Gee what problem can't be solved by welfare for corporations?

@1:

The Washington State Film Competitiveness Program is, unlike other similar programs implemented by the state, a PROVEN money-maker for not only the local film industry, but hundreds of ancillary businesses that see increased revenue when film and television productions roll into the state. Washington FilmWorks, the agency tasked with implementing and overseeing the program, has a scrupulous tracking system that accounts for literally every penny spent by productions (none of which receive even a dime of incentive money until they can demonstrate the level of their in-state expenditures), and the economic "ripple effect" of all those additional dollars filters down through the entire economy to the tune of $10 of economic impact for every dollar spent. And it's not just actors and crew who benefit from the living wage jobs generated by the program: hotels, caterers, restaurants, lumberyards, nurseries, transportation companies, beauty salons, grocers - a whole gamut of small and large businesses, most of which exist outside of the traditional industry marketplace - receive additional income that wouldn't otherwise have come to them - AND this economic boost can be felt in literally every county and in every corner of the state, not just the big cities.

Furthermore, the newly passed legislation incorporates specific carve-outs for things like: workforce development, so we can train up the next generation of skilled trades; emphasis on serving traditionally economically hard-hit marginalized and rural communities; and also provides additional funding sources for home-grown productions created by local creatives. And all this for a paltry $15mm a year; less than the price of a typical Medina mega-mansion.

Get the facts: https://keepfilminwa.com/

I second what Comte wrote and will add that as an actor, I have trained and spent many years honing my craft, to do the "work" of the actor in Film, TV, Commercial, and Corporate/Educational projects. I'm grateful to the State for finally open the door a bit wider...and the increase in our incentive, means an increase in opportunities for cast and crew. I'm invested in this community, and while I don't mind traveling out of state for acting work, I prefer to do it closer to home, and family.

"Open" should be "opening."

@1
The sad fact is that B C has been eating our lunch for years and years, when it comes to attracting filming crews.
By the way, it looked like they were filming indoors just south of Pioneer Square a week or so ago - or was that a porn film?

World War Z, the remake. We're ready. Just roll the cameras anywhere.

@5:

Thing is, Vancouver doesn't need to attract film crews - there are plenty of talented, qualified and experienced production people IN Vancouver, thanks in large part to the provincial government's nearly 30 years of investing in the industry. But, they DO attract productions, and that's the key to developing and maintaining thousands of living-wage jobs for local workers. But even that is just one part of the long-term strategy going forward: not just providing cash to attract projects, but developing and nurturing a local workforce that can provide the skills essential to the industry, AND providing opportunities to local content creators, so that we can tell our own stories, in our own way.

I doubt we'll ever be able to compete head-to-head with Vancouver, or Toronto, or Montreal, or Georgia, NYC and L.A.; we're just never going to be able to invest on that level. But we CAN be regionally competitive, and thanks to the increase in the Incentive we're now on-par with Oregon and Montana, both of which have made great strides in growing and nurturing, film, television, commercial, corporate, and interactive production in recent years.

I mean, wouldn't it be great to watch a film or TV show set in Seattle that was actually filmed IN Seattle, and know that most of the people who worked on it are your own neighbors?