1,000-Plus Protest Bill Targeting North Carolina's Movie, TV Tax Breaks

[octoberlib]

WILMINGTON, NC – Since the state of North Carolina brought back generous incentives to attract film and TV productions in 2010, movies such as The Hunger Games, Safe Haven and Iron Man 3 have shot there as well as such series as NBC’s Revolution; Showtime’s Homeland; and the CBS miniseries Under the Dome.

However, a bill introduced in the state legislature last Wednesday would alter the incentives to make them virtually worthless to out-of-state companies, which has brought a howl of protest from the local industry and the guilds and unions, which work on productions.
The bill, which is retroactive to this past January, is not likely to be made into law because North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory is among those who supported the tax breaks for the industry, but the very idea set off a strong reaction.


On Saturday, more than 1,000 area residents – many of them actors, extras, location scouts, Teamster drivers, stylists, designers, and more – flooded downtown Wilmington to protest.Sponsored by Local 491 of IATSE, the film and television technicians union, the rally featured brief appearances by a slew of local and state representatives, most of whom emphasized that film in North Carolina is not a partisan issue.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/1000-protest-bill-targeting-north-443393

[patricia92243]

1. When they filmed the Hunger Games in Brevard, it brought millions into the local economy -

and that includes my town of Asheville.

[octoberlib]

2. Same with Homeland in Charlotte. The film industry also provides

sorely needed jobs . Since Republicans are all in favor of CORPORATE welfare the only reason I can see for this bill is that the film industry = liberals to them.