Tuolumne County Film Commission Stays Active
Saving Railtown 1897 is a priority for the Tuolumne County Film Commission.
Tuolumne County Film Commissioner Jerry Day, 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 had a total of sixteen productions in 2011, which was a very good year for us. We typically average around one production a month,” said Day. “These productions included independent films, car commericials, music videos, reality television and a lot of international television coverage.”
Day forsees an already active year for 2012 but saving Railtown is a priority.
“Historically, it is the most popular filming destination in the county. And now that Steam Engine #3 is back, we have to come up with a solution to keep Railtown open and operating.”
Railtown is also featured in the brand new, colorful production guide that Day will distribute to Hollywood and international insiders.
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.
