Tuolumne County Filming Increases

New legislation is helping Tuolumne County recruit filmmakers to the area.

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

Tuolumne County Film Commissioner Jerry Day was Wednesday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.

Things changed last year when GovernorSchwarzenegger signed the new state budget that included incentives as part of an economic stimulus provision.

A 20 percent tax credit is now 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.

A television series that has filmed all of its prior episodes outside of California is eligible for a 25 percent tax credit, as are independent films with budgets between $1 million – $10 million that are produced by private companies.

“This is wonderful, but it is not a panacea,” says Day. “There’s a lot more we need to do to make Tuolumne County the power it once was in this industry.”

Day says the county needs to build a crew base, and this starts with educating the younger generation.

Day says it is also important for the county to have a western film set and sound stage, and the Friends of the Tuolumne County Film Commission have made this a priority. The support foundation plans to raise money to build a set similar to the one constructed in the Red Hills area for Back to the Future III. The set was later lost in a fire.

Productions that are not eligible for the new tax credits include commercials, music videos, game shows, lewd or indecent, reality shows and documentaries.

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

Written by mark@mlode.com