this is the amount of extra money it would cost us to film here as a result of not getting these tax savings” and that’d be the end of my argument.

William H. Macy

Vermont is unshot. I know all these places in Vermont that are just jaw-droppingly beautiful and they’re not on film. All over New England but particularly Vermont.

Bobby Farelly

In today’s economic market it’s hard to convince a state and say “Hey lets give huge tax credits to these big multi-conglomerate studios while they come in and shoot a movie here.” Because people in the state legislature are going to say “Why? Why should we give the tax credit to them?” And the only simple answer is because otherwise they can’t come. Because they’re going to go to the states that do compete.

William H. Macy

If VT could start to attract more films. They have to hire local people. And as soon as you do a film you’ve got a film on your resume and next film that comes in, every time you do one you get better. Vermont has people that work hard. I’ve always loved that about the Vermont character. Such hard working people, tenacious people.

Bobby Farelly

What it does do is it does bring a lot of business here. It puts a lot of people to work. It brings people in that weren’t necessarily going to come here before. And there’s a lot of cash flow. The hotels are busier, the restaurants are busier, you’re putting people in the state to work. And it’s just kick starting the economy.

William H. Macy

It’s a small state and I know that the budget is small and it would take a lot of courage to do tax rebates like that.

Bobby Farelly

I feel like you can’t loose by passing these tax incentives. It’s taxes that you’re not going to get anyway by them not coming here. And wouldn’t you rather get them coming but maybe not getting the taxes on them necessarily but getting the economy stimulated and everyone back to work and all that. It feels like a good situation.