Has Hollywood Abandoned Tuolumne County?

Luring film makers to Tuolumne County remains a priority for the Tuolumne County Film Commission.

Jerry Day, Film Commissioner, was Thursday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.

Tuolumne County was once a hotbed for western films, but recently had been at a competitive disadvantage because neighboring states and countries like Canada were offering tax incentives to lure productions.

Things changed a couple of years ago when then Governor Schwarzenegger signed a state budget that included incentives as part of an economic stimulus provision.

A 20 percent tax credit was made available for California feature films with a budget between $1 million – $75 million, “movies of the week” or miniseries with a $500,000 minimum budget, and new television shows licensed for distribution that have a budget greater than $1 million.

“We typically average around one production a month,” said Day. “These productions include independent films, car commericials, music videos, reality television and a lot of international television coverage.”

Day discussed recent filming inside of the old Tuolumnne General Hospital.

“It is a county owned building and provides plenty of opportunity for creative filmmakers”, said Day. “In turn, any film work here brings additional revenue to Tuolumne County.

Day also said that a film director by the name of Chris Brown (recent Sundance Film Winner for Best Editiing) is filming a select group of Summerville and Sonora High School Seniors for an upcoming movie. Filming started in the area last November and will wrap up around August.

For more information log onto http://www.tcfilm.org

The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard each weekday morning on AM 1450 KVML at 6:47, 7:47 and 8:47am.