“I think everybody wants to keep movies in Louisiana, just at a lower cost,” says frequent critic of the film incentive program, Louisiana Budget Project director Jan Moller.
But the cap on film tax credits, passed by the Legislature in 2015, has created a drought for Hollywood South.
“Nobody knew when the state of Louisiana would actually honor its obligation. Funding completely dried up,” says Celtic Studios executive director Patrick Mulhearn. He is trying to figure out ways to keep the drought from turning Louisiana’s movie industry into a desert.
“The problem is that we don’t own the work. We’re renting the industry in some senses, you know, just like they’re renting space at Celtic. But we don’t own the actual projects. We don’t own the production, and that’s where we’re missing the boat.”
Even Moller has been pondering the problem
“Is there a way to restructure the film program in a way that encourages indigenous movie-making in Louisiana -- that keeps the program here -- but doesn’t function like an open-ended entitlement the way it has in the past?” Moller asks.
One way is to go back to the original concept of making it a jobs program, and offering a bigger percentage of credit for hiring Louisiana residents. Another is establishing training programs for behind-the-camera skills: grips and foley operators, film editors and screenwriters. And, Mulhearn says, there needs to be commitment to -- and local investment in -- Louisiana-made movies.
“We’re not funding our own projects. At the end of the day, we are reliant upon California and New York, or businesses that are based there, to bring us work,” Mulhearn laments, adding, “We need people who are planting roots and dedicated to doing the business here.”