Melissa Ross
In an email to supporters, Film Florida president Michelle Hillery is blasting the state’s lack of film production incentives, that she argues led a feature film production to choose Brunswick, Georgia to recreate Ybor City for the upcoming feature film Live By Night.
“The producers of the film spent months working with the Tampa-Hillsborough Film & Digital Media Commission to scout Ybor City, but in spite of our ideal weather, low taxes and true location, Georgia’s extremely competitive model for their state film program made more business sense–even with the need to build infrastructure to mimic an entire city,” says Hillery.
Oscar winner Ben Affleck bought the film rights to the novel by former Tampa area writer Dennis Lehane. Live By Night is set in Ybor City during the Prohibition era and features a Boston thief’s rise to successful Gulf Coast rum runner. In addition to Affleck, set to star and direct, the movie will also star Zoe Saldana and Elle Fanning.
Says Hillery, “The film is now in production just 30 miles north of Florida’s border. The diversity of businesses working together for this production will undeniably bring growth to the local economy, spur infrastructure and jobs and yield great economic benefits to an underutilized area. We continue to lose projects like this because Florida has zero funds left in a program that was established in 2004 to compete for this good business. In addition, Florida will continue to lose hundreds of jobs, millions of dollars in local spending and in this case, the chance to show off the Tampa area to a worldwide audience with the benefits of increasing tourism.”
Hillery concludes by hoping Film Florida can work with Tallahassee this legislative session to create a rebate and loan program for film production to replace the current tax credit program and “put Florida back on the map for production and bring these jobs back to Florida where they belong!”
