Maine-inspired film made out-of-state due to incentives
The town of Farmington could have been the star location of an upcoming film featuring Jason Sudeikis and Rebecca Hall, but the filmmakers decided to film in Massachusetts instead.
That’s because Massachusetts has a far more attractive film tax incentive than Maine, the Los Angeles Times reported. Maine’s incentives couldn’t offset the $4 million budget for “Tumbledown,” the filmmakers told the newspaper, so they found small-town lookalikes in Massachusetts, where productions spending more than $50,000 can receive a 25% tax credit.
Towns included Princeton, Concord and Groton.
"Within an hour of downtown Boston, we found the closest match for the Maine architecture, the forest, the classic New England antiquity and charm of the small rural town we were trying to replicate," said writer Desi Van Til, who grew up in Farmington. "Plus, Massachusetts had the benefit of a robust film incentive program."
Several notable films, including “American Hustle” and “Captain Phillips,” have been made in Massachusetts, the Los Angeles Times noted, with productions spending $313 million inside the state in 2012, nearly double the $176 million spent in 2011. The state rebated productions with $78.2 million in film tax credits in 2012.
By comparison in Maine, 16 certified film and TV production companies spent more than $4.7 million in 2013, nearly double the $1.5 million generated from eight productions in 2012, according to figures provided to the Portland Press Herald from the Maine Film Office, a division of the state Office of Tourism and Department of Community and Economic Development.
As for film incentives, certified productions spending $75,000 or more in Maine can be eligible for a 12% rebate for wages paid to residents and 10% rebate for wages paid to nonresidents. Certified productions can also be eligible for funding from the Finance Authority of Maine, tax exemptions on fuel and electricity sales and a reimbursement of the state lodging tax.
Maine’s inability to compete with film tax incentive programs offered by states like Massachusetts was a factor in a veteran set builder's decision to close the Fore River Sound Stage in South Portland earlier this year, according to the Portland Press Herald.
A bill sponsored by state Rep. Scott Hamman, D-South Portland, earlier this year sought to increase Maine’s income tax rebate for productions to 25%, but was rejected by the Legislative Council before it could gain traction. The legislator told the newspaper in February that he plans to introduce a similar bill during the next legislative session.
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